BY JACK WELCH

IT feels difficult to exactly pinpoint when it was that the arguments surrounding the upcoming EU referendum began.

For weeks on end now, in the midst of fighting among senior politicians, it has quickly become much harder to make sense of the daily arguments coming in from all angles ahead of the vote on June 23.

It begs the question as to whether the electorate themselves feel well informed enough to cast their vote, from all that has been shown on our television screens and written in the newspapers.

I have had the experience of sitting in the audience for a couple of debates already, one of which was televised on BBC One last month.

Judging by the responses during the debate and afterwards on Twitter, though, it seems that the event, which invited young people under the age of 30, did a lot more harm than good for our age group.

It fell victim to passionate views spilling over into anger at the other side of the argument.

While it was an enjoyable experience for me to be in the live studio, it may not have been as informative as I would have liked for audiences at home.

Figures have also been put together by Loughborough University to illustrate which politicians received the most airtime during the referendum campaign in May.

Predictably, David Cameron and Boris Johnson came out on top, featuring in 7.9 per cent and 9.2 per cent respectively of what was shown on TV.

The remainder of those in the top 10 were all men, with the majority being Conservatives.

I have already made a decision on my vote, but for those undecided and especially for young audiences disengaged by politics, it does not send out an encouraging message that, for either the Remain or Leave camps, these are the only voices out there.

While polls will show differing results regarding which side is pulling ahead against the other, it will be those who have not come to a firm decision or likely to be swayed that will have the most impact.

It stands to reason that we needed a better debate ahead of such an important decision, but all that will need to be evaluated once the votes have been cast and the dust has settled.