Essay Question - Referendum

Quick question, any answers appreciated. Basically the question is 'Why have Referendums been held in past?' In not sure how I could write this in a lot of detail and expand ideas.

Reply 1

Maicccccmannnn

Firstly, referendums have been held to prevent the internal collapse of political parties. This refers to situations in which a political party is divided over a political issue, and the lack of consensus jeopardises the stability of the party. Failure to reach a consensus may cause revolts amongst back-bencher's, rendering party whips redundant. This can seriously danger the electoral prospects of the party, as publicly divided parties causes the electorate to lose confidence. Referendums therefore provide a democratic form of dispute resolution. A good example of this being exercised in practice is the 1975 referendum over the UK's membership to the European Union. This prevented the collapse of Harold Wilson's Labour Government.

Secondly, referendums are used when Government is confronted with extremely controversial political issues. Governments use referendums in these circumstances because deciding the issue themselves may sometimes lead to serious public discontent, once again jeopardising the public popularity and electoral prospects of the party. Membership to the EU is an example of such an issue. An even more obvious example is the Good Friday Agreement referendum.

Thirdly, referendums are used to further democracy, and in particular, direct democracy. Political parties in modern, liberal-minded countries all have democracy as a central theme of their electoral manifesto. The 1997 Labour Party manifesto is a key example, as it explicitly expressed a commitment towards referendums. In Abraham Lincoln's definition of democracy, government 'by and with the people' was a core element. Referendums are viewed as a way of enforcing a government 'by and with the people', as it allows public opinion to inform party policy.

A forth and somewhat modern justification for the use of referendums is that they enhance political engagement and participation. Statistics have shown that in recent years the UK public have become increasingly disillusioned and uninterested with politics. In particular, party memberships and voting numbers have declined rapidly. Thus referendums are seen as a remedy for this problem. Academics have suggested that the reason for public disengagement is that the electorate lacks a sense of power or influence. Referendums give the electorate both power and influence: “at a time when public trust in this system is probably lower than ever in living memory referendums could help restore faith in British democracy" (Peter Browning, political academic). A good example of referendums being used in this way is the 2011 Voting referendum. Representative democracy, as a form of democracy, has become increasingly outdated and unacceptable with the general public, and direct methods are seen as essential to avoid complete public disenchantment: "people are no longer prepared to accept a democracy where they vote once every four or five years and then leave everything to their political leaders” (Professor Bogdanor, Professor of Government, Brasenose College, University of Oxford).

Although not a direct reason for the use of referendums, an increasingly informed and educated electorate has meant political parties are far more willing to dispense them to determine political issues. Previously, it was feared by some quarters of the electoral spectrum that voters did not hold the necessary understanding required to resolve complex political problems.

Referendums also help to ensure constitutional decisions are entrenched. 'Entrenched' means to be fixed and unchangeable. Although no constitutional decisions are ever without challenge by prospective Governments, the fact that decisions made by referendums are inherently public-made, it makes those decisions far harder to repeal due to the negative political ramifications that would result. Entrenching constitutional decisions is seen as essential to ensure reforms can establish themselves and allow their practical benefits to be realised. A good example of this is devolution. Devolution will require a vast amount of time to fully manifest itself, and if it is subject to the fickle and conflicting political desires of UK political parties it will never be able to prove its practical value.

This is by no means a complete answer, but it should guide you as to the core reasons why they have been held. You should research these points further to add breadth and depth to the final answer.

(edited 12 years ago)

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