Sixteen and 17-year-olds should be banned from voting in an EU referendum because they have been “brainwashed” by colouring books, UKIP said today.
MEP Patrick O’Flynn called for youngsters to be denied a say on the UK’s relationship with Brussels over fears they might be swayed by EU “propaganda”.
He claimed officials issued “literature” in a bid to highlight the benefits of membership.
Ukip deputy leader Suzanne Evans said it included “colouring-in books on the Common Agricultural Policy for primary schoolchildren, right up to research projects at university level”.
Mr O'Flynn said officials gave out "colouring books at primary school level, because they like to catch them young".
The pair's bizarre intervention followed reports Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg may ask David Cameron to lower the voting age for an in-out referendum, planned for 2017, if they are in government after the general election.
Mr O’Flynn said: “There have been lots of stories about the extent of EU funding of publicity material that has gone into schools.
“We have had many reports anecdotally through our members of schoolchildren of secondary school age being exposed to overwhelmingly pro-EU views when the matter of European Union is discussed, and not really having the eurosceptic or the anti-EU case put.
“Sixteen and 17-year-olds are much more likely to be in support of Britain’s membership with the European Union than the population in general.
“It is gerrymandering which is clearly intended to skew the result.”
Ms Evans claimed the “amount of money the EU is putting into this propaganda and throughout the entire education system is enormous”.
But, speaking at a campaign press conference in Westminster, she admitted: “I don’t know exactly what the budget is.”
Urging Mr Cameron to “categorically rule out” lowering the age for a referendum, Mr O’Flynn said there should be “no question whatsoever of the franchise being changed form a general election franchise”.
He said 16 and 17-year-olds were “far more likely to have been exposed recently to very strident pro-EU views and not to have heard the eurosceptic case at all”.
And he demanded EU migrants living and working in the UK should also be banned from ballot boxes because “there is obviously a vested interest potentially in how they will vote”.
Ms Evans also insisted Ukip had no net migration target - despite immigration being its flagship policy.
The party’s stance has been mired in confusion with Nigel Farage saying on Tuesday that net migration to Britain should be slashed to 30,000 a year.
But three weeks ago he refused to set an annual target for the numbers coming in and out of the UK.
And last September, the party’s dedicated immigration spokesman, Steven Woolfe called for a yearly rate of 50,000.
Ms Evans said today: “There are no net migration targets.”