Referendums - How They Differ From Elections
- Levels: AS, A Level, IB
- Exam boards: AQA, Edexcel, IB
Both referendums and elections involve direct citizen participation and voting, campaigning around specific political issues, huge media involvement, and mass fundraising and lobbying at local and national levels. Clearly though they differ fundamentally in relation to several functions, features and outcomes:
- An election gives voters the opportunity to choose representatives who will form representative institutions and government, whereas a referendum offers us a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ choice in a debate clearly polarized between two possible outcomes, one of which is then implemented.
- In an election we must decide between several different political programmes which range across the full set of issues a government would have to take responsibility for, whereas referendums usually only feature one question and are centered on a single issue. Some parties, such as UKIP, are more focused on single issues like the EU and immigration but still publish an election manifesto addressing other policy areas.
- An election grants a mandate to a new government; they subsequently have the authority to implement their manifesto policies. Due to parliamentary sovereignty a UK referendum is not binding although it is difficult to imagine parliament ever denying the outcome of a public vote. Still, a referendum will typically only lead to change or continuity in one area whereas an election would generally be expected to have further-reaching consequences.
- An election is a verdict on the performance of the government in power and general elections in the UK now occur at fixed five-year intervals, barring a vote of no confidence or a two-thirds vote in the House of Commons for an early election. Referendums have been more frequent and run the risk of becoming protest votes – Clegg, unpopular over tuition fees, damages the AV cause – but they are fought at the discretion of government and occur only when there is a major constitutional issue to be resolved. A simple majority is usually sufficient to win a referendum although minimum turnout criteria can be imposed, such as in Scotland in 1979, whereas the PR systems used in elections held in the UK require absolute majorities and involve the re-distribution of votes. The General Election is still decided by simple majority but even here the outcome might not be straightforward, as with the 2010 Hung Parliament leading to the Coalition Agreement.
Subscribe to email updates from tutor2u Politics
Join 1000s of fellow Politics teachers and students all getting the tutor2u Politics team's latest resources and support delivered fresh in their inbox every morning.
You can also follow @tutor2uPolitics on Twitter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, or join our popular Facebook Groups.
Job board
Student Revision Workshops Contributor
tutor2u, Home based
Mark Graham
Mark is an experienced A Level Politics teacher.
You might also like
From the Blog
More Study notes
-
Politics Teacher National Conference 2019
Join us for the enrichment CPD event of 2019 for all A Level Politics teachers. An opportunity to sit back, relax and reinvigorate your subject expertise and passion. Not to be...
Popular Content
-
Component 1 Political Parties: Edexcel A Level Politics Topic WorksheetsComponent 1 Political Parties: Edexcel A Level Politics Topic Worksheets
- SKU: 04-4128-10549-01
-
Instant Download
-
School network license
- £10.00 (+VAT)
Added to your Shopping Cart!
Component 1 Political Parties: Edexcel A Level Politics Topic Worksheets
- SKU: 04-4128-10549-01
-
Instant Download
- £10.00 (+VAT)
-
Edexcel A Level Politics Resource Pack - Political Ideas: ConservatismEdexcel A Level Politics Resource Pack - Political Ideas: Conservatism
- SKU: 04-4128-10437-01
-
Instant Download
-
School network license
- £10.00 (+VAT)
Added to your Shopping Cart!
Edexcel A Level Politics Resource Pack - Political Ideas: Conservatism
- SKU: 04-4128-10437-01
-
Instant Download
- £10.00 (+VAT)
Teaching Vacancies
-
Student Revision Workshops Contributor
tutor2u, Home based
- Browse all jobs ›
Advertise your vacancies with tutor2u
Much cheaper & more effective than TES or the Guardian. Reach the audience you really want to apply for your teaching vacancy by posting directly to our website and related social media audiences.