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Referendums in the United Kingdom are occasionally held at a national, regional or local level. Historically, national referendums are rare due to the long-standing principle of parliamentary sovereignty. There is no constitutional requirement to hold a national referendum for any purpose or on any issue however the UK Parliament is free to legislate through an Act of Parliament for a referendum to be held on any question at any time.
National referendums are regulated by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 which also regulates for regional and local referendums in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. In Scotland referendums on devolved matters are regulated under the Referendums (Scotland) Act 2020.[1]: 42
Only three referendums have ever been held across the whole of the United Kingdom, the first, in 1975, on the issue of continued membership of the European Communities (EC), resulted in the UK remaining members of the organisations that were known as the Common Market and became the European Union. The second, in 2011, was on the proposed change of the voting system for parliament to alternative voting, which was rejected. The first international referendum was the 2016 European Union membership referendum, in which Gibraltar also took part.
The Government of the United Kingdom has also to date held ten major referendums within the constituent countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on issues of devolution, sovereignty and independence; the first such referendum was the 1973 Northern Ireland border poll and, as of 2023, the most recent is the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The Scottish Government asked to hold a second Scottish independence referendum in October 2023, but this was rejected by the UK government, and the Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish parliament could not hold an independence referendum unilaterally.
There have also been numerous referendums held by local authorities on issues such as temperance and directly elected mayors.
Status of referendums
Major referendums have been rare in the UK, and have only been held on major constitutional issues. Historically, referendums within the United Kingdom were opposed on the supposition that they violate the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. In May 1945 the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill suggested holding a referendum over the question of extending the life of his wartime Coalition until victory was won over Japan. However, Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee refused, saying "I could not consent to the introduction into our national life of a device so alien to all our traditions as the referendum, which has only too often been the instrument of Nazism and Fascism." In March 1975 Margaret Thatcher also quoted Clement Attlee that referendums are "a device of dictators and demagogues" as Napoleon, Mussolini and Hitler had exploited their use in the past.
There are two types of referendum that have been held by the UK Government, pre-legislative (held before proposed legislation is passed) and post-legislative (held after legislation is passed). Of the three UK-wide referendums to date, the 1975 referendum was post-legislative as the UK had joined the European Communities (EC) in 1973, whereas the 2011 and 2016 referendums were both pre-legislative. Referendums are not binding, so the Government is not required to follow up with any action afterwards; for example, even if the result of a pre-legislative referendum were a "majority" of "No" for a proposed law, Parliament could pass it anyway.
For any UK-wide referendum to be held legislation has to be passed by the UK Parliament for each vote to take place, as there is no pre-determined format or voting franchise for any such vote. There is no requirement for the UK Government to take any official position in any such vote. For example, in 1975 under the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson the Government formally recommended a "Yes" vote to staying in the European Community and in 2016 the Government formally recommended a "Remain" vote to stay in the European Union (a decision which indirectly led to the resignation of David Cameron as Prime Minister following the advice to "Leave the European Union" by the British electorate). In the 2011 referendum no official position was taken as the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government was split on the issue.
Parliament could, at any point in the future, reverse legislation approved by referendum as the concept of parliamentary sovereignty means no Parliament can prevent a future Parliament from amending or repealing legislation.
Finally, under the Local Government Act 1972, there is a provision under which non-binding local referendums on any issue can be called by small groups of voters. This power exists only for parish councils, and not larger authorities, and is commonly known as the "Parish Poll". 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 are well-publicised, it may be influential.[2]
Organisation and legislation
There was no independent public body to regulate referendums within the United Kingdom until the Labour government led by Tony Blair in 2000 set out a framework for the running of all future referendums when the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 or PPERA was passed, creating and giving the Electoral Commission responsibility for running all elections and such future referendums. The act also permitted the appointment of a "chief counting officer" (CCO) to oversee all future UK-wide referendums which would be held by the chairperson of the Electoral Commission.
Legislation
Separate legislation (i.e. an Act of Parliament) by the Parliament of the United Kingdom is required for the holding of each UK-wide referendum which is held to set out the referendum question, its format, the franchise for each plebiscite, and how each count is to be conducted. To date three pieces of primary legislation has been passed by the UK Parliament to enable the holding of the following UK-wide referendums.
- Referendum Act 1975 (United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, 1975)
- Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 (United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, 2011)
- European Union Referendum Act 2015 (United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016)
1997 Devolution Referendums Legislation
In the summer of 1997 the UK Parliament passed the Referendums (Scotland and Wales) Act to enable the holding of two pre-legislative referendums on devolution in both Scotland and Wales on the establishment of a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly.
Devolution, sovereignty, and independence referendums
The Government of the United Kingdom has held ten major referendums within the constituent countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on issues of devolution, sovereignty and independence; the first such referendum was the 1973 Northern Ireland border poll
The Labour Government of 1997–2010 held five referendums on devolution, four of which received a yes majority.
Since the Government of Wales Act 2006 became law, there can be referendums in Wales asking the people whether the National Assembly for Wales should be given greater law-making powers. The Welsh Labour Party - Plaid Cymru Coalition Government in the Welsh Assembly held such a referendum in 2011, resulting in a yes vote.
The Scottish Government held a referendum on Scottish independence on 18 September 2014. It attracted a turnout of 84.59%, the highest for any referendum held in the UK. The majority (55.3%) voted against Scotland being an independent country. In March 2017 the Scottish Parliament authorised the Scottish Government to seek to hold a proposed second Scottish independence referendum,[3] but it was struck down by the UK Supreme Court in November 2022.[4]
Wales' pro-independence party, Plaid Cymru, have been calling for a independence referendum in Wales, as part of its 2021 Senedd election manifesto.[5][6]
National referendums
To date only three referendums have been held which have covered the whole of the United Kingdom. The following is a description of each of the three national referendums.
1975 European Communities membership referendum
On Thursday 5 June 1975 the United Kingdom held its first-ever nationwide referendum on whether to continue its membership of the European Communities (EC) principally the European Economic Community (EEC, or "Common Market") as it was more widely known at the time. The UK had been a member of the EC since 1 January 1973 and the vote came about after a manifesto commitment by the Labour Party under the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson in the UK General Election in October 1974 and following a renegotiation of EC membership. All of the major political parties and mainstream press supported continuing membership of the EC. However, there were significant splits within the ruling Labour party, the membership of which had voted 2:1 in favour of withdrawal at a one-day party conference on 26 April 1975. Since the cabinet was split between strongly pro-European and strongly anti-European ministers, Harold Wilson suspended the constitutional convention of Cabinet collective responsibility and allowed ministers to publicly campaign on either side. Seven of the twenty-three members of the cabinet opposed EC membership and the party was formally neutral on the issue.[7] The referendum was conducted in its entirety under the provisions of the Referendum Act 1975 as there was no procedure, prior legislation or official public body at the time to oversee the holding of any such plebiscite. The two campaign groups in the referendum were "Britain in Europe" advocating a yes vote and "National Referendum Campaign" advocating a no vote.
The voters were asked to vote "Yes" or "No" on the question: "Do you think the United Kingdom should stay in the European Community (the Common Market)?" In line with the outcome of the vote, the government took no further action and the United Kingdom remained a member of the European Communities which would later become the European Union.[8]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 17,378,581 | 67.23 |
| No | 8,470,073 | 32.77 |
| Valid votes | 25,848,654 | 99.78 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 54,540 | 0.22 |
| Total votes | 25,903,194 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 40,086,677 | 64.62 |
| Source: House of Commons Library[9] | ||
NOTE: Unusually for a referendum Yes was the no change (status quo) option.
| National referendum results (excluding invalid votes) | |
|---|---|
| Yes 17,378,581 (67.2%) |
No 8,470,073 (32.8%) |
| ▲ 50% | |
| Country | Electorate | Voter turnout, of eligible |
Votes | Proportion of votes | Invalid votes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | Yes | No | ||||||
| England | 33,356,208 | 64.6% | 14,918,009 | 6,182,052 | 68.65% | 31.35% | 42,161 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 1,030,534 | 47.4% | 259,251 | 237,911 | 52.19% | 47.81% | 1,589 | ||
| Scotland | 3,688,799 | 61.7% | 1,332,186 | 948,039 | 58.42% | 41.58% | 6,481 | ||