Referendum Party

Referendum Party was the name of several single-issue parties in the United Kingdom, who sought a referendum on the ratio of the country to the European Union. The most important of these parties was founded by entrepreneur and multi-millionaire Sir James Goldsmith for the British general election, 1997.

Program

The party sought to holding a referendum on membership of the United Kingdom in the European Union. She intended to compete in each constituency in which there were no leading candidate who advocated such a vote. Those seats to which they were not applied, generally with Eurosceptic Conservative MP reception party. However, they also do not competed against pro-European member of Parliament of all parties were in favor of a referendum. Accordingly, most of the candidates, members and supporters of the Referendum Party Eurosceptics were, but there were quite pro-European Discontinued. In Northern Ireland, the Referendum Party did not appear to, but supported the Ulster Unionist Party.

On 28 November 1996, the party presented the question that should go in a referendum on the vote:

Even before the election, the party had in the short term a seat in the House of Commons, as the Conservative MP for the constituency of Reigate, George Gardiner, entered the dispute over his re- nomination by the Conservative Party in the Referendum Party.

1997 General Election

In March 1997, the party presented five million households to a videotape. In the 12 - minute film, presented by the television presenter Gavin Campbell, has warned of a " European federal over- state."

In the general election of 1997, the Referendum Party received more than 800,000 votes, making it the fourth most powerful force, but did not win a seat

According to an analysis by John Curtice and Michael Steed may be " only a handful of recycled seat losses of the conservatives on the intervention of the Referendum Party ." In their estimation, only four more seats would have gone to the Conservative Party, if not the Referendum Party had a candidate. However, supporters of the party complained 25-30 mandate losses of the Conservatives, who are directly attributable to the election campaign of the Referendum Party. The analysis of Curtice and Steed comes to the conclusion that whenever a candidate of the Referendum Party or the United Kingdom Independence Party was set up, suffered loss of votes the Conservatives. If a candidate of the Referendum Party received a high share of the vote, but he took more voters who might otherwise have voted for the Labour Party or the Liberal Democrats.

George Gardiner applied for the Referendum Party to re-election in the constituency of Reigate, but was beaten by the new candidate of the Conservative Party.

Goldsmith said he wanted to continue the party, but his death in July 1997 she robbed of their most famous leader and the funds that he had provided. Shortly after the party broke up.

Successor organizations

Leaders of the party, including Goldsmith's widow Lady Anabel Goldsmith, formed a successor organization, the Referendum Movement. This reunited in January 1999 with the company founded by millionaire Paul Sykes Euro - hostile organization Euro Information Campaign for Democracy Movement. This is not a party, but an advocacy.