Paper 1 - Referendums

Question 1

Pros of referendums

Answer 1

• Can find out what the public think on one specific issue
• Provides a constitutional check on government, making sure they’re acting in the way the people want on certain issues.
• Gets more people involved in politics
• Forces policy makers to explain their proposals to the electorate

Question 2

Cons of referendums:

Answer 2

• Not clear whether they’re binding or not, and for how long, they could just be consultative
• Timing, funding, wording are all very important to the outcome
• ‘Tyranny of the majority’ 50.01% might want something that could harm the other the 49.99%
• The electorate may not be knowledgeable enough on the issue
• Low turnout may not imply consent
• Politicians may use referendums as a way of gaining popularity, like Cameron did in 2015, promising a EU referendum to gain UKIP vote.