This petition was submitted during the 2015–2017 Conservative government
Petition Majority should be of electorate in referenda, with provision for indecision
We call on parliament to ensure that referenda base the majority on the entire electorate rather than on turnout, and have provision for the scenario where the public as a whole is undecided. In which case, our elected MPs must continue the debate and consider rephrasing the question to the public.
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In the EU Referendum, 37.4% of the electorate voted leave, 34.7% remain. This is clearly an undecided electorate. It was a mistake to have rules that read a final decision from this. Future referenda must reflect not only the decision of the people but also the decisiveness of the people. We can be more decisive by encouraging democratic participation and turnout, aiming for over 50% of the electorate to agree with the outcome.
Figures calculated from:
electorate, 46501241;
leave, 17410742;
remain, 16141241.
Source: BBC.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months