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What are the arguments for and against having referendums? Many countries have held referendums, mostly for constitutional issues or to agree a change to their constitution. A few have been held on moral issues such as the legalisation of abortion or the prohibition of alcohol.
However, Switzerland and Italy allow the public to force a referendum on the collection of enough signatures and Switzerland has held of these.
Similarly many states of the United States allow propositions on issues to be put directly to voters at election time. This is not entirely clear though as the uncertainty about the proposals for further devolution in Scotland have revived arguments about independence and the left in the Labour Party revived opposition to the EU when they controlled the party during the general election.
In contrast, the referendum to create a Welsh Assembly gave the institution legitimacy, despite the narrowness of the vote, and time to establish itself so that there was strong support for more powers by the time of the referendum. Voters in general elections decide on broad views of what the parties and their leaders are like and what they will do and have done in the past, rather than on particular issues, the consideration of which can tend to get lost.
When parties are divided internally over an issue, as on Europe, they will not want to raise it in a general election campaign. These must be launched by at least seven voters and be backed by , people within 18 months, and also require a double majority to pass.
Pattie says there have been plenty of votes where referendums have created problems because they oversimplify. A budget crunch ensued, with knock on effects on social spending and even state schools. Qvortrup says referendums are a good idea if deployed sparingly and on issues that are of major significance. But when it really matters people should be allowed to have their say. But he adds that in Britain, the few referendums that have been called have been done so not for reasons of national imperative but for party political reasons: a party leader, unable to brook compromise over a towering issue usually Europe effectively contracts out the decision making process to the people.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the plural of referendum is referendums. Referenda are the things being voted on, so one referendum could contain multiple referenda within it. The British parliament confirmed as much back in , when the late Alan Clarke asked the then speaker Betty Boothroyd, to rule on the matter. Referendums Around the World.
Matt Qvortrup. Are there more referendums going on now than ever before? Topics The briefing features. In , the Turkish government held a referendum on constitutional changes that would shift the country from a parliamentary to presidential republic. Bitter divisions in opinion led to parliamentary debates that more closely resembled bar fights. One member of parliament threw a potted plant across the chamber.
Another claimed an opponent bit his leg. He ultimately won and, on a margin of victory less than 3 percent, was allowed to gain sweeping power and limit democratic checks and balances. The rising tide of populism is carried by an undercurrent of political opportunism, and referendums provide the perfect opportunity to strengthen this surge.
When we reduce complex issues into yes-or-no questions, we similarly simplify the debate. This kind of debate is ripe for hijack. Rhetoric begins to take precedence over discussion of the issue at hand, which often becomes conflated with other—often unrelated—social and political grievances.
Add to this the refugee crisis and the ensuing anti-immigration sentiment. As such, the Brexit vote became a referendum on the status quo as opposed to EU membership itself.
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