Referendums in the United Kingdom

rdf:langString Referendums in the United Kingdom

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rdf:langString National referendum

rdf:langString 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; the UK Parliament is free to legislate through an Act of Parliament for a national plebiscite to be held on any question at any time, but these cannot be constitutionally binding on either the Government or Parliament, although they usually have a persuasive political effect. 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 whilst in Scotland referendums on devolved matters are regulated under the Referendums (Scotland) Act 2020. Until the late 20th century the concept of a referendum was widely seen in British politics as "unconstitutional" and an "alien device". As of 2021, only three national referendums have ever been held across the whole of the United Kingdom: in 1975, 2011 and most recently in 2016. Two of these referendums (1975 and 2016) were held on the issue of continued membership of the United Kingdom's now previous membership with the European Union (EU) and its predecessor institutions the European Communities (EC). The first referendum on the issue of continued membership of what was known at the time as the European Communities (EC), which was the collective term for the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC), and was also referred to by many at that time as simply the "Common Market" was in 1975. This was the European Communities membership referendum which was held two and a half years after the United Kingdom became a member state on 1 January 1973. This was the first national referendum ever to be held within the United Kingdom. The second referendum on continued membership was held in 2016 over forty years after the vote. By then, the various European organisations (with the exception of EAEC) had been integrated by subsequent treaty ratifications into the European Union (EU). The electorate was again asked to vote on the issue of continued membership in the European Union membership referendum. The 2011 referendum on the proposal to use the alternative vote system in parliamentary elections is the only national referendum to date that has been held on a specific domestic issue. The referendum was held as a result of the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement which was drawn up after the 2010 general election. 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 2022, the most recent is the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The Scottish Government has proposed to hold a second Scottish independence referendum in October 2023. There have also been numerous referendums held by local authorities on issues such as temperance and directly elected mayors.