Referendum Essay Flashcards
What are 3 strong points for referendums?
- Prevents elective dictatorship
- Direct unambiguous decision from real people (not representatives)
- Legitimise important constitutional issues (devolution)
What are 3 strong points against referendums?
- Tyranny of the majority (no compromise, whole reason we have the House of Commons)
- Known for consistent low turnout which could be skewing results
- Often unfair representation of arguments with no accountability post-referendum
Why is it important to have direct democracy instead of representation only?
- Some issues do not follow party lines (Brexit)
- Trust in politicians is low and always has been (especially post-2009 expenses scandal and currently with the news coming out about government Christmas parties during lockdown)
- Direct democracy is the purest democracy, all the way from Ancient Greece
- Less important issues can be left to the educated representatives but the big issues should lie with the people directly
What is the idea of the UK’s elected dictatorship? How would referendums combat this dictatorship?
- The elected dictatorship is basically the idea that the party which holds the majority is effectively a 5 year dictatorship, no matter how slim the majority their proposals will be passed, often due to the nature of FPTP this party didn’t even get the majority of the popular vote
- In other European countries (Germany and the Netherlands), coalitions are the norm so opposing and differing viewpoints are in government, not in the UK (except for 2010)
- Referendums allow people to have their opinion expressed more than once every 5 years and will reduce some of the power of the remote elected dictatorship in the commons improving democracy
What are some examples of the history of low turnout referendums in the UK?
-1998 London mayoral referendum 34% turnout (72% yes)
-1997 Welsh devolution 50% turnout (50.3% yes)
-2011 Alternative Vote referendum 42% turnout (68% No)
Scottish Independence and Brexit are really anomalies in the history of referendums
What is the issue with low turnout?
Not an accurate representation of people’s real views, the remaining 66% of Londoners do not have their represented. Often there is a particular group that goes out and votes in these referendums and this group could have very different views from the greater population. Results are therefore skewed because of such low turnout.
Why is there low turnout?
Voter fatigue with local and general elections to think about. More referendums will only lead to more voter fatigue and consistently low turnout.
What is the “tyranny of the majority”?
The idea that only one side of an argument is regarded, not matter how slim the winning side’s win was. Referendums have no space for compromise, simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Compromising is a key part of the political process of the UK, finding a middle ground that works for the best of the country, referendums are binary.
What is a hypothetical referendum in which we could see tyranny of the majority?
A hypothetical referendum on a deer hunting ban which results in 50.5% yes and 49.5% no. The areas which vote yes are urban areas where most British people vote yes, this issue does not really affect their lives. Of the No voters we have rural people, people who’s livelihoods depend on this. The government then carries out the wishes of this majority of the country and the minority are disregarded, they are now at a huge loss to an urban majority telling them how to live.
How have we seen tyranny of the majority in a recent referendum?
Brexit. 3,3 million EU citizens in the UK had no say yet this referendum was affecting them a lot, the referendum led to them losing some of their rights in the UK. England was also a ‘tyrannical’ power in Brexit. Scotland and NI both voted remain (62% in Scotland), England voted leave and as the centre of the UK’s population England had a say over the other home nations, the very different English electorate have the power to suppress Scottish and Northern Irish national wishes. More UK wide referendums in which different nations have different priorities could lead to a reign of England. Could more referendums eventually lead to oppression of ethnic or religious minorities just because the majority say so?
What is an example of a referendum where one side of the argument lied (or misled)?
Brexit and the £350 million a week to the NHS lie. Also the Gove “union will be stronger” lie. Office of National statistics called the £350mil lie a “clear misuse of public statistics” and it was, leave manipulated the working class north’s love of the public service to win votes. The Union was not stronger, Scottish Independence is becoming more favoured by Scots, in 2021 we saw Northern Irish riots from loyalists angry at the Northern Ireland protocol and Irish Sea border effectively splitting the customs unions of Britain and NI, loyalists feel Brexit has isolated NI from the rest of the UK.
How many leave voters are estimated to have regretted their choice?
1.2 million according to an independent Brexit research study
