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Local referendums

Referendums have been held in local areas in England, Wales and Scotland since 1913. These have covered issues such as local government administration, transport, prohibition, and other local questions. The areas covered have generally corresponded to local authority areas, civil parishes, or wards, with all local government electors of the relevant area being eligible to vote.

Advisory referendums

Principal authorities in Great Britain have the ability to hold an advisory referendum on any issue relating to its services, financial provisions, and other matters that are relevant to the area. The power for principal local authorities to hold a poll within England and Wales is specifically granted by the Local Government Act 2003; previously local polls relied upon a council's power to consult residents and collect information. In Scotland the power is similarly implied by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, and an additional power is conferred by the requirement of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 to consult before introducing a road charging scheme. The power to hold local referendums has not been extended to Northern Ireland.

A local advisory referendum is not required to follow the legislation governing the conduct of other referendums and elections in the UK. The local authority can choose how to conduct a local referendum, and may choose to hold the vote solely by post, instead of using polling stations.

Transport referendums

Main articles: Edinburgh road tolls referendum, 2005 and Greater Manchester transport referendum, 2008

The City of Edinburgh Council held a postal-ballot referendum in February 2005 over whether voters supported the Council's proposed transport strategy. These plans included a congestion charge which would have required motorists to pay a fee to enter the city at certain times of the day. The result was announced on 22 February 2005 and the people of Edinburgh had rejected the proposals. 74% voted against, 26% voted in favour, and the turnout was 62%.

Strathclyde water referendum

Main article: Strathclyde water referendum, 1994

Strathclyde Regional Council held a referendum in 1994 on the plans of the Conservative government to privatise water services within Scotland. The government planned to sell the three recently established water authorities in Scotland, created under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 as a precursor for privatisation, which would bring Scotland in line with the 1989 privatisation in England and Wales. Strathclyde council, which previously held responsibility for water services, planned the referendum in response to overwhelming public opinion against the move. The referendum, conducted by post, resulted in 97% voting against the plan, with 70% of the electorate participating. Although the referendum had no legal effect, the plan to privatise Scottish water services was eventually dropped.

Statutory referendums

Legislation in England and Wales obliges local authorities to hold and abide by the results of referendums in certain circumstances.

In England, raising Council Tax above a level proscribed by the Local Government Secretary, currently set at two-percent, requires approval in a referendum. This provision applies to all precepting authorities, when this is not the billing authority (i.e the district council), the latter will hold the referendum on the precepting authority's behalf, and recoup the costs. Only one council tax referendum has been held, on behalf of the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, and the rise was rejected.

The Localism Act 2011 allows parish councils or local community groups to create neighbourhood development plans. The plans are intended to guide planning decisions within the neighbourhood area, by outlining the amount and type of development that should occur in the area, what land may be built upon and how existing buildings may be reused. For a plan to come into force, it must be approved by the electorate in the local area in a referendum. Neighbourhood planning referendums have a high success rate, with all being approved as of December 2015.

Mayoral and other governance referendums

Main article: England and Wales mayoral referendums

A local authority in England and Wales can hold a referendum on changing its executive arrangements between a directly elected mayor, a leader and cabinet, and in England only, a committee system. A referendum can be held by three methods; by a resolution of the council to hold one, under an order from the government, or upon receiving a petition signed by five percent of registered voters within the local authority area, in the only example of the initiative process in the United Kingdom. If successful, the council must change its governance system, and hold an election for the mayor if necessary.

The process differs between England and Wales. In England, a referendum can be held on moving between any of the three systems, and following the vote another referendum may not be held for 10 years. A council is not required to hold a referendum to change its executive arrangements, but a change that has occurred as a result of a referendum can only be changed following another referendum. In Wales, a council must hold a referendum to change between a mayor and leader and cabinet, with the minimum period between votes set at five years.

Fifty-three referendums have taken place in local authorities to establish whether there is support for directly elected mayors. Sixteen were successful and a mayoralty was established; in thirty-seven local authorities the an elected mayor was rejected by voters. An additional six referendums have been held on removing the post of elected mayor, with three mayoralties being retained, and three disestablished. Ten referendums were held in 2012 as part of the government's manifesto to introduce elected mayors in the largest cities in England without the position. Only one referendum was approved, and no further votes have been ordered by the government. Two referendums have been held in response to a petition on moving to a committee system, in Flyde and West Dorset. Both referendums were successful. On average, turnout is similar to that of local elections, with the highest turnout 64% in Berwick-upon-Tweed (held alongside the 2001 general election) and the lowest 10% in the London Borough of Ealing.

Prohibition referendums

The temperance movement led to two countries of the UK gaining the right to hold referendums on the sale of alcohol in the local area, upon the request of a number of local electors.

The Temperance (Scotland) Act 1913 provided that polls could be held in small local areas in Scotland to determine whether to instate a level of prohibition on the purchase of alcoholic beverages; the provisions were later incorporated into the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1959. Between 1913 and 1965 1,131 such polls were held, with the vast majority (1,079) held before 1930. These provisions and the local polls were abolished by the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976.

The Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881 mandated that all public houses in Wales be closed on Sundays. The Act was extended to Monmouthshire in 1921. Under the terms of the Licensing Act 1961, on the application of 500 local electors, a referendum could be held in each local government area at seven-year intervals on whether that district should be "wet" or "dry" on the Sabbath. Most districts in the border area and the southern industrial area went "wet" in 1961 or 1968, with most others following suit in 1975. In 1982, the last district, Dwyfor, in western Gwynedd, went "wet" and it was thought that the influence of the Sabbatarian temperance movement had expired and few referendums were called, but surprisingly a further referendum was called in Dwyfor in 1989 and the area went "dry" for another seven years on a 9% turnout. The whole of Wales was "wet" from 1996, and the facility for further referendums was removed by the Sunday Licensing Act 2003.

Parish polls

A parish poll is a referendum held in a civic parish under the Local Government Act 1972. The cost of holding such polls is met by the parish council.

"A poll may be demanded before the conclusion of a community meeting on any question arising at the meeting; but no poll shall be taken unless either the person presiding at the meeting consents or the poll is demanded by not less than ten, or one-third, of the local government electors present at the meeting, whichever is the less."

In September 2007, villagers in East Stoke in Dorset forced a referendum, under the Local Government Act 1972, on this question: "Do You Want a Referendum on the EU Constitutional Treaty? Yes or No?" Of the 339 people who were eligible to vote, 80 voted: 72 votes for Yes and 8 votes for No. The poll was initiated by a supporter of the Eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party. The poll was criticised by the chairman of the parish council as "little more than a publicity stunt."