EU referendum: How is Twitter playing its part in campaign?

IT MAY be the biggest talking point across the UK, but research suggests Twitter users in Scotland are less likely to join in the EU referendum debate online than those in England.

While the EU referendum campaign has energised party leaders at Holyrood, Scots twitter users are less likely to join the debate online. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA

Analysis of messages posted on the social networking service from February 24 - June 10 found that just 189 unique users north of the border had posted either a pro-Remain or pro-Leave hashtag, compared to more than 3000 elsewhere in the UK.

The research by digital agency DigitasLBi found that 93 per cent of people engaging in the debate on Twitter were unique users based in England compared to just four percent in Scotland - which makes up approximately eight per cent of the UK population.

Overall, across the UK 71 per cent of users tweeted negative sentiments about the EU.

The study excluded ‘organisational’ tweets, such as those from media groups, and only included messages sent from public accounts in the UK.

Researchers examined a number of hashtags to determine whether a tweet related to the Remain or Leave campaign or was neutral, including #StrongerIn and #VoteLeave.

The analysis also found that the most active tweeters in Scotland lived in Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee.

Voters across the UK will be asked whether they support the country’s continued membership of the European Union on Thursday 23 June.

Most active tweeters in Scotland. Number of tweets per tweeter by city:

Edinburgh 1.610

Perth 1.333

Dundee 1.250

Kirkcaldy 1.250

Aberdeen 1.167

Glasgow 1.127

Stirling 1.000

Inverness 1.000