Referendums in the United Kingdom

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Referendums (or referenda) are only occasionally held by the government of the United Kingdom. Nine referendums have been held so far, the first in 1973; only one of these covered the whole UK. There is at least one planned for the future.

Contents

1 Status of referendums 2 Planned referendums 3 Organisation 4 List of major referendums 5 List of minor (local) referendums 5.1 Edinburgh Transport Referendum 6 See also 7 External links

Status of referendums

Referendums have traditionally been rare in the UK. Major referendums have always been on constitutionally related issues. Before Tony Blair's Labour government came to power in 1997, only four referendums had been held.

There are two types of referendum that have been held in the UK, pre-legislative (held before proposed legislation is passed) and post-legislative (held after legislation) is passed. Referendums are not legally binding, so legally the government can ignore the results; for example even if the result of a pre-legislative referendum was a majority of ‘No' for a proposed law, Parliament could pass it anyway.

Legally, Parliament at any point in future could reverse legislation approved by referendums because the concept of parliamentary sovereignty means no Parliament can prevent a future Parliament from amending/repealing legislation. However, it is unlikely many governments would attempt to reverse legislation approved by referendums as it would probably be controversial and potentially damaging to their popularity.

Finally, under the 1972 Local Government Act, there is a little-known provision under which non-binding local referenda on any issue can be called by small groups of voters. Six local voters may call a meeting, and if ten voters or a third of the meeting (whichever is smaller) agree, the council must carry out a referendum in 14 - 25 days. The referendum is merely advisory, but if there is a substantial majority and the results well-publicised it may be influential. [1] (http://www2.prestel.co.uk/rodmell/local.htm)

Planned referendums

Since 1997, the Labour government has held five referendums on devolution, four of which received a yes majority. One concerning the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe looks likely to happen - unless other countries' referenda reject the constitution first. Another, on the Euro, depends on the government being willing to recommend it.

The Labour manifesto for the 1997 general election stated 'We are committed to a referendum on the voting system for the House of Commons.' [2] (http://www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/1997/1997-labour-manifesto.shtml) The 2001 manifesto did not make such a promise, and it is unlikely such a referendum will be held in the foreseeable future.

Organisation

Until 2000, there was no body to regulate referendums. In 2000, the government set out a framework for the running of future referendums when the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 or PPERA was passed, given the Electoral Commission responsibility for running referendums.

List of major referendums

• Northern Ireland referendum, 1973, on whether Northern Ireland should remain part of the UK (yes)
• United Kingdom referendum, 1975, on whether the UK should remain part of the European Community (yes)
• Scotland referendum, 1979, on whether there should be a Scottish Parliament (no)
• Wales referendum, 1979, on whether there should be a Welsh Assembly (no)
• Scotland referendum, 1997, Two questions: On whether there should be a Scottish Parliament (yes); On whether a Scottish Parliament should have tax varying powers (yes)
• Wales referendum, 1997, on whether there should be a Welsh Assembly (yes)
• London referendum, 1998, on whether there should be a Mayor of London and Greater London Authority (yes)
• Northern Ireland referendum, 1998, on the Good Friday Agreement (yes)
• Northern England referendums, 2004, on elected regional assemblies for North East England (no), North West England (vote postponed) and Yorkshire and the Humber (vote postponed)
• UK referendum on EU constitution (planned in the near future)
• Euro referendum (potential, no date)

List of minor (local) referendums

Thirty local referendums have taken place in local authorities to establish whether there is support for directly-elected mayors. Eleven received a "Yes" majority and twenty a "No" majority. The highest turnout was 64% in Berwick-upon-Tweed and the lowest was 10% in Ealing. On average, the turnout was similar to that of local elections.

The majority of these were held between June 2001 and May 2002 - a further four have been held since.

"Yes" majority shown in green, "No" majority shown in red.

Source: Electoral Commission; Ceredigion County Council (http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1044)

Local authority	Date	Yes Votes	Yes Vote %	No Votes	No Vote %	Turnout %
Berwick-upon-Tweed	7 June 2001	3,617	26	10,212	74	64
Cheltenham	28 June 2001	8,083	33	16,602	67	32
Gloucester	28 June 2001	7,731	32	16,317	68	31
Watford	12 July 2001	7,636	52	7,140	48	25
Doncaster	20 September 2001	35,453	65	19,398	35	25
Kirklees	4 October 2001	10,169	27	27,977	73	13
Sunderland	11 October 2001	9,375	43	12,209	57	10
Brighton & Hove	18 October 2001	22,724	38	37,214	62	32
Hartlepool	18 October 2001	10,667	51	10,294	49	34
Lewisham	18 October 2001	16,822	51	15,914	49	18
Middlesbrough	18 October 2001	29,067	84	5,422	16	34
North Tyneside	18 October 2001	30,262	58	22,296	42	36
Sedgefield	18 October 2001	10,628	47	11,869	53	33
Redditch	8 November 2001	7,250	44	9,198	56	28
Durham	20 November 2001	8,327	41	11,974	59	29
Harrow	6 December 2001	17,502	43	23,554	57	26
Plymouth	24 Jan 2002	29,559	41	42,811	59	40
Harlow	24 Jan 2002	5,296	25	15,490	75	25
Newham	31 Jan 2002	27,263	68	12,687	32	26
Southwark	31 Jan 2002	6,054	31	13,217	69	11
West Devon	31 Jan 2002	3,555	23	12,190	77	42
Shepway	31 Jan 2002	11,357	44	14,438	56	36
Bedford	21 Feb 2002	11,316	67	5,537	33	16
Hackney	2 May 2002	24,697	59	10,547	41	32
Mansfield	2 May 2002	8,973	55	7,350	45	21
Newcastle-under-Lyme	2 May 2002	12,912	44	16,468	56	31.5
Oxford	2 May 2002	14,692	44	18,686	56	34
Stoke on Trent	2 May 2002	28,601	58	20,578	42	27
Corby	1 October 2002	5,351	46	6239	54	31
Ealing	12 December 2002	9,454	45	11,655	55	10
Ceredigion	20 May 2004	5,308	27	14,013	73	36
Isle of Wight	5 May 2005	28,786	43.7	37,097	56.3	60.4

Edinburgh Transport Referendum

The City of Edinburgh Council held a postal-ballot referendum in February 2005 over whether voters supported the Council's proposed transport strategy. These plans included a congestion charge which would have required motorists to pay a fee to enter the city at certain times of the day. The result was announced on February 22, 2005 and the people of Edinburgh had rejected the proposals. 74% voted against, 26% voted in favour and the turnout was 62%.

See also

• Elections in the United Kingdom

External links

• The Electoral Commission - Referendums (http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/referendums/index.cfm)
• The Electoral Commission - Mayoral Referendums (http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/referendums/mayoralreferendums.cfm)