Referendums Flashcards
What type of democracy is referendums and what is it’s impact?
Referendums are direct democracy this is the purest form of democracy has the electrode can vote on issues they want changing there is also no elected representative which is commonly used in the uk and is known as representative democracy. Direct democracy can increase participation.
How does the electrode vote for a referendum?
It’s a popular vote on a single issue put to a public ballot by the government and the electrode can vote yes or no.
What other countries use referendums?
Switzerland and Republic of Ireland
How did Attlee describe referendums?
An increase in referendums made them less alien this was said by Attlee as the electorate takes part in major constitutional change.
How many times have referendums been used in the UK?
Referendums have been used 13 X
1st whether Northern Ireland wanted to remain in the UK
However the first nationwide referendum was on whether the UK should join the EEC.
Latest referendum was released in 2016 on whether the UK should remain or leave the EU
Can government ignore the result of a referendum?
Referendums are not legally binding therefore the government does not have to implement the change this is a parliamentary sov however this is unlikely as the government will not go against the will of the people this is popular sov.
What do referendums achieve in terms of sovereignty?
People suggest referendums are important as it creates a divide between Parliamentary sovereignty and popular sovereignty.
Which party increase the use of referendums and to where.
When Labour won and landslide majority in 1997 they promised in the manifesto to increase referendums so that participation would also increase.
They wanted to use referendums and the number of issues for example devolution to Wales and Scotland a referendum to the North East under labours new devolution agenda
Labour also decided using a referendum in 1998 to ensure the people’s support was behind the peace process rather than just politicians.
Who are the Electoral commission?
They are an independent agency that regulates party and election finance and standards on how election should be run.
What act did labour pass so the electoral commissions could have power on certain issues?
Political parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
What power did this act give the electoral commission?
-Regulate finance for referendum campaigns
-All donations above £7500 must be reported
-Formulate referendum questions making sure they are not biased -Communicate with the electrote on the referendum date however government choose the date and the time of the referendum.
What did the 2022 elections act change?
Government passed elections at 2022 it made several changes to elections in the UK including the control of the electoral commissions this act impact elections and referendums
What significant changes did the 2022 elections act make on how we vote?
Changes to proxy and postal voting as well as the requirement to show voter ID at polling stations. people who do not have ID can apply to their local authority however this is burdensome determine people from voting which lowers participation in referendums. 9% of the public do not have up to date and recognisable id.
1975 European Economic Community
What act brought the uk into the EEC?
European communities act 1972
What happens to Wilson’s gov when the UK joined EEC?
There was division in his gov
16 members of the cabinet wanted to remain
7 threatened to resign unless UK abandoned its membership
What was the result of the labour conference?
In 1975 at the labour conference the result was 2-1 of the MEMBERSHIP voted to leave EEC.
What lead to Wilson having to go to public with a Ref?
His small majority of 3mps from 1974 GE
What was the publics vote?
A strong YES vote of 67% and a turnout of 64% from the ref allowed Wilson to claim a mandate from the electorate to enter the EEC without the collapse of his gov.
1997 Welsh Devolution
What type of victory did labour achieve in 1997 GE?
Landslide
What was their set majority?
179
What did this majority give them?
Gave them a clear mandate to pursue their devolution agenda
Who was the PM?
The ref was built on popular victory of Blair but was surrounded by controversy.
What was the controversy about?
The yes vote was 50.3% however the turnout was 50% this lead to the tyranny of the minority. This meant that only 25% of the electorate wanted devo which does not make it legitimate for the people who voted NO.
1997 Scotish Devolution
Why was scot given devo and Who was supportive of the devolution agenda in?
It was a part of new labours manifesto of pursuing devo agenda.
Scottish nationalist were far more supportive than welsh.
What was the outcome of the referendum?
A resounding yes vote of 74% with a turnout of 60.4%
What was the problem with the scot ref?
The Q was vague especially the 2nd ‘Should the new parliament have tax varying powers?’
Scottish voters had given permission for the Scottish parliament to have some influence over taxation but had not been specific to what margin they wanted as it wasn’t asked in the ref Q.
1998 Northern Irish Assembly
Why had the NI ref taken place?
Because of the Good Friday peace agreement which began the process of ending the troubles.
Who needed to agree with the Good Friday agreement?
The piece was agreed by the parties but now had to be accepted by the Irish people to ensure violence ended as westM could not announce this.
What was the ref outcome?
Strong yes bote of 71% with a 81% turnout .
What did the outcome mean for NI people?
That supporters of violence could no longer continue in the name of Irish people.
2004 Northeast Regional Assembly
What was new labours plan?
attempt to spread English devo further
What ref Q did they ask northeast people?
If they would support an elected assembly for their region?
What was the outcome?
A resounding No vote of 79%
What did the outcome show?
Ref provides a clear voice of the people rather than political elite
Why was their a no vote?
Lack of nationalism in the Northeast compared to Scot therefore thought they didn’t need devo and may be satisfied with identifying and being controlled by westM as gives them a strong identity of being English.
2014 Scottish Independence
Which governing party pushed for ref and why?
It was the Conservative gov attempt to bring Scottish nationalism under control for a generation.
What was keg about the campaign for the ref?
Their were tv debates
16-17 y were allowed to vote
What was the turnout for the 16-17 y votes?
75% of under 18 choose to vote and 97% of those who did said being involved in the process encouraged them to do so again in the future this was shown in high turnout of 84%
What were the problems with this ref and it’s outcome?
Not clear what scot people were offered
David Cameron offered devo max instead of indy in order to keep the union
This ref q a ref ability to solve constitutional issues
Opinion polls showed indy would win however the vote showed that 55% wanted to remain in uk and 44% wanted to be independent.
What did YouGov poll show?
24% wanted Indy
33% wanted to remain in the uk
36% wanted devo max
This shows people were confused about what they were voting for and what powers were promised to Scotland.
What did David Cameron say about the ref on tv and how did snp react?
The issue of Scottish Indy had been settled for a generation
How we GE Snp secured 50% of Scottish votes and 56/59 Scottish seats with a manifesto of along term goal for Indy
However the impact of brexit and Scotland voting remain in the UK the issue was known as a neverendum.
2016 EU membership
What date did the eu ref take place and what was the ref about?
23 June 2016 in the uk to ask whether the uk should remain or leave the eu
Who organised the ref?
Organised through the European Union ref Act Act 2015 + political parties, elections and referendums Act 2000.
Was the EU ref legally binding?
It was legally non-binding the gov promised to implement the result.
Who campaigned for vote remain and what was the slogan
Britain Stronger in Europe became official group campaign for uk to remain on the eu it was supported by David Cameron who was pm at the time and challenger George Osborne.
Who campaigned for vote leave and what was the slogan?
Vote Leave was the official group campaign for the UK to leave the EU it was supported by conservative mps BJ, Michael Gove and labour mp Gisela Stuart.
Which parties favoured vote remain?
Labour
Liberal Democrats
SNP
Plaid Cymru
Green party
Which parties supported vote leave?
UKIP
Which party was neutral?
Which parties allowed mps to campaign etheir sides?
Conservative
Labour conservative
What was the outcome of the ref?
52% leave
48% remain
How did the markets react to the result?
Financial markets reacted negatively worldwide
What did Cameron do after the result?
He resigned as PM and conservative leader. It was the first time the result of a ref had gone against the prefers option hog the uk gov.
Who became pm after Cameron?
What impact did the ref leave on opposition leader?
Theresa may on 13 July 2016
Corbyn faced leadership challenge
What act did parliament pass to give legal affect to the ref?
European Union (withdrawal) Act 2017 passing this article triggered article 50
Evaluate the view that referendums are good/bad
Advantages: Participation
Public are given direct control as they are able to vote on issues such as policy making or bigger constitutional issues 2016 BREXIT ref prevents voter apathy as it allows their views to reflect the policy gov make as although ref is not legally binding it’s unlikely that the gov will go against this encourages the electorate to vote increasing participation.
For example
EEC 2/3 of the population voted
2016 Eu ref turnout = 72%
Advantages: check + Balance
Ref act as a check and balance on gov power especially when there is a collation or minority gov therefore ref provides a strong popular mandate over controversial issues. Citizens are protected from an over-powerful government.
Eg NorthEast Regional A resounding No vote of 79% on If they would support an elected assembly for their region. Shows it ref act as a clear voice for the pros and not the political elite limiting their power of making laws that electrode don’t agree with.
Alternative Vote referendum in 2011 produced a clear ‘no’ majority 68% which proved that there is no need to change the Westminster electoral system.
Advantage: Constitutional changes
it is appropriate that constitutional changes be approved by public referendum, as they affect the way the country is governed, so are more important than ordinary laws. This ensures any newly created public body has democratic legitimacy.
The scot + welsh ref 1979
Disadvantages: simplified into Yes/No
Referendums trivialise highly complex issues by oversimplifying them into a ‘yes’/’no’ vote. The UK EU referendum in 2016 proved this. Presenting the public with a straightforward question with only two possible outcomes is to ignore the details of how such decisions will be actioned. Referendums only really provide a snapshot of the public’s opinion at one point in time. Moreover, individuals tend to vote out of self-interest rather than the national interest. Weeks after the EU referendum there were calls for a second referendum, because it was felt that the public mood had changed in light of the result. In addition, the actual wording and language used in the question can be biased and affect the result, as can the timing of the vote (which is determined by the government). Scot ref 1979 The Q was vague especially the 2nd ‘Should the new parliament have tax varying powers?’
Scottish voters had given permission for the Scottish parliament to have some influence over taxation but had not been specific to what margin they wanted as it wasn’t asked in the ref Q.
Disadvantages: Doesn’t provide a solution.
The Scottish independence referendum in 2014 serves as a prime example. Despite the highest turnout 85% since universal suffrage was introduced in 1928 and a clear majority of 55% voting ‘no’, the movement for Scottish independence continues to thrive.As SNP manifesto 2023 on independence for Scotland in addition 2022 scot wanted 2nd ref which SC ruled against.
Showing this is a neverendum therefore suggests that if people can’t respect the outcome of a ref that they voted for then why should we continue using them?
Disadvantage: Ref erode parliamentary sovereignty.
Weakens parliament - referendums undermine parliamentary sovereignty, as decisions are not made on the basis of deliberation and debate by elected mps who are more politically moderate than the public. The general public is too easily swayed by the media and not well enough informed to make decisions that affect the constitution
https://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/media/Documents/magazine-extras/Politics%20Review/Pol%20Rev%20Vol%2027%20No%203/PoliticsReview27_3_UK_referendums.docx
