scotland referendum, 1997

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. The referendum was a manifesto commitment of the Labour Party and was held in their first term after the UK general election, 1997. This was the second referendum held in Scotland over the question of devolution, the first being the Scotland referendum, 1979.

Party support

The Labour Party, Liberal Democrats and SNP campaigned for the 'Yes-Yes' vote . The Conservative Party was the only major party to campaign for 'No-No'

Results

It was held on September 11, 1997. The result was 'Yes-Yes', i.e. the majority voted in favour of both proposals. For the first question, the electorate were asked to indicate whether: '1. I agree that there should be a Scottish Parliament; or 2. I do not agree that there should be a Scottish Parliament' Option 1 votes>

b>Option 1 votes (%)	Option 2 votes	Option 2 (%)	Turnout (%)
,775,045	74.3	614,400	25.7	60.4

For the second question, the electorate were asked to indicate whether: '1. I agree that a Scottish Parliament should have tax-varying powers; or 2. I do not agree that a Scottish Parliament should have tax-varying powers' Option 1 votes>

b>Option 1 votes (%)	Option 2 votes	Option 2 (%)	Turnout (%)
,512,889	63.5	870,263	36.5	60.4

Government response

In response to the majority voting for Yes-Yes, the government passed the Scotland Act 1998, creating the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive.