LETTERS: How to understand referendum issues

From Mr John Tippler Sir: Margo MacDonald ("Let the referendum bandwagon roll", 16 January) says that "to have options understood and debated by as many people as possible is the best way". Who could disagree, in principle? But how would she achieve the "understood" past?

I was in Sweden during the recent campaign and referendum on joining the EU. The political debate was on a much higher and more serious level than we are used to in the UK and the people were anxious to make a wise choice. In spite of that, many intelligent people - right up to voting time - felt that they had too little understanding of facts to make their decisions on the basis they would have wished.

When facts are not easy to expose and evaluate, beguiling persuasion takes over. If this is so in Sweden, how much more so in the UK. How would Margo MacDonald deal with that problem?

Yours faithfully, JOHN TIPPLER Stockholm, Sweden