Referendum Act 1975
| Act of Parliament | |
|
|
| Long title | An Act to provide for the holding of a referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Economic Community. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1975 c. 33 |
| Introduced by | Edward Short, Lord President of the Council |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 8 May 1975 |
| Repealed | 2 May 1986 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1986 (1986 c. 12) |
| Relates to |
European Communities Act 1972 European Union Referendum Act 2015 |
|
Status: Repealed
|
|
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| Treaty of Union | 1706 |
|---|---|
| Acts of Union | 1707 |
| Personal Union of 1714 | 1714 |
| Wales and Berwick Act | 1746 |
| Irish Constitution | 1782 |
| Acts of Union | 1800 |
| Government of Ireland Act | 1920 |
| Anglo-Irish Treaty | 1921 |
| Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act | 1927 |
| N. Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act | 1972 |
| European Communities Act | 1972 |
| Local Government Act | 1972 |
| Local Government (Scotland) Act | 1973 |
| Northern Ireland Assembly | 1973 |
| N. Ireland Constitution Act | 1973 |
| Referendum Act | 1975 |
| Scotland Act | 1978 |
| Wales Act | 1978 |
| Local Government (Wales) Act | 1994 |
| Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act | 1994 |
| Referendums (Scotland & Wales) Act | 1997 |
| Good Friday Agreement | 1998 |
| Northern Ireland Act | 1998 |
| Government of Wales Act | 1998 |
| Scotland Act | 1998 |
| Government of Wales Act | 2006 |
| Northern Ireland Act | 2009 |
| European Union Act | 2011 |
| Scotland Act | 2012 |
| Edinburgh Agreement | 2012 |
| Wales Act | 2014 |
| European Union Referendum Act | 2015 |
| Scotland Act | 2016 |
| Wales Act | 2017 |
The Referendum Act 1975 (c. 33) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which made legal provision for the holding of a non-binding referendum on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Communities (EC)—generally known at the time in the UK, with reference to their main component, the European Economic Community (EEC), as the "Common Market". The Referendum Bill was introduced to the House of Commons by the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council Edward Short on 26 March 1975 and on its second reading on 10 April 1975 MP's voted 312-248 in favour of holding the referendum which came the day after they voted to stay in the European Communities on the new terms set out in the renegotiation and was given Royal Assent on 8 May 1975.
The Act gave effect to a manifesto commitment of the Labour Party at the general election of October 1974, and set out the arrangements and procedure for the United Kingdom's first ever national referendum, in which voting was to take place simultaneously in all parts of the country. In accordance with the Act, the European Communities Referendum took place on 5 June 1975, and voters approved continued EC/EEC membership by 67% to 33% on a national turnout of 64%.
The Act legislated for a non-blinding referendum to be held in the United Kingdom on Thursday 5 June 1975 on the issue of continuing membership of the EC and the EEC (the Common Market), which was to be a single majority vote, to be overseen by an appointed "Chief counting officer" who would declare the final result for the United Kingdom. As there was no previous precedent for the holding of any such plebiscite across the United Kingdom the Act also set out its procedure and format.
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