Referendums

... the Leader of the House of Commons, Ted Short, justified the use of a referendum in the decision to stay in the European Community by saying 'Only by means of a referendum can we find out whether the British people do or do not consent to our continued membership'. Similarly, the Prime Minister in office at the time of the European referendum said 'It means that fourteen years of national argument are over', emphasising the ability to make a final decision on various issues.

Using the promise of referendums have proved to play a part in attracting support for political parties in general elections. A possible example could have been the Labour Party before the 1997 election. They promised referendums on reform, devolution and the Euro, and since the Conservative Party were opposed to change involving these issues, a percentage of the electorate may have voted according to these policies.

Referendums can be used to break deadlocks between the Houses of Lords and Commons. Although this doesn't happen as frequently nowadays, in the crisis of 1909-1911 over the People's Budget and the Parliament Bill the Conservatives proposed for any bill relating 'to a matter of great gravity' to be taken to a referendum if rejected by the Lords.

Another perfectly valid reason that surely it is the British citizens' right to be asked their opinion in certain cases, because the fundamental issues are matters which affect the future direction of the country, and to keep the interests of the public in hand, governments should continue to use referendums.

Regarding the democratic relevance of referendums, in theory, our system emphasises the importance of the supremacy of Parliament, but in practice many people feel that our machinery does not work as well as it should, and ploys such as referendu ...