If There Had Been More Referendums In The UK What Would Have Been The Issues?

I was surprised to learn that the defeated referendum on the Alternate Vote in the UK was the first referendum on a nationwide basis since the 1970s 0n EU membership in that case, AFAIK.
Ireland has had around 34 referendums since its current constitution was enacted in 1937.
What would have been the major issues that could/should have been put to the British public by way of referendum since WW2? What would the results have been and how would it have changed the nation?
There is talk of a possibility that there maybe one on Reform Of The House Of Lords.
 
I was surprised to learn that the defeated referendum on the Alternate Vote in the UK was the first referendum on a nationwide basis since the 1970s 0n EU membership in that case, AFAIK.
Ireland has had around 34 referendums since its current constitution was enacted in 1937.
What would have been the major issues that could/should have been put to the British public by way of referendum since WW2? What would the results have been and how would it have changed the nation?
There is talk of a possibility that there maybe one on Reform Of The House Of Lords.

Right now, well a European Union one. 1964, one on the death penalty. After Diana death, on on the monarchy, perhaps. 1991, The Maatstricht Treaty. 2007, The Lisbon Treaty. That is all i can think of at the moment.
 
Your basic issue is that "the powers that be" don't trust the British public with referendums. They might make the wrong choice...
 

GarethC

Donor
Scottish independence one more time (and maybe Welsh and Scottish devolution as they actually worked out), nuclear disarmament, maybe an Olympic boycott or two, the Poll Tax would have been a good one.
 
I've voted in a few referenda now and I'm pretty torn about what role they should have in a modern democracy.

On one hand, I'm all for democratic accountability and taking steps to make sure the voter is both consulted and part of the decision making process. On the other hand, often, and I think the AV referendum was an example of this, referenda can be used as a vehicle for other outcomes. In this case, voting reform was as much a referendum on the Lib Dems on the part of the Tories and parts of the Labour Party.

We've had some awful referendums back home in NZ too, one from 2009 being:

” Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?”

The outcome was a resounding Yes. The referendum was after the parliament, almost in its entirety, removed the statutory defence against assaulting* one's child. This law change did not stop a parent lightly smacking a child, but it was played that way by the Christian right. As such, the referendum's outcome did not provoke a parliamentary vote on the law. It was pointless

*where assault is a vicious beating.
 

Thande

Donor
Referendums are not a British tradition and I think there would be strong opposition to trying to make them a more regular thing. I believe they were only invoked for Europe and devolution because the supporters of those causes believed that they would never be able to get the issue settled within the standard political landscape unless they could point to having a direct public mandate.
 
Referendums are not a British tradition and I think there would be strong opposition to trying to make them a more regular thing. I believe they were only invoked for Europe and devolution because the supporters of those causes believed that they would never be able to get the issue settled within the standard political landscape unless they could point to having a direct public mandate.

Which in turn has led some to claim to claim there is an evolving convention that matters of constitutional significance should be settled by a referendum. Denying this is one of the reasons so many Conservatives were rebelling on Lords reform - I've seen it said that up to half of the rebels would have fallen in line if a referendum had been promised, which would probably have been enough to pass the vote the other night.

As to other referendums, there should have been one on Lisbon (the government of the day had to disgracefully tear up a manifesto commitment in order to deny us one), and there was enormous pressure to hold one on the Maastricht treaty, but John Major chose to destroy his government instead:rolleyes:

Another interesting possibility would be one for an English parliament alongside the ones for Scottish and Welsh devolution, but that's another one the politicians won't ask for fear of what the answer would be.
 
Referendums are not a British tradition and I think there would be strong opposition to trying to make them a more regular thing. I believe they were only invoked for Europe and devolution because the supporters of those causes believed that they would never be able to get the issue settled within the standard political landscape unless they could point to having a direct public mandate.

Perhaps for constitutional reasons (changing voting ways, republic or monarchy etc)?
 
A few years ago the government was talking about setting up a way in which the public could call for referendums. Then they realised that if they did this the first referendums called by the public almost certainly wouldn't be for 'reform of the House of Lords' or 'legalise gay marriage' or other such causes favoured by the liberal chatterati, they'd probably be for 'leave the European Union' and 'let householders kill burglars if they consider it necessary' and 'restore capital punishment'... and the whole idea was quickly but quietly dropped...
 
A few years ago the government was talking about setting up a way in which the public could call for referendums. Then they realised that if they did this the first referendums called by the public almost certainly wouldn't be for 'reform of the House of Lords' or 'legalise gay marriage' or other such causes favoured by the liberal chatterati, they'd probably be for 'leave the European Union' and 'let householders kill burglars if they consider it necessary' and 'restore capital punishment'... and the whole idea was quickly but quietly dropped...

Which is a shame i reckon. But maybe, soon something like this can be in place.
 
In terms of the British public possibly calling for a referendum on capital punishment, and passing it, when in order to be admitted to the EU, it is a prerquisete to abolish it, the Irish electorate voted in a referendum to constitutionally abolish it forever, a few years ago! It was of course already prohibited here, but now it has constitutional backing in its prohibition!
 
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