The Referendum in British Politics: Experiences and Controversies since the 1970s

Revision with unchanged content. This work examines the British referendum since the 1970s, while primarily focusing on the question whether the referendum could be regarded as a new understanding of democracy in the UK. It is investigated whether this approach is true or whether the referendum is rather a clever, opportunistic device which supports political manipulation and thus helps to impose the interests of its triggers. In order to answer those questions, it is necessary to elaborate on the constitution and its main principle, parliamentary sovereignty. The second part of this work will offer a detailed, descriptive introduction to all eight referendums that have been carried out so far in the UK, intending to inform about the circumstances of each individual referendum. The main part will then form the assessment of these referendums. Controversies and inconsistencies of the governmental actions are addressed in order to find an answer to the central question of this work, whether the referendum is part of a changing democracy in Britain or, whether it is rather understood as a tactic of the government. This work is directed towards students of British cultural and political studies and towards those who do research in the field of the referendum. It is also addressed to readers with a general interest in the topic.