Referendums in the United Kingdom are occasionally held at a national, regional or local level. Historically, national referendums are rare due to the long-standing principle of parliamentary sovereignty. Legally there is no constitutional requirement to hold a national referendum for any purpose or on any issue. However, the UK Parliament is free to legislate through an Act of Parliament for a referendum to be held on any question at any time.
National referendums are regulated by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 which also regulates for regional and local referendums in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. In Scotland referendums on devolved matters are regulated under the Referendums (Scotland) Act 2020.
Only three national referendums have ever been held across the whole of the United Kingdom, the first, in 1975, on the issue of continued membership of the European Communities (EC), resulted in the UK remaining members of the organisations that were known as the Common Market and became the European Union. The second, in 2011, was on the proposed change of the voting system for parliament to alternative voting, which was rejected. The first international referendum was the 2016 European Union membership referendum, in which Gibraltar also took part.
The Government of the United Kingdom has also to date held ten major referendums within the constituent countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on issues of devolution, sovereignty and independence; the first such referendum was the 1973 Northern Ireland border poll and, as of 2023, the most recent is the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The Scottish Government asked to hold a second Scottish independence referendum in October 2023, but this was rejected by the UK government, and the Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish parliament could not hold an independence referendum unilaterally.
There have also been numerous referendums held by local authorities on issues such as temperance and directly elected mayors.
Status of referendums
Major referendums have been rare in the UK, and have only been held on major constitutional issues. Historically, referendums within the United Kingdom were opposed on the supposition that they violate the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. In May 1945 the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill suggested holding a referendum over the question of extending the life of his wartime Coalition until victory was won over Japan. However, Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee refused, saying "I could not consent to the introduction into our national life of a device so alien to all our traditions as the referendum, which has only too often been the instrument of Nazism and Fascism." In March 1975 Margaret Thatcher also quoted Clement Attlee that referendums are "a device of dictators and demagogues" as Napoleon, Mussolini and Hitler had exploited their use in the past.
There are two types of referendum that have been held by the UK Government, pre-legislative (held before proposed legislation is passed) and post-legislative (held after legislation is passed). Of the three UK-wide referendums to date, the 1975 referendum was post-legislative as the UK had joined the European Communities (EC) in 1973, whereas the 2011 and 2016 referendums were both pre-legislative. Referendums are not binding, so the Government is not required to follow up with any action afterwards; for example, even if the result of a pre-legislative referendum were a "majority" of "No" for a proposed law, Parliament could pass it anyway.
For any UK-wide referendum to be held legislation has to be passed by the UK Parliament for each vote to take place, as there is no pre-determined format or voting franchise for any such vote. There is no requirement for the UK Government to take any official position in any such vote. For example, in 1975 under the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson the Government formally recommended a "Yes" vote to staying in the European Community and in 2016 the Government formally recommended a "Remain" vote to stay in the European Union (a decision which indirectly led to the resignation of David Cameron as Prime Minister following the advice to "Leave the European Union" by the British electorate). In the 2011 referendum no official position was taken as the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government was split on the issue.
Parliament could, at any point in the future, reverse legislation approved by referendum as the concept of parliamentary sovereignty means no Parliament can prevent a future Parliament from amending or repealing legislation.
Finally, under the Local Government Act 1972, there is a provision under which non-binding local referendums on any issue can be called by small groups of voters. This power exists only for parish councils, and not larger authorities, and is commonly known as the "Parish Poll". Six local voters may call a meeting, and if ten voters or a third of the meeting (whichever is smaller) agree, the council must carry out a referendum in 14–25 days. The referendum is merely advisory, but if there is a substantial majority and the results are well-publicised, it may be influential.
Organisation and legislation
There was no independent public body to regulate referendums within the United Kingdom until the Labour government led by Tony Blair in 2000 set out a framework for the running of all future referendums when the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 or PPERA was passed, creating and giving the Electoral Commission responsibility for running all elections and such future referendums. The act also permitted the appointment of a "chief counting officer" (CCO) to oversee all future UK-wide referendums which would be held by the chairperson of the Electoral Commission.
Legislation
Separate legislation (i.e. an Act of Parliament) by the Parliament of the United Kingdom is required for the holding of each UK-wide referendum which is held to set out the referendum question, its format, the franchise for each plebiscite, and how each count is to be conducted. To date three pieces of primary legislation has been passed by the UK Parliament to enable the holding of the following UK-wide referendums.
- Referendum Act 1975 (United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, 1975)
- Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 (United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, 2011)
- European Union Referendum Act 2015 (United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016)
1997 Devolution Referendums Legislation
In the summer of 1997 the UK Parliament passed the Referendums (Scotland and Wales) Act to enable the holding of two pre-legislative referendums on devolution in both Scotland and Wales on the establishment of a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly.
Devolution, sovereignty, and independence referendums
The Government of the United Kingdom has held ten major referendums within the constituent countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on issues of devolution, sovereignty and independence; the first such referendum was the 1973 Northern Ireland border poll
The Labour Government of 1997–2010 held five referendums on devolution, four of which received a yes majority.
Since the Government of Wales Act 2006 became law, there can be referendums in Wales asking the people whether the National Assembly for Wales should be given greater law-making powers. The Welsh Labour Party - Plaid Cymru Coalition Government in the Welsh Assembly held such a referendum in 2011, resulting in a yes vote.
The Scottish Government held a referendum on Scottish independence on 18 September 2014. It attracted a turnout of 84.59%, the highest for any referendum held in the UK. The majority (55.3%) voted against Scotland being an independent country. In March 2017 the Scottish Parliament authorised the Scottish Government to seek to hold a proposed second Scottish independence referendum, but it was struck down by the UK Supreme Court in November 2022.
Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru have announced there will be no referendum during the 2026-2030 Senedd term on independence, and have instead proposed an independence commission.
National referendums
To date only three referendums have been held which have covered the whole of the United Kingdom. The following is a description of each of the three national referendums.
1975 European Communities membership referendum
thumb|right|180px|All but two areas voted "Yes"
On Thursday 5 June 1975 the United Kingdom held its first-ever nationwide referendum on whether to continue its membership of the European Communities (EC) principally the European Economic Community (EEC, or "Common Market") as it was more widely known at the time. The UK had been a member of the EC since 1 January 1973 and the vote came about after a manifesto commitment by the Labour Party under the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson in the UK General Election in October 1974 and following a renegotiation of EC membership. All of the major political parties and mainstream press supported continuing membership of the EC. However, there were significant splits within the ruling Labour party, the membership of which had voted 2:1 in favour of withdrawal at a one-day party conference on 26 April 1975. Since the cabinet was split between strongly pro-European and strongly anti-European ministers, Harold Wilson suspended the constitutional convention of Cabinet collective responsibility and allowed ministers to publicly campaign on either side. Seven of the twenty-three members of the cabinet opposed EC membership and the party was formally neutral on the issue. The referendum was conducted in its entirety under the provisions of the Referendum Act 1975 as there was no procedure, prior legislation or official public body at the time to oversee the holding of any such plebiscite. The two campaign groups in the referendum were "Britain in Europe" advocating a yes vote and "National Referendum Campaign" advocating a no vote.
The voters were asked to vote "Yes" or "No" on the question: "Do you think the United Kingdom should stay in the European Community (the Common Market)?" In line with the outcome of the vote, the government took no further action and the United Kingdom remained a member of the European Communities which would later become the European Union.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | Country
! rowspan=2 | Electorate
! rowspan=2 | Voter turnout, <br />of eligible
! colspan=2 | Votes
! colspan=2 | Proportion of votes
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | Invalid votes
|-
! Yes
! No
! Yes
! No
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:palegreen" |
| England
| style="text-align: right;" | 33,356,208
| style="text-align: right;" | 64.6%
| style="text-align: right; background:palegreen" | 14,918,009
| style="text-align: right;"| 6,182,052
| style="text-align: right; background:palegreen" | 68.65%
| style="text-align: right; "|31.35%
| style="text-align: right;" | 42,161
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:palegreen;" |
| Northern Ireland
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,030,534
| style="text-align: right;" | 47.4%
| style="text-align: right; background:palegreen" | 259,251
| style="text-align: right;"| 237,911
| style="text-align: right; background:palegreen" | 52.19%
| style="text-align: right; "|47.81%
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,589
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:palegreen" |
| Scotland
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,688,799
| style="text-align: right;" | 61.7%
| style="text-align: right; background:palegreen" | 1,332,186
| style="text-align: right;"| 948,039
| style="text-align: right; background:palegreen" | 58.42%
| style="text-align: right; "|41.58%
| style="text-align: right;" | 6,481
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:palegreen" |
| Wales
| style="text-align: right;" | 2,011,136
| style="text-align: right;" | 66.7%
| style="text-align: right; background:palegreen" | 869,135
| style="text-align: right;"| 472,071
| style="text-align: right; background:palegreen" | 64.80%
| style="text-align: right; "|35.20%
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,339
|}
2011 Alternative Vote referendum
thumb|right|alt=Map of the UK with local government areas coloured by "yes" vote. Most of it is red, indicating majority "no".|All but ten areas voted "No".
The alternative vote referendum, as part of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement drawn up following the 2010 general election, was a nationwide vote held on Thursday 5 May 2011 (the same date as local elections in many areas) to choose the method of electing MPs at subsequent general elections. The referendum concerned whether to replace the present "first-past-the-post" system with the "alternative vote" (AV) method. The voters were asked to vote yes or no on the question "At present, the UK uses the "first past the post" system to elect MPs to the House of Commons. Should the "alternative vote" system be used instead?". It was the first nationwide referendum to be held for some thirty six years and was legislated for under the provisions of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 and is to date the first and only UK-wide referendum to be held on a domestic issue. Turnout was low at just 42% nationally and was also marked by relatively low key campaigning. The two campaigning groups for the referendum was advocating a yes vote YES! To Fairer Votes and advocating a no vote NOtoAV.
AV was rejected by 67% of voters with all but ten of the 440 voting areas voted "No" and the proposed legislation to introduce AV which was subject to the referendum was repealed.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | Region
! rowspan=2 | Electorate
! rowspan=2 | Voter turnout, <br />of eligible
! colspan=2 | Votes
! colspan=2 | Proportion of votes
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | Invalid votes
|-
! Yes
! No
! Yes
! No
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:pink" |
| East Midlands
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,348,469
| style="text-align: right;" | 42.8%
| style="text-align: right;" | 408,877
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|1,013,864
| style="text-align: right;" | 28.74%
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|71.26%
| style="text-align: right;" | 9,486
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;" |
| East of England
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,263,006
| style="text-align: right;" | 43.1%
| style="text-align: right;" | 530,140
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|1,298,004
| style="text-align: right;" | 29.00%
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|71.00%
| style="text-align: right;" | 11,218
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:pink" |
| Greater London
| style="text-align: right;" | 5,258,802
| style="text-align: right;" | 35.4%
| style="text-align: right;" | 734,427
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|1,123,480
| style="text-align: right;" | 39.53%
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|60.47%
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,561
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:pink" |
| North East England
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,968,137
| style="text-align: right;" | 38.8%
| style="text-align: right;" | 212,951
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|546,138
| style="text-align: right;" | 28.05%
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|71.95%
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,214
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:pink" |
| North West England
| style="text-align: right;" | 5,239,323
| style="text-align: right;" | 39.1%
| style="text-align: right;" | 613,249
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|1,416,201
| style="text-align: right;" | 30.22%
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|69.78%
| style="text-align: right;" | 19,273
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:pink" |
| Northern Ireland
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,198,966
| style="text-align: right;" | 55.8%
| style="text-align: right;" | 289,088
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|372,706
| style="text-align: right;" | 43.68%
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|56.32%
| style="text-align: right;" | 7,062
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:pink" |
| Scotland
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,893,268
| style="text-align: right;" | 50.7%
| style="text-align: right;" | 713,813
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|1,249,375
| style="text-align: right;" | 36.36%
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|63.64%
| style="text-align: right;" | 12,370
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:pink" |
| South East England
| style="text-align: right;" | 6,288,366
| style="text-align: right;" | 43.1%
| style="text-align: right;" | 823,793
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|1,951,793
| style="text-align: right;" | 29.68%
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|70.32%
| style="text-align: right;" | 12,594
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:pink" |
| South West England
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,028,829
| style="text-align: right;" | 44.6%
| style="text-align: right;" | 564,541
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|1,225,305
| style="text-align: right;" | 31.54%
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|68.46%
| style="text-align: right;" | 7,399
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:pink" |
| Wales
| style="text-align: right;" | 2,268,739
| style="text-align: right;" | 41.7%
| style="text-align: right;" | 325,349
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|616,307
| style="text-align: right;" | 34.55%
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|65.45%
| style="text-align: right;" | 5,267
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:pink" |
| West Midlands
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,093,521
| style="text-align: right;" | 39.8%
| style="text-align: right;" | 461,847
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|1,157,772
| style="text-align: right;" | 28.52%
| style="text-align: right; background:pink"|71.48%
| style="text-align: right;" | 13,845
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:pink" |
| Yorkshire and the Humber
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,835,075
| style="text-align: right;" | 39.9%
| style="text-align: right;" | 474,532
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|1,042,178
| style="text-align: right;" | 31.29%
| style="text-align: right; background:pink;"|68.71%
| style="text-align: right;" | 13,722
|}
2016 European Union membership referendum
[[File:United Kingdom EU referendum 2016 area results 2-tone.svg|thumb|alt=Map of the UK with local government areas coloured by leave/remain majority vote|A total of 263 voting areas voted to "Leave" whereas 119 voting areas voted to "Remain" in the referendum.
]]
On Thursday 23 June 2016 the United Kingdom voted for the second time in 41 years on its membership to what is now known as the European Union (EU) with the overseas territory Gibraltar also voting on the issue for the very first time. The referendum was called after Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron made a manifesto commitment in the 2015 general election to undertake a renegotiation of the UK's membership to the European Union which would be followed by a in-out referendum. All of the major political parties were in favour of remaining an EU member, except for a split within the Conservative Party. The cabinet was split between pro-EU and anti-EU ministers, and Cameron suspended the constitutional convention of Cabinet collective responsibility, allowing ministers to publicly campaign on either side. Seven of the 23 members of the Cabinet opposed continued EU membership.
The referendum was legislated for under the provisions of the European Union Referendum Act 2015, which legally required the UK Government to hold the referendum no later than 31 December 2017 and also the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Voters were asked to vote "Remain a member of the European Union" or "Leave the European Union" on the question "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" The lead campaign group for the referendum that was advocating the "remain" vote was Britain Stronger in Europe, and advocating the "leave" vote was Vote Leave.
The "Leave" option was chosen by 52% of voters, with 48% of voters opting to "Remain". Of the 382 voting areas, 263 areas returned "majority" votes in favour of "Leave" whereas 119 areas returned "majority" votes in favour of "Remain" which included every Scottish council area and all but five of the London boroughs. The vote revealed divisions among the constituent nations of the United Kingdom, with England and Wales voting to leave, but Scotland and Northern Ireland voting to remain. The national turnout was 72% which was eight percentage points higher than the turnout in 1975, although the majority was 12 percentage points lower. It was the first time a UK-wide referendum result had gone against the preferred choice of the UK Government, which had officially recommended a "Remain" vote, and it led to a period of political turmoil. As a direct consequence of losing the referendum, David Cameron announced his resignation as Prime Minister on the morning after the vote. He left office three weeks later on 13 July, and was succeeded by Theresa May who later resigned in 2019 due to the issue remaining unresolved. Following the vote there was frequent public discussion as to whether the result of the referendum was advisory or mandatory, but the High Court stated on 3 November 2016 that, in the absence of specific provision in the enabling legislation (and in this case there was none), "a referendum on any topic can only be advisory for the lawmakers in Parliament".
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | Region
! rowspan=2 | Electorate
! rowspan=2 | Voter turnout, <br />of eligible
! colspan=2 | Votes
! colspan=2 | Proportion of votes
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | Invalid votes
|-
! Remain
! Leave
! Remain
! Leave
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;" |
| East Midlands
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,384,299
| style="text-align: right;" | 74.2%
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,033,036
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|1,475,479
| style="text-align: right;" | 41.18%
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|58.82%
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,981
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;" |
| East of England
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,398,796
| style="text-align: right;" | 75.7%
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,448,616
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|1,880,367
| style="text-align: right;" | 43.52%
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|56.48%
| style="text-align: right;" | 2,329
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:#fea;" |
| Greater London
| style="text-align: right;" | 5,424,768
| style="text-align: right;" | 69.7%
| style="text-align: right; background:#fea;" |2,263,519
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,513,232
| style="text-align: right; background:#fea;" |59.93%
| style="text-align: right;" | 40.07%
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,453
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;" |
| North East England
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,934,341
| style="text-align: right;" | 69.3%
| style="text-align: right;" | 562,595
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|778,103
| style="text-align: right;" | 41.96%
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|58.04%
| style="text-align: right;" | 689
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;" |
| North West England
| style="text-align: right;" | 5,241,568
| style="text-align: right;" | 70.0%
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,699,020
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|1,966,925
| style="text-align: right;" | 46.35%
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|53.65%
| style="text-align: right;" | 2,682
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:#fea;" |
| Northern Ireland
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,260,955
| style="text-align: right;" | 62.7%
| style="text-align: right; background:#fea;" |440,707
| style="text-align: right;" | 349,442
| style="text-align: right; background:#fea;" |55.78%
| style="text-align: right;" | 44.22%
| style="text-align: right;" | 374
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:#fea;" |
| Scotland
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,987,112
| style="text-align: right;" | 67.2%
| style="text-align: right; background:#fea;" |1,661,191
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,018,322
| style="text-align: right; background:#fea;" |62.00%
| style="text-align: right;" | 38.00%
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,666
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;" |
| South East England
| style="text-align: right;" | 6,465,404
| style="text-align: right;" | 76.8%
| style="text-align: right;" | 2,391,718
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|2,567,965
| style="text-align: right;" | 48.22%
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|51.78%
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,427
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;" |
|
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,138,134
| style="text-align: right;" | 76.7%
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,503,019
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|1,669,711
| style="text-align: right;" | 47.37%
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|52.63%
| style="text-align: right;" | 2,179
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;" |
| Wales
| style="text-align: right;" | 2,270,272
| style="text-align: right;" | 71.7%
| style="text-align: right;" | 772,347
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|854,572
| style="text-align: right;" | 47.47%
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|52.53%
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,135
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;" |
| West Midlands
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,116,572
| style="text-align: right;" | 72.0%
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,207,175
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|1,755,687
| style="text-align: right;" | 40.74%
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|59.26%
| style="text-align: right;" | 2,507
|-
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;" |
| Yorkshire and the Humber
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,877,780
| style="text-align: right;" | 70.7%
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,158,298
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|1,580,937
| style="text-align: right;" | 42.29%
| style="text-align: right; background:#acf;"|57.71%
| style="text-align: right;" | 1,937
|}
List of other major referendums
Since 1973 there have been ten other referendums held by the UK Government within the constituent countries related to the issues of sovereignty, devolution and independence in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and in parts of England (in the North East and London).
England
- 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, on whether there should be a Greater London Authority, consisting of a Mayor of London and a London Assembly (yes)
- 2004 North East England devolution referendum, on an elected regional assembly (no)
Northern Ireland
- 1973 Northern Ireland border poll, on whether Northern Ireland should leave the United Kingdom and join the Republic of Ireland (no) The referendum was boycotted by nationalists.
- 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum, on the Good Friday Agreement (yes)
Scotland
- 1979 Scottish devolution referendum, on whether there should be a Scottish Assembly (small majority voted yes, but fell short of the 40% threshold required to enact devolution)
- 1997 Scottish devolution referendum, Two questions: On whether there should be a Scottish Parliament (yes); On whether a Scottish Parliament should have tax varying powers (yes)
- 2014 Scottish independence referendum on the question "Should Scotland be an independent country?", 18 September 2014 (no)
Wales
- 1979 Welsh devolution referendum, on whether there should be a Welsh Assembly (no)
- 1997 Welsh devolution referendum, on whether there should be a National Assembly for Wales (yes)
- 2011 Welsh devolution referendum, on whether the National Assembly should have increased law-making powers (yes)
Local referendums
Referendums have been held in local areas in England, Wales and Scotland since the 1850s. These have covered issues such as local government administration, transport, prohibition, libraries, and other local questions. The areas covered have generally corresponded to local authority areas, civil parishes, or wards, with all local government electors of the relevant area being eligible to vote.
Advisory referendums
Principal authorities in Great Britain have the ability to hold an advisory referendum on any issue relating to its services, financial provisions, and other matters that are relevant to the area. previously local polls relied upon a council's power to consult residents and collect information.
Transport referendums
The City of Edinburgh Council held a postal-ballot referendum in February 2005 over whether voters supported the Council's proposed transport strategy. These plans included a congestion charge which would have required motorists to pay a fee to enter the city at certain times of the day. The result was announced on 22 February 2005 and the people of Edinburgh had rejected the proposals. 74% voted against, 26% voted in favour, and the turnout was 62%.
Strathclyde water referendum
Strathclyde Regional Council held a referendum in 1994 on the plans of the Conservative UK government to privatise water services within Scotland. The government planned to sell the three recently established water authorities in Scotland, created under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 as a precursor for privatisation, which would bring Scotland in line with the 1989 privatisation in England and Wales. Strathclyde council, which previously held responsibility for water services, planned the referendum in response to overwhelming public opinion against the move. The referendum, conducted by post, resulted in 97% voting against the plan, with 70% of the electorate participating. Although the referendum had no legal effect, the plan to privatise Scottish water services was eventually dropped.
Statutory referendums
Legislation in England and Wales obliges local authorities to hold and abide by the results of referendums in certain circumstances.
In England, raising Council Tax above a level prescribed by the Local Government Secretary requires approval in a referendum. The threshold was initially set at 2% in 2012 for all types of local authority, but for authorities that fund social care the threshold was increased to 4% in 2015 and 5% in 2017. From April 2018 the figures for both types of authority have been increased by an additional 1%. This provision applies to all precepting authorities,