Guidelines for calling a Local Referendum

The 1972 Local Government Act, Schedule 12, Part III, paragraphs 15-18*, gives members of a parish the right to call a referendum on any matter of concern to their parish as long as certain criteria are fulfilled.

Who can call a referendum?
Referenda can be called in any civic parish in England (Community in Wales). A parish is the smallest level of local government and generally covers small towns and villages in rural areas. This means that London and most large cities are excluded from the provisions of the Act. Some parishes have Parish/Town Councils and others do not. Whether there is a council or not or whether it calls itself a Parish or Town council does not affect the right of parishioners to call a referendum.

Who pays for a referendum?
Those parish members requesting that a referendum be held do not have to pay for it themselves. The District Council is required to pay for the referendum. There are conditions which could affect the way this happens.

District Councils are only required to pay the costs of parish referenda up to the maximum amount they have set for such purposes (called a 'scale'). A District Council can, however, require the Parish Council to repay the costs of holding the referendum. However, it cannot require the Parish Council to pay for the referendum before it is held, i.e. it cannot say that it will only agree to the referendum being held if the Parish pays the costs.  Note: It does seem to be common practice, however, for District Councils to recharge the costs to Parish Councils.

How do I call a referendum?

There are two stages to the process. The first is to convene a parish meeting and the second is to obtain a vote in favour of holding a parish referendum at the meeting.

Convening a parish meeting
Six or more parishioners, who must all be on the electoral roll for the parish, can convene a parish meeting to consider any business which is a matter of concern to the parish. There is no requirement in the Act for parishioners to ask for the permission of the Parish Council to do this. In the interests of building good relations with your parish officers and bringing them with you, however, it is obviously desirable to inform the Parish Council that you intend to hold a parish meeting. To convene a parish meeting the following conditions must be met:

 

  • At least seven clear days notice must be given tot he public (and obviously the longer notice you can give the higher attendance will be).
     

  • The meeting is publicised in a conspicuous place in the parish AND anywhere else deemed desirable by the covenors. Meeting the first part of this condition would entail posting a public notice in a place such as a shopping centre, local library, or window of a local newspaper shop. The second part of the condition is obviously up to you - but once again, the more widely publicised the meeting is, the higher attendance will be.
     

  • Public notice of the meeting must specify the time, place and business of the meeting (i.e. the issue to be discussed).
     

  • The notice must be signed by all those who have convened the meeting (6 parishioners).
     

  • The meeting cannot start before 6pm and must not be held in licensed premises (i.e. where alcohol is served)!

Wording the public notice
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the issue of [insert one or more purposes for holding the meeting] in the parish, and ultimately to obtain a referendum where people can vote and hopefully express their opinion.

Note: The public notice needs to be carefully worded to achieve this: it needs to specifically relate to the jurisdiction of the parish.  The following wording is suggested:

“NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

Pursuant to Paragraph 15(2) of Schedule 12 of the Local Government Act 1972, a parish meeting of the [XXX] Parish will take place at [insert time] on [insert date] at [insert place] to discuss the following business, namely:

To decide the following questions:

Should [insert names of all local authorities relevant to the Parish, (This can be Parish, District or County Council or any combination)] [Insert cause: Ideally the question should be neutral and should result in a clear YES/NO option - but see Trouble-shooting]

ALL WELCOME!


Note: These questions shall, in the first instance, be decided by the majority of those present and voting (those who are registered electors in the Parish of [XXX]).

 

However, a referendum may be demanded before the close of the meeting on either or both of these questions, if the person presiding consents or a referendum is demanded by at least 10, or one-third, of the local government electors present at the meeting, whichever is less.

 

Signed by:
[insert signatures of all 6 convenors of the meeting here]

 

being each of the 6 local government electors convening the meeting”.

At the parish meeting

  • During the course of the parish meeting, the following must happen if you are to obtain a referendum at the end of the meeting.

  • The meeting may be chaired by the chair or vice-chair of the parish council or, by any person elected by the meeting.

  • Minutes must be taken.

  • The business which has been detailed in the public notice is discussed at the meeting and voted upon by those who are registered local electors.

  • Only local parishioners (electors) are allowed to speak or vote at the meeting, though anyone from the parish can attend.

  • Before the close of the meeting, e.g. after the vote has been taken, at least 10 registered electors who are present, or one-third of the electors present (whichever is less), can demand a referendum

  • The Chair of the meeting must notify the District Council, and provide the information required to enable the District Council's returning officer to give notice of the poll.

  • The District Council Returning Officer must then organise the parish referendum. The referendum must take place between 14-25 days after the day on which it was demanded. The District Council only has to give the public 5 days notice of the referendum, so you will have to work hard and fast to make sure as many people as possible know about the referendum.
     

How does the referendum work in practice?

 

  • The Returning Officer is responsible for setting up the polling stations, conducting the count and so on.

 

  • Parish Polls are held between 4pm and 9pm, i.e. they are only 5 hours long (not as long as for elections).

 

  • They may be held on any day of the week, not necessarily the traditional Thursday.

 

  • Postal votes and proxy votes are not allowed.
     

  • No polling cards are issued.

 

  • The result of the referendum is not binding however all councils have a statutory duty to engage with the community,

 


It will take a good deal of work to ensure, firstly, that people in your parish know about the referendum, and secondly, that they can come out to vote. You will need to plan well in advance and ensure that you can cover the costs of publicity etc.

 

Ensuring a good voter turn out
There are a variety of ways to ensure a good turn out for the referendum:

  • Create leaflets and posters to advertise, firstly, the parish meeting and secondly, the referendum. Try to use colour if you can or eye catching images to catch people's attention.

  • Distribute leaflets to as many houses as you can, or hand them out in the high street or from a stall in the main shopping centre

  • Try to get free advertising space in your local newspapers

  • Write a press release or feature article for your local newspapers. It's an exciting local development which the local media should snap up

  • Give interviews on local radio.

  • On the day of the parish meeting organise a presence in the town centre and near to the meeting to encourage as many people as possible to participate. Give out leaflets or hold placards which people can read as they pass by.

  • On the day of the referendum organise a presence in the shopping/town centre, and near to and at the polling station, again using leaflets and placards, to encourage as many people as possible to vote.

 

Trouble-Shooting

Anyone wishing to organise a parish referendum may come across some problems which it is useful to have advance warning about. Parish/District councillors/officers may be obstructive or reluctant to help you because of the amount of work involved, the cost or simply because they don't like having the boat rocked! Here are a few examples of obstructive tactics which Councils may use to try and scupper your plans:

 

  • They may argue about the wording of the question. Refer them to schedule 12 of the Local Government Act 1972. Part III, para 18(2) says: "A poll may by demanded before the conclusion of a parish meeting on any question arising at the meeting". Note: ANY question.
     

  • They may argue that they have no regulatory function in relation to your cause so there is no point in holding a referendum. Even if it is true this is NOT a legitimate cause to deny a referendum. Anything that happens within a Parish is a Parish affair. Schedule 12 of the Local Government Act 1972. Part III, para 18(2) says: "A poll may by demanded before the conclusion of a parish meeting on any question arising at the meeting". Note: ANY question.
     

  • The Parish/District Council may try to dissuade you at all stages of the process because of the cost of holding the referendum, but you still have the right to convene a parish meeting and demand a referendum at that meeting, whatever their objections. Typically it costs £400-800 to hold a parish referendum.
     
  • The Parish Council may ask the 6 electors who have convened the parish meeting to pay for certain expenses, e.g. the hire of a public building for the meeting. This is not legitimate the expenses for the meeting must be met by the parish or town council.
     
  • At the meeting, the Parish Clerk or the Chair may try procedural tactics to prevent the referendum being called, for example, saying that the call for the referendum needs to be passed back to the Parish Council for approval, or attempting to close the meeting before the vote has taken place, or the referendum has been demanded. None of these ploys are legitimate and someone in the meeting may need to be prepared to simply stand up and demand that the discussion and vote continue uninterrupted and that the referendum be held (as the legislation allows).

 

  • Obstructive chairs and vice-chairs may decide not to turn up, and/or might refuse to bring or sign the legally-required minute book. Fear not! The meeting is entitled to appoint its own chair, and s/he is entitled to sign the official minute book if it is there. If it is not there, make your own minutes and ensure that the chair of the meeting signs it at the meeting.
     

Needless to say, parish officers acting in this manners described above will not be complying with their duties as public officials.

For any problems or questions arising from local referenda please contact:
Mark Thomas, c/o VERA, 3rd Floor, 66/68 Margaret Street, London, W1N 7SL
 or FAX: 0171 436 6117 or Click here to Email

Further information on holding local referendums can also  be obtained from
The National Association of local Councils, 108 Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3LD. Tel: 0207 637 1865