Referendums (Scotland & Wales) Act 1997
| Act of Parliament | |
|
|
| Long title | An Act to make provision for the holding of a referendum in Scotland on the establishment and tax-varying powers of a Scottish Parliament and a referendum in Wales on the establishment of a Welsh assembly; and for expenditure in preparation for a Scottish Parliament or a Welsh Assembly. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1997 c. 61 |
| Introduced by | Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| Territorial extent | Scotland & Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 31 July 1997 |
| Other legislation | |
| Relates to | Scotland Act 1998, Government of Wales Act 1998 |
|
Status: Spent
|
|
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
.svg)
The Referendums (Wales & Scotland) Act 1997 (c. 61) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which made legal provision for the holding of two non-binding referendums in both Scotland on the establishment of a democratically elected Scottish Parliament with tax-varying powers and in Wales on the establishment of a democratically elected Welsh Assembly. It was introduced to the House of Commons by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair on 15 May 1997 just two weeks after the landslide Labour victory in the 1997 General Election and was the very first Bill to be presented to the Commons by the Blair Government of 1997-2007. The Act received royal assent on 31 July 1997.
On 1 March 1979 voters in both Scotland and Wales voted in referendums on proposed Assembles under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1978 and the Wales Act 1978. The result in Scotland was a narrow "yes" by 51% of voters but failed to achieve an overall minimum 40% "yes" vote of those who were on of the registered electorate and the motion failed to pass and in Wales the proposal was rejected outright by 79% of voters and political fallout from the results led to the fall of the Labour government 1974–79 which then led to Margaret Thatcher's victory in the 1979 UK General Election and the beginning of eighteen years of Conservative government.
...
Wikipedia