Scottish devolution referendum, 1979

  • Approval
  • Rejection

In a referendum on decentralization (English devolution referendum ) on March 1, 1979, the population of Scotland opportunity to comment on the question of whether Scotland should have its own regional parliament within the United Kingdom.

Background

Since the Act of Union of 1707, the two kingdoms of England and Scotland were together for " Kingdom " united and there existed no independent Scottish Parliament more, but the elected parliamentarians in Scotland sat as a Member of the Westminster Parliament in London. However, Scotland also retained after the unification extensive special rights, such as a bank, a church organization, the technology based closer to the continental legal right of Scotland and the Scots did retain a strong regional self-confidence.

Scottish national movement after the Second World War

After the Second World War, and along with the dissolution of the former British Empire voices were raised demanding a regional autonomy or even independence for Scotland. A widely acclaimed signal was the victory of the candidate of the separatist Scottish National Party, Winnie Ewing in the by-election in the Scottish constituency of Hamilton on November 2, 1967. Were In the late 1960s and extensive in the 1970s, oil and gas reserves discovered off the coast of Scotland, got the Scottish autonomy movement under the slogan It 's Scotland 's oil extra lift and the Scottish National Party, which had been an insignificant splinter party in the decades before, received at the general election in February 1974 22 % and in October 1974 30 % of the vote in Scotland.

Kilbrandon Commission

To meet the Scottish and Welsh demands was also in 1969 by the Labour government under Prime Minister Harold Wilson, the Royal Commission on the Constitution, or after its chairman Lord Crowther and Lord Kilbrandon (from 1972 ) simply Crowther Commission or Commission Kilbrandon launched. The Commission dealt with the question of devolution, ie the possible decentralization of the United Kingdom. She did not come to a unified result and the final report in 1973, several options were presented. With regard to the parts of the country Scotland and Wales, the Commission recommended the creation of a majority of own regional parliaments, which should be responsible for limited local affairs.

In response to the Commission's report and on the success of the Scottish National Party in 1974 prompted Prime Minister Wilson, a meeting of the Scottish Labour MPs on 22 June 1974 to adopt a plan for the development of a concept for self-government with them. On this day, however, took place during the first final round of the World Cup the match between Yugoslavia and Scotland instead (which ended in a draw ). Ultimately, therefore, appeared at the agreed meeting only 11 of the 22 Scottish Labour MPs, the skeptics remain regarding autonomy of Scotland while in the majority and there was much to the annoyance Wilson to no decision with regard to the self-government of Scotland.

In 1978, the British Parliament decided by the narrow majority of the Labour Party and these parties supporting the Scotland Act, which provided for the creation of a Scottish Parliament, based in Edinburgh. The entry into force of the Scotland Act, however, was tied to a referendum, which was to be held in Scotland in the following year. The provisions saw before, had not only an absolute majority of the votes but also at least 40 % of the electorate (including non-voters ) agree to the Scotland Act.

Referendum

The question that was put to the Scottish electorate on March 1, 1979 was:

" Do you want the of commission of the Scotland Act 1978 to be put into effect? "

" If the measures of the Scotland Act 1978 be implemented? "

The voters had to tick "Yes" or "No" ( Yes / No) on the ballot.

In the final agreed a slim majority of voters ( 51.6 %) of the Scotland Act, but this was with a voter turnout of 63%, only 32.5 % of the electorate, so that the question of the referendum was thus not answered positively. Disappointed supporters protested under the slogan "Scotland said, yes' " ( " Schottand has said 'yes' "). Criticism was sparked by the way, as the number of electors had been determined. Since there had been no population census in the year vote, the electors in each electoral districts had to be estimated, which was naturally subject to uncertainty. The Labour government under Prime Minister James Callaghan introduced thereafter all activities, the Scotland Act to implement. Then eluded the Scottish National Party (SNP ) in the Westminster Parliament the government its parliamentary support and supported a vote of no confidence against the government. The merger of the SNP and the Liberal Party, both of which supported the Scotland Act, with the opposition Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher, who had opposed a self-governing Scotland, was sharply criticized by the Prime Minister:

"So, tonight, the Conservative Party, Which wants the Act repealed and even opposes devolution, will march through the lobby with the SNP, Which wants independence for Scotland, and with the Liberals, who want to keep the Act. What a massive display of unsullied principle! The minority parties have walked into a trap. If They win, there will be a general election. I am told did the current joke going around the House is did it is the first time in recorded history did turkeys have been known to vote for on Christmas early. "

" Now Today evening the Conservative party, which is to reject the Acts ' has spoken and is even against the decentralization as a whole, together with the SNP, which aims to gain independence of Scotland, and with the Liberals that the 'Act ' implement want to march through the Parliament lobby. What a performance by unprincipled! The minority parties have fallen into a trap. If they win [ the vote of no confidence ], there will be an early parliamentary election. I was told that currently makes a joke circulating in the home that this is the first time in history that used turkeys for an early Christmas. "

In a dramatic vote Callaghan lost on 28 March 1979, the trust issue with 310:311 votes, ie only a single voice. The then held early general election on May 3, 1979, won by the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher. This was followed by a total of 18 years of conservative governments under which the issue of devolution was not pursued.

Only after the election of the Labour Party in the 1997 General Election, the newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair was again a referendum in Scotland hold. Labour thus replaced one of the election promises. In this referendum on 11 September 1997 (this time without the 40 % threshold ), the voters spoke mostly of the creation of a Scottish Parliament with tax powers, so that in 1998 the new Scotland Act came into force and a regional parliament for Scotland could be set up.

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