Referendums
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a) A referendum is a vote on a single issue put before the electorate by the government. Usually it is in the form of a question requiring a Yes or No response. Referendums are mainly used for big political issues that affect most of the population - i.e. Devolution, joining the single European currency.
b) Three examples of referendums held in the UK are;
1. The first ever referendum in the UK was held in Northern Ireland in 1973. The question put to the electorate was Should Northern Ireland continue to be part on the UK? The result was 99% yes because Protestants outnumbered Catholics in Northern Ireland so a yes vote was a forgone conclusion. But the turnout was only 59% because the SDLP and Sinn Fein organised a boycott...