Transcript of 1997 referendum Referendums Referendums put the onus on the voter in what is essentially a 'yes' or...
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- 1997 referendum
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- Referendums Referendums put the onus on the voter in what is
essentially a 'yes' or 'no' choice. Arguments put forward in favour
of referendums are: 1. They are a very real form of direct
democracy 2. They increase political participation; voting does not
take place just every five years. 3. Referenda can be a check on
"elective dictatorships" during a government's 5 years span. 4.
Referenda provide a clear answer to a question the government might
be 'asking'.
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- Referendums Arguments put forward against the use of
referendums are: 1. Referenda are inconsistent with the belief in
parliamentary sovereignty. 2. Issues might be too complex for a
mere yes/no vote or for the public to understand. 3. The regular
use of referenda could lead to apathy among the public. 4. There
are effective alternatives : opinion polls and by-elections.
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- The Campaign Scottish Labour, the SNP, Liberal Democrats, and
Scottish Greens campaigned for a 'Yes' vote for both proposals
whilst the Conservatives opposed both proposals. Labour MP Tam
Dalyell opposed the creation of the Parliament, but in favour of
giving such a Parliament the power to raise and lower taxes on the
basis that, although he opposed the Parliament as proposed by his
party, if it did exist it should have tax-varying powers.
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- Dates 1 March 1979: Wales Welsh devolution referendum on
whether there should be a Welsh Assembly (no) 11 September 1997:
Scotland Scottish devolution referenda on whether there should be a
Scottish Parliament and whether the Scottish Parliament should have
tax varying powers (both referendums received a yes vote)
Devolution essentially means the transfer of powers from the UK
parliament in London to assemblies in Cardiff and Belfast, and the
Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.
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- Scottish Devolution Scottish devolution referendum of 1997 was
a pre- legislative referendum that was held in Scotland on 11
September 1997 It was over whether there was support for the
creation of a Scottish Parliament with devolved powers, and whether
the Parliament should have tax-varying powers. A Labour manifesto
commitment and was held in their first term after the 1997
election. Second referendum held in Scotland over the question of
devolution, the first being in 1979. Turnout for the referendum was
60.2%.
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- Welsh Devolution The Welsh devolution referendum of 1997 held
throughout Wales on 18 September 1997 To determine whether there
was support for the creation of an assembly for Wales with devolved
powers. Unlike the referendum in Scotland, there was no proposal
for the assembly to have tax-varying powers. Turnout was 50.1%
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- 1979 vs 1997 Scotland: Do you want the provisions of the
Scotland Act 1978 to be put into effect. Wales: Do you want the
provisions of the Wales Act 1978 to be put into effect. Scotland:
Do you agree that there should be Scottish parliament, Yes or No Do
you agree that a Scottish Parliament should have tax- raising
powers Yes or No Wales: Do you agree that there should be a Welsh
Assembly as proposed by the Government
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- Spoilt Ballots Spoilt ballot papers are excluded from the
calculations of turnout (number of valid votes divided by the
electorate) but are shown at the bottom of each table. The number
of spoilt ballots increased significantly in the 1997 referendum in
Scotland (with roughly the same number of valid votes as in 1979).
There were 11,986 spoilt papers on the Scottish Parliament question
and 19,013 on the tax-varying powers question Compared with3,133
spoilt ballots in 1979. A large part of this increase is almost
certainly due to misunderstandings amongst voters about
requirements for completing the two separate ballot forms. The
number of spoilt ballots in Wales rose much less dramatically from
3,309 in 1979 to 3,999 in 1997.
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- Agree : 1,775,045 (74.3%) Disagree : 614,400 (25.7%) Agree :
1,512,889 (63.5%) Disagree : 870,263 (36.5%) Results[edit]edit The
result was 'Yes-Yes': the majority voted in favour of both
proposals. Question 1[edit]edit Firstly the referendum asked
voters: Unlike in the Welsh referendum, a large majority voted
'Yes' in every local authority. [3]Welsh referendum [3] Question
2[edit]edit Secondly the referendum asked: