Scottish devolution referendum, 1997
Scottish devolution referendum, 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Do you agree that there should be a Scottish Parliament as proposed by the Government? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||
Date | 11 September 1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Saturation of colour reflects the strength of the Yes vote in each Council area. |
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Scotland |
Scotland in the EU |
The Scottish devolution referendum of 1997 was a pre-legislative referendum held in Scotland on 11 September 1997 over whether there was support for the creation of a Scottish Parliament with devolved powers, and whether the Parliament should have tax-varying powers. The result was 'Yes-Yes': a majority voted in favour of both proposals.
The referendum was a Labour manifesto commitment and was held just four months after the 1997 election in which Tony Blair was swept into office as Prime Minister in a landside victory. This was the second referendum held in Scotland over the question of devolution, the first being in 1979 and is to date the only major referendum to be held in any part of the United Kingdom where voters were asked two questions in the same plebiscite. Turnout for the referendum was 60.4%.
Background
A referendum was held in 1979 under a Labour government which stipulated that a Scottish Assembly would come into being if the referendum had been supported by 50% of votes cast plus a controversial rule whereby at least 40% of the electorate had to vote in favour. Although 51.6% voted in favour, this was only 32.9% of the electorate so the Assembly was not brought into being. Shortly afterwards, the predominantly anti-devolution-led Conservative Party won the United Kingdom general election, 1979.
The Campaign for a Scottish Assembly was formed afterwards to continue the campaign. They brought together a committee of "prominent Scots" who drafted the document A Claim of Right for Scotland. The Claim was published in 1988 and signed by most Scottish politicians, local councils, trade unions and churches.
It was agreed to form a Scottish Constitutional Convention made up of all existing MPs and councillors. This was done despite the opposition of the national government of the time of John Major. Because the Labour Party had a clear majority within the convention the Scottish National Party withdrew.[1]
The Labour Party included the establishment of a Scottish Parliament in its manifesto for the United Kingdom general election, 1997, which they won with a landslide majority of 179.
Referendum questions
The electorate was asked to vote on two sets of statements which corresponded to both proposals.[2]
On the first ballot paper voters were asked to put a single (X) next to either:
- I agree there should be a Scottish Parliament
- I do not agree there should be a Scottish Parliament
On the second ballot paper voters were asked to put a single (X) next to either:
- I agree that a Scottish Parliament should have tax-varying powers
- I do not agree that a Scottish Parliament should have tax-varying powers
Campaign
Scottish Labour, the SNP, Liberal Democrats, and Scottish Greens campaigned for a 'Yes' vote for both proposals whilst the Conservatives opposed both proposals. Labour MP Tam Dalyell opposed the creation of the Parliament, but in favour of giving such a Parliament the power to raise and lower taxes on the basis that, although he opposed the Parliament as proposed by his party, if it did exist it should have tax-varying powers.[3]
The official Yes campaign, Scotland Forward (styled "Scotland FORward"), was headed by the businessman Nigel Smith and came out of the groups that had previously formed the Scottish Constitutional Convention, along with the Scottish National Party. It was supported by the Labour, SNP, Liberal Democrat and Green parties.[4]
The official No campaign, Think Twice, was headed by Brian Monteith, a former employee of the Scottish Conservative MP, Michael Forsyth. Board members included Donald Findlay, a QC, Rector of the University of St Andrews and vice-chairman of Rangers F.C., and senior Conservative peer Lord Fraser. However, it struggled to get much business support as they were wary of opposing a project that had such support from the new government which had a large majority.[4]
Opinion polling
Scottish Parliament
Date(s) conducted |
Polling organisation/client | Sample size | Agree | Disagree | Undecided | Lead | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 September 1997 | Scottish devolution referendum, 1997 results | 2,401,431 | 74.3% | 25.7% | 48.6% | |||||
10 Sep | ICM/Scotsman | - | 63% | 25% | 12% | 38% | ||||
8 Sep | MORI/STV | - | 67% | 22% | 11% | 45% | ||||
6-7 Sep | System Three/Herald | 1,039 | 61% | 20% | 19% | 41% | ||||
7 Sep | NOP/Sunday Times | - | 63% | 21% | 16% | 42% | ||||
7 Sep | ICM/Scotsman | 1,010 | 60% | 25% | 15% | 35% | ||||
31 Aug | Death of Diana, Princess of Wales. | |||||||||
21-26 Aug | System Three/Herald | 1,039 | 61% | 23% | 16% | 38% | ||||
24-29 Jul | System Three/Herald | 1,024 | 65% | 19% | 16% | 46% | ||||
26 Jun-1 Jul | System Three/Herald | 978 | 68% | 21% | 10% | 47% | ||||
22–27 May | System Three/Herald | 1,024 | 64% | 21% | 15% | 43% | ||||
Tax-varying powers
Date(s) conducted |
Polling organisation/client | Sample size | Agree | Disagree | Undecided | Lead | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 September 1997 | Scottish devolution referendum, 1997 results | 2,402,165 | 63.5% | 36.5% | 27.0% | |||||
10 Sep | ICM/Scotsman | - | 48% | 40% | 12% | 8% | ||||
8 Sep | MORI/STV | - | 45% | 31% | 24% | 14% | ||||
6-7 Sep | System Three/Herald | 1,039 | 45% | 31% | 24% | 14% | ||||
7 Sep | NOP/Sunday Times | - | 51% | 34% | 15% | 17% | ||||
7 Sep | ICM/Scotsman | 1,010 | 45% | 38% | 17% | 7% | ||||
31 Aug | Death of Diana, Princess of Wales. | |||||||||
21-26 Aug | System Three/Herald | 1,039 | 47% | 32% | 21% | 15% | ||||
24-29 Jul | System Three/Herald | 1,024 | 54% | 27% | 18% | 27% | ||||
26 Jun-1 Jul | System Three/Herald | 978 | 56% | 26% | 18% | 30% | ||||
22–27 May | System Three/Herald | 1,024 | 53% | 28% | 19% | 25% | ||||
Results
The result was 'Yes-Yes': the majority voted 'I agree' in favour of both proposals.[2]
Question 1
Choice | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
I agree that there should be a Scottish Parliament | 1,775,045 | 74.29 |
I do not agree that there should be a Scottish Parliament | 614,400 | 25.71 |
Valid votes | 2,389,445 | 99.50 |
Invalid or blank votes | 11,986 | 0.50 |
Total votes | 2,401,431 | 100.00 |
Registered voters and turnout | 3,973,673 | 60.43 |
By council area
Council area | Agree | Disagree | Agree % | Disagree % |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aberdeen City | 65,035 | 25,580 | 71.8 | 28.2 |
Aberdeenshire | 61,621 | 34,878 | 63.9 | 36.1 |
Angus | 33,571 | 18,350 | 64.7 | 35.3 |
Argyll and Bute | 30,452 | 14,796 | 67.3 | 32.7 |
Clackmannanshire | 18,790 | 4,706 | 80 | 20 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 44,619 | 28,863 | 60.7 | 39.3 |
Dundee City | 49,252 | 15,553 | 76 | 24 |
East Ayrshire | 49,131 | 11,426 | 81.1 | 18.9 |
East Dunbartonshire | 40,917 | 17,725 | 69.8 | 30.2 |
East Lothian | 33,525 | 11,665 | 74.2 | 25.8 |
East Renfrewshire | 28,253 | 17,573 | 61.7 | 38.3 |
City of Edinburgh | 155,900 | 60,832 | 71.9 | 28.1 |
Falkirk | 55,642 | 13,953 | 80 | 20 |
Fife | 125,668 | 39,517 | 76.1 | 23.9 |
Glasgow City | 204,269 | 40,106 | 83.6 | 16.4 |
Highland | 72,551 | 27,431 | 72.6 | 27.4 |
Inverclyde | 31,680 | 8,945 | 78 | 22 |
Midlothian | 31,681 | 7,979 | 79.9 | 20.1 |
Moray | 24,822 | 12,122 | 67.2 | 32.8 |
North Ayrshire | 51,304 | 15,931 | 76.3 | 23.7 |
North Lanarkshire | 123,063 | 26,010 | 82.6 | 17.4 |
Perth and Kinross | 40,344 | 24,998 | 61.7 | 38.3 |
Renfrewshire | 68,711 | 18,213 | 79 | 21 |
Scottish Borders | 33,855 | 20,060 | 62.8 | 37.2 |
South Ayrshire | 40,161 | 19,909 | 66.9 | 33.1 |
South Lanarkshire | 114,908 | 32,762 | 77.8 | 22.2 |
Stirling | 29,190 | 13,440 | 68.5 | 31.5 |
West Dunbartonshire | 39,051 | 7,058 | 84.7 | 15.3 |
West Lothian | 56,923 | 14,614 | 79.6 | 20.4 |
Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) | 9,977 | 2,589 | 79.4 | 20.6 |
Orkney | 4,749 | 3,541 | 57.3 | 42.7 |
Shetland | 5,430 | 3,275 | 62.4 | 37.6 |
TOTAL | 1,775,045 | 614,400 | 74.3 | 25.7 |
Question 2
Choice | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
I agree that a Scottish Parliament should have tax-varying powers | 1,512,889 | 63.48 |
I do not agree that a Scottish Parliament should have tax-varying powers | 870,263 | 36.52 |
Valid votes | 2,383,152 | 99.21 |
Invalid or blank votes | 19,013 | 0.79 |
Total votes | 2,402,165 | 100.00 |
Registered voters and turnout | 3,973,673 | 60.45 |
By council area
Council area | Agree | Disagree | Agree % | Disagree % |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aberdeen City | 54,320 | 35,709 | 60.3 | 39.7 |
Aberdeenshire | 50,295 | 45,929 | 52.3 | 47.7 |
Angus | 27,641 | 24,089 | 53.4 | 46.6 |
Argyll and Bute | 25,746 | 19,429 | 57 | 43 |
Clackmannanshire | 16,112 | 7,355 | 68.7 | 31.3 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 35,737 | 37,499 | 48.8 | 51.2 |
Dundee City | 42,304 | 22,280 | 65.5 | 34.5 |
East Ayrshire | 42,559 | 17,824 | 70.5 | 29.5 |
East Dunbartonshire | 34,576 | 23,914 | 59.1 | 40.9 |
East Lothian | 28,152 | 16,765 | 62.7 | 37.3 |
East Renfrewshire | 23,580 | 22,153 | 51.6 | 48.4 |
City of Edinburgh | 133,843 | 82,188 | 62 | 38 |
Falkirk | 48,064 | 21,403 | 69.2 | 30.8 |
Fife | 108,021 | 58,987 | 64.7 | 35.3 |
Glasgow City | 182,589 | 60,842 | 75 | 25 |
Highland | 61,359 | 37,525 | 62.1 | 37.9 |
Inverclyde | 27,194 | 13,277 | 67.2 | 32.8 |
Midlothian | 26,776 | 12,762 | 67.7 | 32.3 |
Moray | 19,326 | 17,344 | 52.7 | 47.3 |
North Ayrshire | 43,990 | 22,991 | 65.7 | 34.3 |
North Lanarkshire | 107,288 | 41,372 | 72.2 | 27.8 |
Perth and Kinross | 33,398 | 31,709 | 51.3 | 48.7 |
Renfrewshire | 55,075 | 31,537 | 63.6 | 36.4 |
Scottish Borders | 27,284 | 26,487 | 50.7 | 49.3 |
South Ayrshire | 33,679 | 26,217 | 56.2 | 43.8 |
South Lanarkshire | 99,587 | 47,708 | 67.6 | 32.4 |
Stirling | 25,044 | 17,487 | 58.9 | 41.1 |
West Dunbartonshire | 34,408 | 11,628 | 74.7 | 25.3 |
West Lothian | 47,990 | 23,354 | 67.3 | 32.7 |
Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) | 8,557 | 3,947 | 68.4 | 31.6 |
Orkney | 3,917 | 4,344 | 47.4 | 52.6 |
Shetland | 4,478 | 4,198 | 51.6 | 48.4 |
TOTAL | 1,512,889 | 870,253 | 63.5 | 36.5 |
Votes in favour of tax-varying powers still commanded significant majority, when compared to establishing the Parliament per se. A majority voted 'I agree' in every local council, apart from in Dumfries & Galloway[5] and Orkney.[6]
Aftermath
In response to the majority voting for 'Yes' to both proposals, the UK Parliament passed the Scotland Act 1998. This established a Scottish Parliament for the first time since the adjournment of the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The devolved Parliament convened for the first time in May 1999, following its first election. The Scotland Act 1998 also created the Scottish Executive, later to become known as the Scottish Government.
See also
References
- ↑ The most influential document this century, The Herald
- 1 2 "Scottish Referendum Live - The Results". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- ↑ Dissent Within the Labour Party, Politics 97, BBC News Online
- 1 2 BBC Briefing, BBC, 1997
- ↑ Result – Dumfries and Galloway, BBC, 1997
- ↑ Result – Orkney Islands, BBC, 1997