“A referendum on changing the voting system will definitely take place on May 5 after the Government last night saw off an 11th-hour challenge to the plans in the House of Lords.”
Daily Telegraph, 17th February 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
from the Inner Temple Library
“A referendum on changing the voting system will definitely take place on May 5 after the Government last night saw off an 11th-hour challenge to the plans in the House of Lords.”
Daily Telegraph, 17th February 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The government suffered a narrow defeat in the House of Lords on Monday night when rebel Tories joined forces with Labour peers to make the planned referendum on electoral reform non-binding if turnout falls below 40%.”
The Guardian, 7th February 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Lords debate reduction in the number of MPs in parliament.”
The Guardian, 17th January 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Alternative voting referendum could be on a different day from 5 May elections according to a House of Lords amendment.”
The Guardian, 6th December 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A referendum on whether to ditch the first-past-the-post voting system will go ahead next May after Labour peers failed narrowly in an attempt to derail the Government’s timetable.”
The Independent, 16th November 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Government plans for a referendum in May on changing the voting system could be at risk if peers vote later to refer them to a Lords committee.”
BBC News, 15th November 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The Electoral Commission is set on a collision course with the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, after he dismissed calls for a law change to ensure last-minute voters are not turned away at the polls.”
The Guardian, 11th November 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The coalition government is to test its unity by announcing that it plans to stage a referendum on voting reform next May, amid signs that Labour enthusiasm for the reform is wavering owing to the party’s growing hostility to the Liberal Democrats.”
The Guardian, 1st July 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Gordon Brown’s plan to hold a referendum next year on scrapping the first-past-the-post system for elections for Westminster won a convincing majority last night in the Commons.”
The Independent, 10th February 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“This month’s Queen’s speech will not contain a bill to introduce reform of the voting system, Downing Street sources confirmed today.”
The Guardian, 10th November 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Senior cabinet ministers will step up the pressure on the prime minister this week to rule out holding a referendum on electoral reform on the same day as the general election, because they believe it would set back the case for reform for a generation.”
The Guardian, 20th September 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Conservative Eurosceptic millionaire Stuart Wheeler today lost his high court bid to force the government to hold a referendum on the EU’s Lisbon treaty.”
The Guardian, 25th June 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Gordon Brown has said Britain will not ratify the EU Treaty until the High Court has ruled on a separate bid to force a British referendum.”
BBC News, 20th June 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The House of Lords has voted against holding a referendum on the EU Treaty – a day before the Irish Republic’s national ballot on the agreement.”
BBC News, 11th June 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A millionaire businessman today won permission for a high court challenge over the government’s refusal to hold a referendum on the EU reform treaty.”
The Guardian, 2nd May 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“One of Britain’s richest men has hired Cherie Blair’s law firm to advise him on a £750,000 High Court battle that could force Gordon Brown to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.”
Daily Telegraph, 21st April 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Pressure for a national referendum on the Lisbon treaty intensified yesterday when a pressure group announced that more than 150,000 people took part in local ballots on the issue.”
The Times, 3rd March 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“In the UK, treaty-making is a matter for the Crown acting in conjunction with Parliament. The few instances of referendums and the like are insufficient to give rise to a constitutional convention saying that a referendum must be held if a treaty such as the European Union (EU) Reform Treaty is to be ratified. Whether or not there should be a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty is therefore a political rather than a legal question. This is except for the idea once floated by the Conservative Party of holding a referendum after ratification with a view to backing out of the Reform Treaty if it found against it, which does have legal implications. The professed purpose of such a post-ratification referendum is to engineer a breach by the UK of a legally binding promise that it had entered into freely and in accordance with domestic procedures and processes.”
Legal Week, 15th November 2007
Source: www.legalweek.com