‘Fictitious’ politician one of Wales’ most recognised MEPs

A completely fictitious person, 'Elwyn Davies' is apparently the second-most widely recognised of Wales' representatives in the European Parliament. This extraordinary result is one of the findings to have emerged from the 2016 Welsh Election Study (WES), a major study of voting, political attitudes and political knowledge, led by researchers at Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre. Respondents to a survey implemented earlier this year by the Welsh Election Study examined voter recognition of their elected representatives. They were asked the following question: "Wales is represented by four Members in the European Parliament. Which, if any, of the following people are among Wales' four representatives in the European Parliament?" Respondents were given only 30 seconds to answer, to prevent them Googling the answer. They were presented with the following options: NAME OF ONE ACTUAL MEP NAME OF A SECOND ACTUAL MEP Which two MEPs each survey respondent saw listed was randomised, as was the order of the names listed. The following table shows what percentage of the WES sample saw a name and actually selected it as being, they believed, the name of one of Wales' MEPs.