- Welsh devolution referendum, 1997
thumb|right|150px|A map showing the result of the referendum by unitary authority.">
Key:
legend|#00C000|Yes votelegend|#0000C0|No voteThe Welsh referendum of 1997 was a pre-legislative
referendum held inWales only over whether there was support for the creation of an assembly for Wales. Unlike the referendum in Scotland, there was no proposal for the assembly to have tax varying powers. The referendum was a manifesto commitment of the Labour Party and was held in their first term after theUnited Kingdom general election, 1997 . This was the second referendum held in Wales over the question ofdevolution , the first being theWales referendum, 1979 .
thumb|right|150px|A map showing the strength of the 'Yes' votes cast in the referendum by unitary authority.">
Key:
legend|#40FF40|30.1-39.9% of voteOne of the factors that made the referendum controversial was that Wales has a much greater immigrant and transient population than Scotland. A previous referendum on
devolution , held in1979 , had resulted in a majority against, whereas in Scotland the vote had been in favour. It was generally believed that the Labour government scheduled the referendum as it did because it foresaw the embarrassment of a defeat, and therefore arranged for the Scotland referendum to be held slightly earlier, in the hope that the anticipated result would influence the Welsh result. Fact|date=February 2007Party support
Welsh Labour,
Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats campaigned for the 'Yes' vote. The Conservative party was the only major party to support the 'No' vote.
thumb|right|150px|A map showing the strength of the 'No' votes cast in the referendum by unitary authority.">
Key:Results
The referendum was held on
September 18 ,1997 , a week after the referendum in Scotland. In the end, the result was extremely close, and everything hung on voting figures for the last unitary authority (Carmarthenshire) to be announced, which carried the "Yes" vote.The
electorate were asked to indicate whether:
'1. I agree that there should be aWelsh Assembly ; or
2. I do not agree that there should be a Welsh Assembly.'Government response
In response to the majority voting for Yes, the government passed the
Government of Wales Act 1998 , creating theWelsh Assembly .ee also
*
Referendums in the United Kingdom
*Yes for Wales
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