Referendums and Electoral Systems

Question 1

what is a referendum?

Answer 1

an example of direct democracy where the electorate is asked a question directly to establish the government’s stance on an issue

Question 2

what sort of issues are referendums held upon?

Answer 2

major constitutional issues which may affect the lives of all

Question 3

how many times have referendums been used in britain?

Answer 3

13, with only 4 of these being before New Labour in 1997

Question 4

why was there an increase in the frequency of referendums under new labour

Answer 4

part of their 1997 manifesto included democratisation policies such as devolution so the government hoped to gain consent for devolution in regions

Question 5

issue in 1975 EEC Referendum

Answer 5

Wilson’s entering of the EEC througfh the European Communities Act proved divisive with 7 of his ministers threatening to resign so he held a referendum to gain permission from the people and a mandate to enter the EEC

Question 6

turnout of 1975 EEC Ref

Answer 6

63%

Question 7

result of 1975 EEC Ref

Answer 7

67% yes

Question 8

issue in 1979 Scottish Parliament Ref

Answer 8

James Callaghan was lacking in support so used the ref as a way to gain support from scottish nationalists going into the 1979 GE - set up a minimum 40% threshold

Question 9

turnout of 1979 Scottish Parliament Ref

Answer 9

64%

Question 10

result of 1979 Scottish Parliament Ref

Answer 10

52% yes - did not meet 40% threshold

Question 11

issue behind 1997 Welsh Devolution Ref

Answer 11

New Labour’s 1997 manifesto included democratisation policies which they had a mandate to pursue due to their 179-seat majority so proposed a welsh assembly

Question 12

turnout for 1997 welsh devolution ref

Answer 12

a little over 50%

Question 13

result of 1997 welsh devolution ref

Answer 13

50.3% yes

Question 14

what is the 1997 welsh devolution ref a clear example of

Answer 14

tyranny of the minority

Question 15

what was wrong with the question in the 1997 scottish devolution ref?

Answer 15

too vague: unclear what ‘tax-varying powers’ actually meant

Question 16

turnout of 1997 scottish devolution ref

Answer 16

60%

Question 17

result of 1997 scottish devolution ref

Answer 17

74.3% yes

Question 18

what was the issue behind the 1998 ni assembly referendum

Answer 18

came at the end of the troubles after the good friday agreement to solidify the poeple’s desire for the end of the fighting and entranch peace

Question 19

turnout of 1998 ni assembly ref

Answer 19

81%

Question 20

result of 1998 ni assembly ref

Answer 20

71%

Question 21

issue behind 2004 ne regional assembly ref

Answer 21

following previous success at devolution in the last 90s, new labour wished to expand further

Question 22

result of 2004 ne regional assembly referendum

Answer 22

79% no

Question 23

what does the 2004 ne regional assembly ref result prove

Answer 23

that referendums provide a clear voice to the people with the resounding 79% no vote.

Question 24

issue behind 2011 av ref

Answer 24

part of the coallition deal between cons and lib dems - lib dems hoped for electoral reform and campaigned on that promise

Question 25

turnout of 2011 av ref

Answer 25

42%

Question 26

result of 2011 av ref

Answer 26

67.9% no

Question 27

what is one reason why the no vote from 2011 av ref may have been so resounding?

Answer 27

publiuc wanted to give nick clegg a 'bloody nose' over tuition promises which he went against

Question 28

what was the issue behind the 2014 indyref

Answer 28

cons wanted to calm scottish nationalism for a generation

Question 29

who was also allowed to vote in 2014 indyref and what impact did this have

Answer 29

16 and 17 y/o were also allowed to vote - 75% of them chose to vote and 97% said that they were likely to vote again in the future

Question 30

what made the 2014 indyref unclear?

Answer 30

many were unsure what they were voting for - devomax, staying the same, or leaving the union

Question 31

results of the YouGov poll about devomax

Answer 31

24% wanted independance, 33% wished to remain in the union, 36% wanted devomax

Question 32

turnout of 2014 indyref

Answer 32

84%

Question 33

result of 2014 indyref

Answer 33

55% remain in union

Question 34

did the 2014 indyref solve the issue the conservatuves attempoted to solve

Answer 34

arguably no - the next ge saw snp win most scottish seats of 56/59 when they campaigned on the eventual promise of scottish independance, showing independace to still be a popular idea with the electorate

Question 35

what was the issue of scottish independance coined as?

Answer 35

a 'neverendum'

Question 36

what did SNP pass in 2017 allongside help from Greens regarding independace

Answer 36

legislation for a second Indyref

Question 37

what issue was the 2016 brexit ref about

Answer 37

remaining or leving the EU - was legally non-binding but Cameron promised to honor the wishes of the people and follow through with the decision

Question 38

why did the tories offer up the promise of a brexit ref

Answer 38

offered in their 2015 manifesto to gain back swaying tory support from voters who may have voted for UKIP instead - maintaining party base.

Question 39

who campaigned for which side in 2016 brexit ref

Answer 39

tories were allowed to campaign freely, with Johnson and Michael Gove championing the leave campaign. labour campaigned for remain, even though corbyn was a devout eurosceptic

Question 40

turnout of 2016 brexit ref

Answer 40

72%

Question 41

result of 2016 brexit ref

Answer 41

51.9% yes to 48.1% no

Question 42

which age group was most and least likely to vote remain

Answer 42

73% of 18-24 y/o voted remain whereas only 40% of 65+ voted remain, showing clear ideological divides due to age

Question 43

which regions were most and least likely to vote remain

Answer 43

scotland was almost entirely for remaining, rural areas with a larger older population were much more liekly to vote leave.