In 1956 a referendum was held in the then British colony of Malta to decide whether Malta should be integrated fully into the United Kingdom and become the fifth constituent nation of the UK.
It was proposed that a number of seats be added to the House of Commons in Westminster to represent new parliamentary constituencies on Malta. The Home Office was to take over responsibility for the island from the colonial office while foreign affairs, defence and eventually direct taxation were to become the responsibilities of the British government. The Maltese parliament would continue to exist and would be responsible for internal affairs on the island such as education. Effectively Malta would be come a devolved nation within the UK similar to modern day Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Despite the referendum returning a result of 77% in favour of becoming part of the United Kingdom this never came to pass for a number of reasons.
The main opposition group had led a boycott of the referendum meaning that a significant proportion of the islands population hadn't voted rendering the result inconclusive as as overall less than half (44%) had voted in favour thus undermining the results legitimacy to a degree.
In the Britain there was considerable unhappiness in the Treasury about the financial cost of following though with the proposals and the possibility that other colonies such as Nigeria may seek similar status including representation at Westminster.
These concerns were never satisfactorily addressed meaning that proposals for integration never came to anything. Malta would go on to become a Dominion in 1964 and ultimately an independent state in 1974.
What if the British government had instead put its worries to one side and accepted the result of the 1956 referendum leading to Malta becoming part of the United Kingdom soon after?
How would Malta being part of the UK have affected Britain culturally, financially and politically?
Would Malta still be part of the UK today?
It was proposed that a number of seats be added to the House of Commons in Westminster to represent new parliamentary constituencies on Malta. The Home Office was to take over responsibility for the island from the colonial office while foreign affairs, defence and eventually direct taxation were to become the responsibilities of the British government. The Maltese parliament would continue to exist and would be responsible for internal affairs on the island such as education. Effectively Malta would be come a devolved nation within the UK similar to modern day Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Despite the referendum returning a result of 77% in favour of becoming part of the United Kingdom this never came to pass for a number of reasons.
The main opposition group had led a boycott of the referendum meaning that a significant proportion of the islands population hadn't voted rendering the result inconclusive as as overall less than half (44%) had voted in favour thus undermining the results legitimacy to a degree.
In the Britain there was considerable unhappiness in the Treasury about the financial cost of following though with the proposals and the possibility that other colonies such as Nigeria may seek similar status including representation at Westminster.
These concerns were never satisfactorily addressed meaning that proposals for integration never came to anything. Malta would go on to become a Dominion in 1964 and ultimately an independent state in 1974.
What if the British government had instead put its worries to one side and accepted the result of the 1956 referendum leading to Malta becoming part of the United Kingdom soon after?
How would Malta being part of the UK have affected Britain culturally, financially and politically?
Would Malta still be part of the UK today?