Recent papers on referendums plus some relevant past papers
Why multi-option referendums don’t work for major issues Alex Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister has invited others to add an option on ‘devo max’ to his 2014 Independence referendum. The article explains why
his offer should be resisted using the experience of multi-option referendums around the World since 1945. 5 pp PDF
Voting on the final Independence deal just makes more sense Both London and Edinburgh want to hold a referendum on the SNP White paper before any negotiations take place on Scottish Independence. Blind voting indeed. 5pp PDF
Blair’s referendums – An account of all the referendums held in the UK during the Blair premiership written in the context of his Euro referendum that never was! 8 pp PDF
Don’t Gamble on 1975 - A warning to the Blair Government not to bank on repeating the success of the 1975 UK referendum on the EEC (EU) – basically an argument about our changing society. 2 pp PDF
How to lose a Referendum - An explanation why change campaigns (usually YES) have a harder task than status- quo with some striking examples of campaign swings to NO. The 2011 AV referendum in the UK demonstrated the same pattern. A weak reform went downhill through the campaign. 2 pp PDF
Labour voters don’t want the Euro- A reminder to the Government that referendums free the voter from party obligations and cross party splits are the natural order. 2 pp PDF
Submission to the House of Lords Inquiry on Referendums held in January 2010. It makes a number of points about good practice in the conduct of IR. One of the Lords recommendations was there should be a presumption against combining elections & referendums. 10 pp PDF
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