Referendums Flashcards
What is a referendum?
A popular vote on a particular issue, usually requiring a yes/no. Example of direct democracy in a representative system.
The result has no legal force.
2011 alternative vote referendum
- held in May 2011, after it was included as a provision in the conservative-liberal coalition agreement.
- Lib Dem’s, SNP, Plaid Cymru and other smaller parties campaigned for the yes side, the Labour Party had no official position whilst the Conservative Party and DUP campaigned for no.
- 68%
- the loss of the AV referendum can be seen as in part a protest vote against them. This can be seen as negative, as it’s a vote on a specific political context rather than the import constitutional issue that is on the ballot paper.
Scottish Independence Referendum
- held in Scotland only in September 2014 following The Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013, which followed an agreement between the Scottish and UK Governments.
- ‘Yes Scotland’ back by SNP and the Scottish Greens
- ‘better together’ backed by the Conservative Party, Labour Party and the Liberal Democrat’s
- 55.3% No, 84.6% turnout
2016 Brexit referendum
- referendum was called in response to the growing popularity of the UKIP party and its prominent leader Nigel Farage, which was part of the growing pressure for a referendum since the late 2000s.
- UKIP won 26.6% of the vote and was the largest party in the 2014 European Parliament election.
- remain campaign was backed by David Cameron and majority of the Labour Party, Conservative Party, SNP and Lib Dems.
- each campaign was given the right to spend up to £7mill and given 600,000 in public funds.
-76% of MPs supported remain
- 52% leave vote and 72.2% turnout
- key issues were immigration, national sovereignty, the economy and the cost of membership payments to the EU.
How are referendums regulated
- since the 2000 Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act, the conduct of referendums has been regulated by the Electoral Commission.
- independent body is responsible for checking the wording of referendum questions, to ensure they are as objective as possible.
Why have referendums been held: legitimacy and major government initiatives
since blair came into power, it has become the accepted practice to secure a demonstrations of public support before embarking on important, possibly irreversible constitutional changes.
Major developments, such as devolution for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have been given referendums, as was possibly the most far-reaching change to the constitution in decades; leading the EU, which almost certainty wouldn’t have been approved by parliament without a public vote.
Local referendums, especially on directly elected mayor, are more to give legitimacy to government initiatives.
Why have referendums been held: due to party motivations
- held when a government faces serious internal disagreement.
1975 referendums on EEC membership and 2016 Brexit referendum - Brexit referendum was held in part due to the growing pressure on the Conservative Party from UKIP, which was threatening it electorally by taking away its voters.
Why have referendums been held: as a result of a deal between political parties
- Cameron agreed to hold a vote on changing the electoral system for westminister referendum, because it was a demand of the Liberal Democrat’s for agreeing to the may 2010 coalition agreement.
Why have referendums been held: due to pressure from the public and parliament
- Cameron didn’t initially want to hold an EU referendum
- he changed his mind in January 2013 as the public demand refused to go away, and he began to fear the possible loss of conservative votes to UKIP if he didn’t concede.
- 2014 Scottish independence referendum was held in large part due to the growing popularity of the SNP and polling showing significant support for independence among the Scottish population.
The impact of referendums on UK political life
- form of direct democracy which conflicts parliamentary sovereignty and representative democracy.
- recent referendums have high turnouts, reflecting how they have engaged the population in policies when there is increasing dissatisfaction with the political class in westminister.
- the Scottish independence referendum and Brexit referendums in particular have been deeply divisive and both profoundly changed and defined the normal politics of representative democracy in the UK
Arguments in favour of referendums
- involve the people in key decisions, including between elections, between elections, therefore improving democracy
- referendums can give legitimacy to key reforms and entrench them.
- referendums increase political awareness
- referendums are well regulated (conduct of referendums has been subject to independent supervision by the Electoral Commission since 2000)
Arguments against referendums
- referendums challenge parliamentary sovereignty and the working of representative democracy in the UK.
- popular participation is often low
- referendums are often held for party political purposes
- results can be influenced by factors other than the referendum issue
Potential reforms to referendums
- greater use of- like in Switzerland
- greater thresholds for constitutional changes - could be required for there to be a consensus through the use of a 55% threshold for change rather than a simple majority.
- regulating when referendums can be called - limits them being used for party political reasons.
