REFERENDA ON ESTABLISHMENT OF A SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
11 September 1997
The Government's plans for a Scottish Parliament were as follows (from the White Paper Scotland's Parliament):
- A 129-member parliament to be elected in 1999, with 73 mmebers each representing a constituency to be elected by majority vote and the remaining 56 members to be elected by proportional representation on the basis of party political lists; elections to be held every four years
- The parliament to have powers to raise or reduce the basic rate of income tax by up to three pence, if supported in the referendum; savings and dividend income to be exempted from the tax variation power
- Westminster to retain powers over such areas as foreign, economic, defence and security police and the constitution; the Scottish Parliament to have legislative powers in all other areas, including health, education, law, the environment, economic development and local government
- A First Minister to be appointed by the Queen to head a Scottish Executive comprising ministers and law officers
- The cost of establishing the parliament to be about £10-£40 million, and the annual running costs to be about £20-£30 million
- The number of Scottish MPs at Westminster to be cut by about 12 by 2007
- The Secretary of State for Scotland to remain a Cabinet member and to be responsible for promoting communication between the Scottish and Westminster parliaments and for representing Scotland's interests in policy areas not devolved to the Scottish Parliament
- The judicial committee of the Privy Council to be the arbiter in the event of a dispute between the two parliaments
The referendum campaign was cut short by the death of Diana, Princess of Wales on 31 August 1997, leading to the suspension of campaigning until her burial on 6 September, and concern from all sides that the issues involved had not been properly debated. The date of the referendum could not be changed except by recalling Parliament, as it was explicitly mentioned in the Referendums (Scotland and Wales) Act 1997. The referendum on the establishment of a Welsh Assembly was originally scheduled for this date but was put back a week to allow for the loss of campaigning time.
The result was:
| I agree that there should be a Scottish Parliament |
1,775,045 |
74% |
| I do not agree that there should be a Scottish Parliament |
614,400 |
26% |
TOTAL
Electorate
Turnout |
2,389,445
3,973,673
60.13% |
|
| I agree that a Scottish Parliament should have tax-varying powers |
1,512,889 |
63% |
| I do not agree that a Scottish Parliament should have tax-varying powers |
870,263 |
37% |
TOTAL
Electorate
Turnout |
2,383,152
3,973,673
59.97% |
Last updated 8 March 2002