Referendums Flashcards
What is a referendum
-Popular vote on a particular issue, usually requiring a yes/no vote
-Example of direct democracy
Legal force of a referendum
-Technically doesn’t have legal sovereignty, has to be approved by government.
-However unlikely that elected representatives would ignore the popular sovereignty of the people
-EU referendum purely advisory
-Alternative Vote referendum, law passed to instigate referendum includes provisions for immediate implementation
2011 Alternative Vote referendum
-Uk wide
‘Should the alternative vote replace first-past-the-post for elections to the House of Commons?’
-68% No on a 42.2% turnout
2016 Brexit
-UK wide
-‘Should the UK remain a member of the EU or leave the EU?’
-52% Leave vote on a 72.2% turnout
1997 Scottish Devolution Referendum
‘Should there be a Scottish Parliament?’ and ‘Should it have tax-varying powers’
-74% Yes and 63.5% Yes respectively, 60% turnout
1997 Welsh devolution referendum
‘Should there be a Welsh Assembly?’
-50.3 Yes on 50.1 turnout
2014 Scottish Independence Referendum
‘Should Scotland become an independent country?’
-55.3% No vote on a 84.6% turnout
2011 Alternative Vote overview
-Included as a provision in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition agreement
-Libs Dems, SNP, Plaid Cymru campaigned for ‘Yes’, whilst Conservative and DUP campaigned for ‘No’
2011 AV press
-Majority of the press supported the ‘No’ camapgin, whilst the Guardian, Daily Mirror supported ‘Yes
Arguments on each side AV 2011
-‘Yes’ argued they were representing the British public, whilst ‘No’ used the unpopularity of the Lib Dems
-Lib Dems had public outcry after failing to uphold their policy of scrapping tuition fees.
-Result of the referendum was due to specific political context, rather than the constitutional issue
Scottish Independence 2014 overview
-Reaching of the Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 reflected growing popularity of SNP
-‘Yes Scotland’ backed by SNP and Greens, ‘Better Together’ backed by Conservative, Labour and LibDems
-Polling reveals that retaining the pound weas a key factor for those who voted ‘No’, whilst disaffection with Westminster politics was the deciding factor for those who voted ‘Yes’
2016 Brexit Referendum
-Referendum called in response to growing popularity of UKIP and its prominent leader Nigel Farage, UKIP was the largest party in the 2014 European Parliament election
-Remain campaign, ‘Britain stronger in Europe’ was backed by David Cameron, majority of Labour, Conservative.
-76% of MPs supported remain
-Issues in the campaign were immigration, national sovereinty, the economy, and the cost of membership payments to the EU, ‘Take back control’
How are referendums regulated
Since the 2000 Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act, the conduct of referendums has been regulated by the Electoral Commission, which checks the wording of questions to ensure they are as objective as possible
Electoral Commission e.g.
2016, government originally proposed to ask “Should the UK remain a member of the EU?”
-Found to be insufficiently neutral and insisted the ballot paper present two options “Should the UK remain a member of the EU or leave the EU?”
Commission further roles
Manages campaign expenditure, registers groups or individuals who spend more than 10000 pounds and designates one approved ‘lead campaign organization’ on each side
-EU referendum, these two groups were ‘Vote Leave’ and ‘Britain Stronger in Europe’, who were entitled a predetermined amount of public funding
Referendums role
-Gives legitimacy to key constitutional changes, which are unlikely to be reversible such as leaving the EU or devolution
Referendum party motivations
2016 Brexit referendum was held in part due to growing pressure on the Conservative Party from UKIP, threatening it electorally.
Pledging to hold the referendum in the 2015 election campaign enabled the Conservatives to maintain the support of many important voters
Referendum pressure from the public and parliament
-Cameron initially didnt want to hold a referendum, changed his mind in 2013 when public demand refused to go away
-2014 Scottish Independence Referendum held in part due to growing popularity of SNP
