Election And Referendums: When Have Referendums Been Used In The UK

Question 1

What have been the three national referendums in the UK and what was the result?

Answer 1

1975 - UK to join the EU - Yes 67.23%
2011 - Should AV bee used to elect MPs - No 67.9%
2016 - Should the UK remain or leave the EU - Leave 51.89%

Question 2

What are referendums in the UK commonly used for?

Answer 2

issues involving sovereignty and devolution

Question 3

What are the advantages of referendums?

Answer 3

Referendums encourage greater political participation with 81% turnout for the Good Friday poll and 84.6% for Scottish independence vote
Referendums offer a direct link between policy-making and the national will
Referendums can absorb divisions within parties
Referendums can provide a much-needed check on governments
Referendums offers greater use of democracy, sued in many other nations

Question 4

What are the disadvantages of referendums?

Answer 4

Referendums are something of a blunt instrument offering a binary result
The undermine representative democracy
Many issues are to complicated to be understood by a majority of voters
Referendums can create a bitter and divisive debate
Referendums don’t alway decide controversial issues ‘once and for all’
Referendums can often have low turnout with 34% over creation of London major and assembly and 42% turnout for the AV referendum