Scotland referendum, 1979
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The Scotland referendum of 1979 was a post-legislative referendum held in Scotland only, over whether there was support for Scotland Act 1978, which if passed would have created an assembly for Scotland. There were special conditions on the referendum in the Act which said that for the Act not be repealed, at least 40% of the electorate would have to vote Yes in the referendum.
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Party support
Although Labour and the SNP both officially supported devolution, support was split in both parties. In Labour, it was between those who favoured devolution and those who did not and in the SNP between those who favoured devolution and those who wanted independence.
Results
It was held on March 1, 1979. The result was a majority of 'Yes'. There was a small majority for the Yes vote, but because of the low turnout the percentage of the electorate that voted yes was less than 40%, so the condition in the Act was not met.
The electorate were asked to vote yes or no: 'Do you want the provisions of the Scotland Act to be put into effect?'
| Yes votes | Yes votes (%) | No votes | No (%) | Turnout (%) |
| 1,230,937 | 51.6 | 1,153,500 | 48.4 | 63.8 |
Government response
Even though the majority voted Yes, the government rejected the referendum because the condition that 40% of the electorate should vote Yes was not met. The Scotland Act 1978 was repealed, in March 1979 by 301-206.
See also
References
- Chronology of Scottish Politics: The Devolution years 1967 - 1979 (http://www.alba.org.uk/timeline/1967to1979.html)