Scotland referendum, 1979
Encyclopedia
The Scottish referendum of 1979 was a post-legislative referendum
to decide whether there was sufficient support for the Scotland Act 1978
among the Scottish electorate. This was an act to create a devolved
deliberative assembly
for Scotland
. The Act provided for special conditions on the referendum stipulating that for the Act not to be repealed at least 40% of the electorate would have to vote Yes in the referendum.
The referendum resulted in a 51.6% support for the proposal which, with a turnout of 63.8%, fell short of the required 40% condition for the Scotland Act 1978 to be implemented. A second referendum to create a devolved legislature in Scotland was held in 1997, which led to the enactment of the Scotland Act 1998
and the creation of a devolved Scottish Parliament
in 1999.
introduced by George Cunningham
(a Scot who represented an English
seat) added a further requirement that the approval at the referendum be by 40% of Scotland's total registered electorate, rather than by a simple majority
.
A total of 1,230,937 (51.6%) voted at the referendum in favour of an Assembly, a narrow majority
of about 77,400 over those voting against. However, this total represented only 32.9% of the registered electorate as a whole. The Labour government accepted that the Act's requirements had not been met, and that devolution would therefore not be introduced for Scotland.
Under the terms of the Act, the Act could then be repeal
ed by a Statutory Instrument
to be approved by Parliament. However, the government's decision to abandon devolution for Scotland led the Scottish National Party
to withdraw its support for the government. A subsequent vote of no confidence led to the resignation of the Callaghan government, and an election was called
. The vote to repeal the Act did not happen until 26 July 1979, by which time a Conservative government had come to power under Margaret Thatcher
.
. As a result, many voters who believed in devolution in principle were unwilling to support this particular devolution bill.
The campaign for a "no" vote was much helped by an assurance by former Prime Minister Lord Home of the Hirsel
that a future Conservative Government would introduce legislation which would meet the objections. This pledge, made by Lord Home in a personal capacity, was not honoured by the Conservatives when they came to power a few months later.
The result was a narrow majority in favour of devolution. However, Parliament
had set a condition that 40% of the registered electorate should vote "Yes" in order to make it valid. The amendment to the Bill which set this condition was moved by George Cunningham
, the Scottish-born Labour
MP for Islington South and Finsbury.
Thus, despite a high turnout
of over 60%, devolution was not enacted since less than 40% of electorate voted yes. The Scotland Act 1978 was repealed in March 1979 by a vote of 301-206 in the UK House of Commons.
In particular, the SNP
carried out a survey of the electoral register in the Edinburgh Central constituency. This appeared to show that the register was so out of date that even in an area where major support for a "yes" vote might be expected, achievement of 40% of the electorate was virtually unattainable.
This was because the majority of electors lived in older tenements or newer Council blocks of flats where specific flat numbers were not specified. The work of electoral registration staff to obtain an accurate current register was almost impossible, and the same was true of most of Scotland's inner cities and larger towns.
This, along with the high mobility of population inevitable in inner urban areas, does much to explain the historic low turnout in all Britain's inner cities and towns.
Devolution was, however, lost from the mainstream political agenda for a decade.
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
to decide whether there was sufficient support for the Scotland Act 1978
Scotland Act 1978
The Scotland Act 1978 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to establish a Scottish Assembly as a devolved legislature for Scotland...
among the Scottish electorate. This was an act to create a devolved
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
deliberative assembly
Deliberative assembly
A deliberative assembly is an organization comprising members who use parliamentary procedure to make decisions. In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke described the English Parliament as a "deliberative assembly," and the expression became the basic term for a body of...
for Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The Act provided for special conditions on the referendum stipulating that for the Act not to be repealed at least 40% of the electorate would have to vote Yes in the referendum.
The referendum resulted in a 51.6% support for the proposal which, with a turnout of 63.8%, fell short of the required 40% condition for the Scotland Act 1978 to be implemented. A second referendum to create a devolved legislature in Scotland was held in 1997, which led to the enactment of the Scotland Act 1998
Scotland Act 1998
The Scotland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is the Act which established the devolved Scottish Parliament.The Act will be amended by the Scotland Bill 2011, if and when it receives royal assent.-History:...
and the creation of a devolved Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
in 1999.
The controversial "40%" rule
During the passage of the Scotland Act 1978 through Parliament, an amendmentBill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
introduced by George Cunningham
George Cunningham
George Cunningham is a British politician.Cunningham was educated at Dunfermline High School, Blackpool Grammar School and the University of Manchester. He worked for the Labour Party as Commonwealth officer....
(a Scot who represented an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
seat) added a further requirement that the approval at the referendum be by 40% of Scotland's total registered electorate, rather than by a simple majority
Majority
A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...
.
A total of 1,230,937 (51.6%) voted at the referendum in favour of an Assembly, a narrow majority
Majority
A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...
of about 77,400 over those voting against. However, this total represented only 32.9% of the registered electorate as a whole. The Labour government accepted that the Act's requirements had not been met, and that devolution would therefore not be introduced for Scotland.
Under the terms of the Act, the Act could then be repeal
Repeal
A repeal is the amendment, removal or reversal of a law. This is generally done when a law is no longer effective, or it is shown that a law is having far more negative consequences than were originally envisioned....
ed by a Statutory Instrument
Statutory Instrument
A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...
to be approved by Parliament. However, the government's decision to abandon devolution for Scotland led the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
to withdraw its support for the government. A subsequent vote of no confidence led to the resignation of the Callaghan government, and an election was called
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
. The vote to repeal the Act did not happen until 26 July 1979, by which time a Conservative government had come to power under Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
.
Tax issue
In addition to all the arguments which traditionally surround discussions of Scottish devolution or independence, the public debate in 1979 was dominated by the issue of taxation. Since the proposed assembly would have no independent powers to vary taxes, it would be greatly restricted in its scope of operation, and this made it possible for the "no" campaign to play very plausibly on fears of an impotent new layer of bureaucracyBureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
. As a result, many voters who believed in devolution in principle were unwilling to support this particular devolution bill.
The campaign for a "no" vote was much helped by an assurance by former Prime Minister Lord Home of the Hirsel
Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...
that a future Conservative Government would introduce legislation which would meet the objections. This pledge, made by Lord Home in a personal capacity, was not honoured by the Conservatives when they came to power a few months later.
Results
The referendum was held on 1 March 1979. The electorate were asked to vote yes or no: "Parliament has decided to consult the electorate in Scotland on the question whether the Scotland Act 1978 should be put into effect. Do you want the provisions of the Scotland Act 1978 to be put into effect?"| Yes: 1,230,937 (51.6%) | No: 1,153,500 (48.4%) | ||
| ▲ |
| Turnout | Total votes cast |
|---|---|
| 63.8% | 2,384,437 |
Vote by each area
| Council area | YES vote | NO vote |
|---|---|---|
| Borders Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland... |
20,746 | 30,780 |
| Central Central Region, Scotland Central Region was a local government region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. It is now divided into the council areas of Falkirk, Stirling, and Clackmannanshire, which had previously been districts within Central... |
71,296 | 59,105 |
| Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973... |
27,162 | 40,239 |
| Fife Fife Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire... |
86,252 | 74,436 |
| Grampian Grampian Grampian was a local government region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. It is now divided into the unitary council areas of:*Moray*Aberdeenshire*City of AberdeenThe region had five districts:*Aberdeen*Banff and Buchan... |
94,944 | 101,485 |
| Highland Highland (council area) Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and... |
44,973 | 43,274 |
| Lothian Lothian Lothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills.... |
187,221 | 186,421 |
| Orkney Islands Orkney Islands Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness... |
2,104 | 5,439 |
| Shetland Islands Shetland Islands Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total... |
2,020 | 5,466 |
| Strathclyde Strathclyde right|thumb|the former Strathclyde regionStrathclyde was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created by the Local Government Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc Act 1994... |
596,519 | 508,599 |
| Tayside Tayside Tayside Region was a local government region of Scotland from 15 May 1975 to 31 March 1996. It was created by the 1973 Act following recommendations made by the 1969 Wheatley Report which attempted to replace the mishmash of counties, cities, burghs and districts, with a uniform two-tier system... |
91,482 | 93,325 |
| Western Isles | 6,218 | 4,933 |
| TOTAL | 1,230,937 | 1,153,500 |
The result was a narrow majority in favour of devolution. However, Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
had set a condition that 40% of the registered electorate should vote "Yes" in order to make it valid. The amendment to the Bill which set this condition was moved by George Cunningham
George Cunningham
George Cunningham is a British politician.Cunningham was educated at Dunfermline High School, Blackpool Grammar School and the University of Manchester. He worked for the Labour Party as Commonwealth officer....
, the Scottish-born Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP for Islington South and Finsbury.
Thus, despite a high turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
of over 60%, devolution was not enacted since less than 40% of electorate voted yes. The Scotland Act 1978 was repealed in March 1979 by a vote of 301-206 in the UK House of Commons.
"Scotland Said Yes"
In the wake of the referendum the disappointed supporters of the bill conducted a protest campaign under the slogan "Scotland said 'yes'". They claimed that the 40% rule was undemocratic and that the referendum results justified the establishment of the assembly.In particular, the SNP
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
carried out a survey of the electoral register in the Edinburgh Central constituency. This appeared to show that the register was so out of date that even in an area where major support for a "yes" vote might be expected, achievement of 40% of the electorate was virtually unattainable.
This was because the majority of electors lived in older tenements or newer Council blocks of flats where specific flat numbers were not specified. The work of electoral registration staff to obtain an accurate current register was almost impossible, and the same was true of most of Scotland's inner cities and larger towns.
This, along with the high mobility of population inevitable in inner urban areas, does much to explain the historic low turnout in all Britain's inner cities and towns.
Devolution was, however, lost from the mainstream political agenda for a decade.
See also
- Scottish independenceScottish independenceScottish independence is a political ambition of political parties, advocacy groups and individuals for Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state, separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
- Referendums in the United KingdomReferendums in the United KingdomReferendums are only occasionally held by the government of the United Kingdom. Eleven referendums have been held so far , the first in 1973; only two of these covered the whole UK...
- Scottish AssemblyScottish AssemblyThe Scottish Assembly was a proposed legislature for Scotland that would have devolved a set list of powers from the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
- Royal Commission on the Constitution (United Kingdom)Royal Commission on the Constitution (United Kingdom)The Royal Commission on the Constitution, also referred to as the Kilbrandon Commission or Kilbrandon Report, was a long-running royal commission set up by Harold Wilson's Labour government to examine the structures of the constitution of the United Kingdom and the British Islands and the...