The Temperance (Scotland) Act 1913 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom under which voters in small local areas in Scotland were enabled to hold a poll to vote on whether their area remained "wet" or went "dry" (that is, whether alcoholic drinks should be permitted or prohibited). The decision was made on a simple majority of votes cast.
Background
The act was a result of the strong temperance movement in Scotland prior to the beginning of the First World War. Brewers and publicans formed defence committees to fight temperance propaganda, and publicans became unwilling to spend money on improvements to their premises in case the district was declared to be "dry". The whole act was repealed by section 201(1) of, and the twelfth schedule to, the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1959, which came into force on 1 January 1960, and incorporated the same provisions as the 1913 Act and consolidated Scottish licensing law. These provisions and the local polls were abolished by the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976.
There was resistance from the House of Lords to the passing of the act, leading to threats to use the (relatively new) Parliament Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5. c. 13) to pass it. In the end, these threats pressured the Lords to pass the act.
1920 referendums
The first opportunity to petition for a poll on local prohibition was in June 1920. In order for a poll to be called, there had to be a petition signed by 10% of the registered voters in a burgh, parish or ward. The first batch of polls were then held alongside municipal elections in November and December, the first being in Glasgow on 2 November.
The conditions required to prohibit the sale of alcohol in an area were strict. Three options appeared on the poll: no change, a 25% reduction in licences to sell alcohol, and the abolition of all existing licences. In order for prohibition to be implemented, that option required the support of at least 55% support of voters, and at least 35% of everyone registered to vote in the constituency. However, if this option was not successful, all votes for "no licence" would be counted towards the 25% reduction tally. By the end of polling, in late-December, 60% of votes had been cast for "no change", 38% for "no licence", and 2% for the reduction of licences. About 40 districts voted in favour of prohibition, including Airdrie, Cambuslang, Kilsyth, Kirkintilloch, Parkinch, Stewarton and Whitehead. Glasgow was a particular target for the prohibitionists. At the 1920 poll, a majority of voters plumped for "no licence" in eleven wards, but due to the turnout and supermajority requirements, it was only successful in four.
Between 1913 and 1965, 1,131 polls were held under the act and the same provisions in the 1959 Act, with the vast majority (1,079) held before 1930. The holding of votes continued to tail off during the 1930s and 1940s. By 1970, there were still 16 districts with prohibition, but just one or two new polls held annually, until the polling system was formally abolished in 1976.