Referendums

Question 1

What is a referendum ?

Answer 1

An example of Direct Democracy
- Can be advisory or binding

Question 2

Why are Referendums controversial in Britian ?

Answer 2

Because they ae seen as being in conflict with parl sov
Ppl vote for parl to make the decisions

Question 3

What quote by Harold Wilson shows referndums are in go agaisnt parl sov?

Answer 3

“decisions of great moment of this time, must be made by the government of the time”

Question 4

There have only ever been three nation wide Referndums in the UK. What are these and the results?

Answer 4

Membership of EEC (1975) - YES 67.23%
Alternative Vote (2011) - NO, 67.90%
Membership of the EU (2016) - LEAVE 51%

Question 5

Give an example of a regional referndum ?

Answer 5

London Mayr and Greater London Authoirty (1998) - YES 72%

Question 6

Give an example of a national referndum ?

Answer 6

Scottish Independence - 2014 - NO 55.3%

Question 7

Give the 2014 Scottish Independence Case Study in

Answer 7

• David Cameron to give extra powers to the Scottish Parliament
• Cameron says vote is “once in a lifetime”
• Leads to further Scottish devolution
• Nikola Sturgeon says issue is now different following Brexit - 60% voted remain in Scotland

Question 8

Give the 2016 Brexit Case Study

Answer 8

Highest turnout since 1992 - (72%)
52% - 48% - Voted leave
Age - >45 voted Remain, <45 voted leave
Education
- Uni graduates voted 2-1, Remain
- Majority of ppl whose highest qualification was at 16 voted leave.

Those from ethnc or Black backgrounds voted 32% leave, Remain 68%
People from white backgrounds voted 53% leave and Remain 47%

Cameron Wins
May holds snap election where conservatives lose majority
She is forced out
Johnson wins election and gets deal done

Question 9

3 arguements for Referndums

Answer 9

1) Engage Voters - Promotes Participation, Turnout was higher for general elections, e.g. 81% for Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement and 84.6% for Scottish independence vote.

2) Absorb Division Within Parties - e.g. Conservatives over Europe and 1975 Harold Wilson’s Labour Govt on membership to the EU.

3) Check On Governments - The Parliamentary system usually gives vast power to the executive between elections, yet governments are only voted in by a minority of the electorate.

Question 10

3 Arguements Agaisnt Referndums

Answer 10

No Choice - Beyond a certain extent, only elected representatives can make the finer decisions and iron out the details.

Propaganda is Misleading - Some issues are complicated and voters don’t understand them. So propaganda can be misleading. Many remain supporters accused the Leave campaign of misleading voters by promising an additional 350m a week to the NHS.
Issues Not Resolved - Many wanted a second vote on Brexit after the result.

The SNP has demanded a second Scottish Independence referendum.

Very expensive + time-consuming
Hurts Representative Democracy