Welsh people far more interested in EU Referendum than the Senedd election May 5

Less than 5% of people in Wales read a Welsh newspaper 

The Daily Mail is read more regularly by four times more people in Wales than the Western Mail

Broadcasters in Wales reach a far greater proportion of people than newspapers But UK news programmes predominate just like English based newspapers do

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On May 5th there will be an election for the Senedd (National Assembly for Wales) and also for Police and Crime Commissioners. Then on June 23rd the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union will be held.

The levels of reported interest are by far the highest in the EU Referendum, and lowest in the PCC elections; for the Senedd election only 60% are ‘very or fairly interested’.  

Level of Interest	Assembly		PCC		EU Referendum
Very/Fairly	59		31		82
Not very/Not at all	38		64		15
Don’t Know	3		4		3

There are some interesting distinctions between the parties:

·         The levels of interest in the EU Referendum are highest among UKIP and Conservative supporters – who are also by far the likeliest to favour of leaving the EU.

·         Plaid Cymru supporters are the most interested in the Senedd election and the UKIP supporters are the least interested.

·         It is surprising that the level of interest in these elections amongst Liberal Democrats is lower than all the other parties other than for the Senedd election, where it is higher than UKIP supporters and on a par with the Conservatives.  Not not included in this post are the levels of Don’t Knows which is higher amongst Liberal Democrats supporters than any of the other parties.

Labour:

Level of Interest	Assembly	PCC	EU Referendum
Very/Fairly	72	38	88
Not very/not at all	27	59	11

 Conservative:

Level of Interest	Assembly	PCC	EU Referendum
Very/Fairly	69	41	96
Not very/not at all	31	59	4

Plaid:

Level of Interest	Assembly	PCC	EU Referendum
Very/Fairly	81	35	90
Not very/not at all	19	62	9

UKIP:

Level of Interest	Assembly	PCC	EU Referendum
Very/Fairly	60	36	94
Not very/not at all	38	62	5

Lib-Dems:

Level of Interest	Assembly	PCC	EU Referendum
Very/Fairly	69	27	85
Not very/Not at all	24	65	7

What helps to account for almost 40% of Welsh people being either ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ interested in the Senedd election and for the Police and Crime Commissioners it is over 60% ?

Less than 5% of people in Wales read a Welsh newspaper, survey figures show and the Daily Mail is read more regularly by four times more people in Wales than the Western Mail.

The survey also found 11% regularly rely on the internet for news - whether online sites or blogs and Twitter, with 27% using Facebook. BBC Wales Today is the most widely consumed Welsh media outlet, with 37% of people frequently watching.  ITV's Wales At Six and BBC Radio Wales are the second and third most popular, with 17% and 13% of people in Wales regularly tuning in respectively.

When you tune in to the latest UK political news, it is so often dominated by the news and events surrounding the Westminster ‘village‘. This is natural but unfortunately at a time of elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland such preponderance of Westminster news clearly impacts on people’s exposure to the campaign issues in those countries.

The Welsh people are not regularly exposed and certainly not over-exposed to news about Senedd matters, despite the fact that it is responsible for key policy areas such as health and education.

It can also be argued and with a great deal of merit that the Senedd’s proceedings invariably lack vibrancy, open and exhilarating debate, controversy, headline-grabbing news-worthiness that it hardly merits media coverage.  In other words the Senedd’s proceedings are far too often dull and boring – it really is like watching paint dry!  

One of the most striking findings of the survey is the low number of people reading a newspaper produced in Wales – 5% or fewer.

The Western Mail carries the most comprehensive coverage of the Senedd, but the survey revealed that fewer than 4% regularly read it; when asked to name their main newspaper, just 1% of respondents said The Western Mail.

The Daily Mail, by contrast, is almost ten times more likely to be named as a main daily newspaper and is read regularly by four times more people in Wales than The Western Mail. The Guardian is read by 10%, Mirror and the Sun around 6% each with the Telegraph and Times at some 5% each.

In fairness the expansion of on-line news material is expanding rapidly - Walesonline, Daily Post.co.uk, South Wales Evening Post and the Argus. 

Newspapers produced in England reach a far greater proportion of people in Wales than the major titles reporting coverage of Welsh politics.

But with this readership predominance of newspapers produced in England scant if any coverage is given to Welsh matters - unless of course it’s about sport or famous people in the main!

Broadcasters in Wales, on the other hand, reach a far greater proportion of people than newspapers.

BBC Wales Today is the most widely consumed – 37% of people frequently tune in – while 17% and 13% of people in Wales regularly watch ITV’s Wales Tonight or listen to BBC Radio Wales respectively.

But UK wide news is a key source for Welsh people’s news 

The BBC News at Six or Ten is watched by nearly 37% of respondents regularly, while 30% of people tune into the BBC News channel. ITV’s Evening News or News at Ten and Sky News are viewed less often – 11% and 13% respectively – but still rank as key sources relative to other news produced in Wales.

Added to the specific news programmes is the impact of a range of other regular daily or weekly news-bearing programmes such as Daily Politics, Newsnight, Panorama, Question Time and the like which taken all together really do ‘swamp’ the coverage by indigenous programmes produced in Wales.  

Despite these strong viewer numbers, however, content analysis of UK-wide broadcast programming has shown Wales generally, and the Senedd specifically, represent only a tiny proportion of the news agenda.

The survey also found that 11% regularly rely on the internet for news – whether online sites or blogs and Twitter, with 27% using Facebook.

Both the BBC and ITV have regulatory obligations to serve audiences in the nations and, to different degrees, supply important information about politics and public affairs in Wales.

But if we leave aside ITV’s evening bulletin and BBC Wales’ broadcast and online services, the survey showed few people regularly access news produced in Wales.

Devolution confusion

In a 2014 BBC poll, 43% and 31% of respondents thought health and education respectively – two major areas of devolved control – were the UK government’s responsibility, while 42% of people wrongly believed policing was a Senedd matter.

Research has shown that UK broadcast news often gives limited context about the

policy relevance of stories, with perhaps a fleeting mention of “in England” at the beginning of a package. Throughout the decades the news is rarely delivered from a comparative perspective, so an England–only policy issue is interpreted as being such for people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The key contents of this post is based on articles and surveys via Professor Roger Scully and Stephen Cushion both at Cardiff University.