The Scotland referendum of 1979 was a post-legislative referendum held in Scotland only, over whether there was support for Scotland Act 1978, which if passed would have created an assembly for Scotland. There were special conditions on the referendum in the Act which said that for the Act not be repealed, at least 40% of the electorate would have to vote Yes in the referendum. A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (Latin: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the UK Languages with Official Status1 English Scottish Gaelic Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Assembly may refer to the following things: In politics, any body meeting together to discuss matters, a parliament or a legislative assembly such as the French revolutionary Legislative Assembly, or a body more designed to mediate between otherwise independent bodies, such as the United Nations General Assembly. ... In politics, an electorate is the group of entities entitled to vote in an election. ...

Party support

Although Labour and the Scottish National Party (SNP) both officially supported devolution, support was split in both parties. Labour was divided between those who favoured devolution and those who wanted to maintain full Westminster government: in the SNP, which had an agenda of full Scottish independence, there was division between those who saw devolution as a stepping stone to independence and those who feared it might distract from their ultimate goal. The Labour Party is the principal centrist/centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics). ... In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) (Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Unionists (Scotland). ...

The tax issue

In addition to all the arguments which traditionally surround discussions of Scottish devolution or independence, the public debate in 1979 was dominated by the issue of taxation. Since the proposed assembly would have no independent powers to raise taxes, it would be greatly restricted in its scope of operation, and this made it possible for the "no" campaign to play very plausibly on fears of an impotent new layer of bureaucracy. As a result, many voters who believed in devolution in principle were unwilling to support this particular devolution bill. Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science. ...

Results

The referendum was held on March 1, 1979. The result was a narrow majority in favour of devolution. However, because of the low turnout the percentage of the electorate that voted yes was less than 40%, so the condition in the Act was not met. March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Voter turnout is a measure of the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in any given election. ...

The electorate were asked to vote yes or no: 'Do you want the provisions of the Scotland Act to be put into effect?'

Even though the majority voted Yes, the government rejected the referendum because the condition that 40% of the electorate should vote Yes was not met. The Scotland Act 1978 was repealed, in March 1979 by 301-206.

Scotland said "yes"

In the wake of the referendum the disappointed supporters of the bill conducted a protest campaign under the slogan 'Scotland said "yes"'. They argued that the 40% rule was undemocratic and that the referendum results justified the establishment of the assembly. However the election of the first Thatcher government later in 1979, with a massive majority in parliament and a policy strongly opposed to devolution, diverted public attention and the devolution issue was lost from the mainstream political agenda for a decade.

See also

• Scottish independence
• Referendums in the United Kingdom
• Scotland referendum, 1997
• Scottish Assembly
• Scottish Parliament

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Unionists (Scotland). ... Referendums (or referenda) are only occasionally held by the government of the United Kingdom. ... The Scotland referendum of 1997 was a pre-legislative referendum held in Scotland only, over whether there was support for the creation of an assembly for Scotland and whether there was support for an assembly with tax varying powers. ... A devolved Scottish Assembly that would have some form of legislative powers in jurisdiction over Scotland was a long-held political priority for many individuals and organisations. ... The Scottish Parliament (Pàrlamaid na h-Alba in Gaelic, Scots Pairlament in Scots) is the national unicameral legislature of Scotland. ...

References

• Chronology of Scottish Politics: The Devolution years 1967 - 1979