referendums

• Referendums - What is it?

  a vote on a particular issue with usually a yes/no answer, it is an example of direct democracy within the representative democracy

  they are called at the discresion of government meaning the results do not have to be legally uphelp however it is incredibly unlikely a government wouldnt hold up the result
• Harold Wilson gave the electorate the chance to decide whether the UK wanted to remain in the European Economic Community


  1975
• Referendums were unknown to the UK until 1975
• Referendums became more common under the New Labour Government


  1997
• Referendums held

  • Devolution for Scotland, Wales and NI
  • Brexit referendum
• Brexit referendum


  Resulted in a change in government with Cameron stepping down
• Since 2000, referendums have been regulated by the Electoral Commission
• Role of Electoral Commission


  Checking the wording of the referendum question and making sure it is as objective as possible
• In what circumstances are Referendums held

  • legitimising a major gov. inititave: since Blair it has become accepted practice to secure a demonstration of public support before embarking on possibly irreiversible constitutional changes such as Scotland and Wales devolution in 1997 And NI Good Friday Agreement in 1998
• In what circumstances are referendums held

  • Getting Gov. out of a difficult situation: referendums have been used when government itself is facing internal disagreement. by pushing the decision to the public it can force MPs to rally round the popular verdict and maintain the party unitiy Harold Wilson did this in 1975 with the referendum on the European Economic Commission amd Cameron did it again with the Brexit referedum as both times the parties were deeply split between pro and anti europe MPs
• In what circumstances are referendums held

  • a result of a deal between political parties: Cameron agreed to hold a vote on a change in the electoral system for westminister as it was a demand of the Lib Dems in the coalition agreement made in 2010
• In what circumstances are referendums held

  • In response to pressure to hold a referendum: Cameron did not want to originally hold an EU referendum and part of the reason for the Lib Dem coalition was to push down the backbenchers that were pushing for this referendum. This changed in 2013 when the demand did not seem to cease and the fear of losing voters to UKIP was rising and promised to hold a referendum on the issue if he was re-elected, he was and 'leave' won pushing him to resign as Prime Minister
• Arguments for holding referendums: Participation

  referendums involve the electorate directly in decision-making so in democracy the electorate have the right to be consulted. Trust in politicans is low and some decision the public feel shouldnt and cant be left up to them. In general elections people are expressing views on multiple things whereas in a general election an issue can be isolated because some issues such as the EU cut across party lines as there is both pro and anti Europe views in both major parties
• Arguments for holding referendums: A form of entrenchment

  referendums enable the electorate to decide on big consitiutional issues and act as a form of entrenchment
• Agruments for holding a referendum: settle disputes

  They can settle long standing disputes and disagreements, such as the 2011 referendum for AV voting for westminister has appeared to calm down the movement for electoral change
• arguments for holding a referendum: Turnout

  Holding a referendum can create a much larger turnout and levels of particpation as it is less broad than a general election such as the 2014 referendum for scottish independance had an 84% turnout rate
• Arguments for holding a referendum: Strength

  They can allow democracy to be strengthed in the UK as it allows the public to speak directly for themselves
• Arguments for holding a referendum: Legitimacy

  As decisions made on referenda are moderated by the Electoral Commision there is far less chance of votes being skewed due to unfair influence as expenditure of competing sides is limited and the question is moderated by an independant body
• Arguments for holding a referendum: Awareness

  Holding a vote on one spesific area allows voters to become more educated and aware of the issue, for example people became more aware of the issues around independacne in 2014 in areas such as the impact on the economy, Scotland's relationship with the EU, and the Neuclear detterent based in the river clydes future
• Arguments against holding a referendum: Sovereignty

  Referendums are often viewed as a challange to parliementary sovereignty as people have already chosen someone to make the desision for them so shouldnt demand that they too can also have a say. They may also lack the expertise on the area the question is being asked on. For example when new labour declared it would put the question if Britian should join the Euro to the popular vote
• Arguments against holding a referendum: Participation

  If arguments are not explained clearly the participation on the referendum may be low, this was a factor in the low turnout rate of the 2011 referendum on electoral reform. For example after thr 2016 EU referendum the Electoral Commission stated that both sides had used Distortion in their arguments so there should therefore be greater regulation of campaigns in referendums to be sure people are presented a fair argument
• Arguments against holding a referendum: Government choice

  Government can choose whether or not to hold an election such as Blair choosing not to hold a referendum on the 2007 Lisbon Treaty, which pushed further EU integration, on the grounds that it hadnt been done for any other treaty. The opposition stated that this denied the public their say on the issue of handing over authority to the EU.
• Arguments against holding a referendum: Imposes Ideas

  Despite it not being legally binding governments feel pushed to act on the outcomes of referendums as it is what the people voted for, Despite the conservative party offically backing 'Remain' in the Brexit referendum it had to push forward with a leave deal as it was what the public voted for.
• Arguments against holding a referendum: repetition

  While unlikely, a referendum can be held more than one time until the answer is 'right' for example the push for 'Indy ref 2' in scotland is strong as leave voters believe the outcome was unfair. along with the Lib Dems pushing for another brexit referendum as the results were so tight and devicive.
• Arguments against holding a referendum: Voter apathy

  The scottish independance referendum was an execption to this as often turnout rates and participation is low in referendums and therefore questions the legitimacy as the Welsh devolution referenda turnout was only 50%, Alongside this holding referendum too often can lead to voter apathy or fatigue, The low turnout rate in Scotland for the Brexit referendum has been said to be because they were asked to vote 2 years before in 2014 and had fatigue surrounding politics