Referendums

What is a Referendum?

A referendum is when voters are asked a question by the government and voters are usually are required to vote "Yes" or "No" to accept or reject that question. They provide a clear answer to a question the government is 'asking'. Referendums are conducted in the same way as elections, by using ballot papers on which you mark your choice.

Past Referendums

• 7 June 1975 (UK wide) the Referendum asked whether the UK should stay in the Common Market.
• 11 September 1997 (Scotland) A referendum asked whether there should be a Scottish Parliament (74.3% agreed) and whether Scotland should have tax-varying powers (63.5% agreed). More information can be found on the Scottish Government website.
• 5 May 2011 (UK wide) the coalition government held a referendum to decide whether future general elections for the UK Parliament should be conducted under the Alternative Vote (AV) instead of the system of First-past-the-post. The proposal to introduce AV was rejected with 68% voting 'No' against 32% voting 'Yes'.
• 18 September 2014 (Scotland) a Scottish Independence Referendum was held. The referendum asked whether Scotland should be an independent country.  The official result of the Scottish Independence Referendum across Scotland was: Yes 1,617,989 (44.5 %) / No 2,001,926 (55.5%) Turnout 84.6%. Local results in Moray can be found here.
• 5 June 2016 (UK wide) a referendum on the UK's membership in the European was held. UK results can be found here.

Further Information

General information about referendums can be found on The Electoral Commission website.