Should Referenda Be Used More Frequently In The UK?

Question 1

+ More democratic

Answer 1

+ Allow people to have direct influence over political decisions

+ Bypasses flaws with representative democracy

+ Increase participation

+ Check the power of Parliament and the executive

Question 2

+ Resolve constitutional and moral issues

Answer 2

+ Momentous decisions merit a public vote

+ Democratic way of making big, long term decisions

+ In 2011 the coalition legislated that all future EU treaty amendments should go to a referendum anyway

Question 3

+ Education

Answer 3

+ Explain proposals to the public

COUNTER: a lot of false information is thrown around during referendum campaigns, such as the infamous £350 million for the NHS made by Vote Leave in 2016

Question 4

+ Prevention

Answer 4

+ Referenda stop the government from making unpopular decisions that people actively don’t want

+ The 2004 referendum in the North East put an end to the regional devolution strategy

Question 5

• Public poorly qualified

Answer 5

• Surrender power from the experts
• Issue could be too complex
• Uninformed people can be easily influenced by the media

Question 6

• Not instigated in the public interest

Answer 6

• Usually called when the government thinks it will win and increase its legitimacy
• For example, the Conservatives knew ahead of time they would win the 2011 AV Referendum
• The 2016 EU Referendum was an attempt to silence UKIP and Tory backbenchers

Question 7

• Tyranny of the Majority

Answer 7

• Referenda can result in the persecution of a minority group
• Slovenia took away gay marriage rights in 2015 through a referendum

Question 8

• Undermines parliamentary sovereignty

Answer 8

• Elected MPs need to be allowed to carry out their jobs

- Undermines the role of Parliament as the supreme law making body

Question 9

• Time consuming and costly

Answer 9

• AV Referendum cost £75 million
• Interferes with governance
• So expensive that better funded groups bound to do better