I was reading some of the questions put to Douglas Alexander (Minister of State for Europe) on a BBC online forum today. Some people asked some interesting and probing questions regarding the future of the EU, the constitution and its relevance, and it was good to see such a level of engagement.

However, many contributions displayed a worryingly low level of basic information and knowledge about the EU actually works. It was also notable that the lower the information level, the more Eurosceptic the attitude (in most cases).

It is clear why Eurosceptic campaigers want to keep the level of information low. They have consistently opposed proposals to increase public information materials and to include teaching about how the EU works (just as we teach how national and local government works) in schools.

Until this happens, we will always have to deal with ill-informed rants about how “unelected bureaucrats in Brussels have replaced our own Sovereignty”.