Quotes about referendum (69 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

“If one recalls the tactless declaration of President Bush about supporting Ukrainian sovereignty even before the referendum on that matter, one must conclude that all this stems from a common aim: to use all means possible, no matter what the consequences, to weaken Russia.”

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) Russian writer

Interview With Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn on Ukraine (May 1994)

Support

“A referendum is little more than a "rumour of choice." The idea behind the mechanism, ever since its first modern manifestations two centuries ago under Napoleon, has been to replace democracy with the sensation of democracy. That is: to replace the slow, complex, eternally unclear continuity of democracy, and all the awkwardness of citizen participation, with something clear and fast which allows those in power to impose their agenda. Through an apparently simple question with a one-syllable answer, those who ask can get a blank cheque from the citizenry; that is, if they choose their moment well and come up with a winning question.”

John Ralston Saul (1947) Canadian author and essayist

Reflections of a Siamese Twin (1997)

Democracy , Idea , Question

“Brexit means Brexit. The campaign was fought, the vote was held, turnout was high, and the public gave their verdict. There must be no attempts to remain inside the EU, no attempts to rejoin it through the back door, and no second referendum. The country voted to leave the European Union, and it is the duty of the Government and of Parliament to make sure we do just that.”

Theresa May (1956) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Speech declaring bid for the Conservative Party leadership http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-mays-tory-leadership-launch-statement-full-text-a7111026.html (30 June 2016)

Country

“If there are further steps to European integration, the people should have their say at a general election or in a referendum.”

Tony Blair (1953) former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

"New Britain: My vision of a young country", p. 70.
1990s

People

“That debate is over and the referendum has delivered a result.”

Eamon Gilmore (1955) Irish politician

Gilmore following the rejection of the first Lisbon Treaty referendum by the Irish people. Sunday Independent http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/gene-kerrigan/gene-kerrigan-gilmore-hasnt-a-shred-of-credibility-left-2666664.html

“Our jobs have moved overseas, Islamic terrorism has spread within our shores and an open border has crushed low-income workers and threatened our security. The issues we face here in America are similar to the issues faced in Britain during their referendum on membership in the EU. This is the movement known as Brexit”

Donald J. Trump (1946) 45th President of the United States of America

2010s, 2016, August, Speech in Jackson, Mississippi (August 24, 2016)

“If they win on Thursday (EU referendum, 2016), the process of abolishing Britain will be complete. If they lose, as I hope they do and still think they will, there is a faint, slender chance that we may get our country back one day.”

Peter Hitchens (1951) author, journalist

2016-06-19

PETER HITCHENS: There's a faint chance we may get our nation back one day

Mail on Sunday

http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2016/06/peter-hitchens-theres-a-faint-chance-we-may-get-our-nation-back-one-day.html
On the pro-EU political class

Hope , Thinking , Chance , Country

“As a result of uncertainties caused by the French referendum, massive speculative flows have continued to disrupt the functioning of the exchange rate mechanism. As Chairman of Ecofin I have tonight called an urgent meeting of the EC's monetary committee to consider how stability might be restored to the markets over the next few days.
In the meantime the Government has decided that Britain's best interests would be best secured by suspending our membership of the ERM with immediate effect. As a result, the second of the two interest rate rises announced today will not take effect.”

Norman Lamont (1942) British politician

Larry Elliott, Will Hutton and Julie Wolf, " Pound drops out of ERM http://politics.guardian.co.uk/euro/story/0,,506405,00.html", The Guardian, 17 September 1992.
Speech outside the Treasury on 'Black Wednesday' (16 September 1992) announcing the ERM withdrawal.

“The same reasoning that applies to the individual person applies to the individual state. A very broad twilight zone exists in which it is difficult to distinguish where state right ends and federal right begins. Deprived of the privilege of its day in court, each state would be compelled to submit to the exactions of the Congress or resort to resistance by force. On the other hand, the legislatures of states, and sometimes the people, through the initiative and referendum, may pass laws which are very injurious to the minority residents of that state, by attempting to take away the privilege which they hold under the Federal Constitution. Except for the courts, such a minority would have no remedy for wrong done them. Their ultimate refuge is the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) American politician, 30th president of the United States (in office from 1923 to 1929)

1920s, Ordered Liberty and World Peace (1924)

People , Law , Personality

“What you can't do is have a situation where you get a rejection of the treaty and then you just bring it back with a few amendments and say we will have another go. You can't do that and I am not going to get drawn into speculating the way forward because I don't intend to lose the referendum.”

Tony Blair (1953) former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Prime Minister's monthly press conference http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page5691.asp, 22 April 2004.
2000s

Way

“First, I hope to see the British public resist the propaganda onslaught of the pro-Europeans, in which the broadcast media, led by the BBC, have shown themselves willing tools of the government, and vote a resounding "no" in the referendum, if and when it comes.”

George MacDonald Fraser (1925–2008) English-born author of Scottish descent

The Europe Fiasco. p. 72.
The Light's On At Signpost (2002)

Hope

“The state-initiated referendum has always been a part of this [anti-democratic] logic. Stop the talk, we're going to decide, yes or no. At this point the citizen's role is to wave one flag or the other and cheer for one side of the simple question or the other. In other words, we're reduced to children.”

John Ralston Saul (1947) Canadian author and essayist

Reflections of a Siamese Twin (1997)

Children , Question , Parting

“The outcome of the Brexit Referendum could very likely to prove to be as significant and as beneficial to Europe as the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. And the benefits of Brexit won’t just be felt in the UK and Europe - many African countries may reap long-term economic and political benefits from Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. Project Fear’s apocalyptic claims turned out to be bunkum. We are not in the midst of World War Three. Western Civilization has not collapsed.”

Peter Whittle (politician) (1961) British author, politician, and journalist

100 Reasons to be Cheerful about the Brexit Results http://www.peterwhittleam.com/press-releases/100-reasons-to-be-cheerful-about-the-brexit-result (September 30, 2016)

War , World , Fear , Country

“We would support the government by not voting for a referendum [on the Lisbon treaty]. We would vote against a referendum on the treaty and vote in accordance with our long-held position that the real referendum that needs to be had is whether we stay in the EU or not.”

Nick Clegg (1967) British politician

Nick Clegg, BBC Today Programme http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7201881.stm (22 January, 2008)
2008

Support

“Austerity measures constitute retrogression in human rights, in contravention of articles 2 and 5 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, imposed top-down and never legitimized by popular referendum. Moreover, the “bail-out” of the banking system was undemocratic and inequitable because a “private debt” was rescued through public money, namely, by increasing the public debt, at the expense of social justice. The general feeling of malaise was expressed in the statement that Governments seem to have adopted the elitist view that “banks are too big to fail and bankers too big to jail”, concern being expressed about the dangers of privatization of essential services, including water, and the widespread phenomenon of privatizing profit and socializing cost.”

Alfred de Zayas (1947) American United Nations official

United Nations General Assembly - Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IntOrder/A-68-284_en.pdf.
2013

Money , Justice , Feeling , Water

“Did not Mister Godbout himself – I will surprise many, such a bad historical reputation was made about him – propose in 1948, in all letters, the holding of a referendum to reach […], let us get ready, "an equal to equal agreement between Quebec and Canada?"”

Adélard Godbout (1892–1956) Canadian politician

It was 32 years ago...
By René Lévesque, March 4, 1980, on the day the 1980 referendum question was presented at the National Assembly of Quebec.
Reference: René Lévesque, Mot à Mot, Les Éditions internationales Alain Stanké, 1997.
Original: Monsieur Godbout lui-même – je vais en surprendre plusieurs, on lui a fait tellement une mauvaise réputation historiquement – ne proposait-il pas en 1948, et en toutes lettres, la tenue d'un référendum pour en arriver [...], tenons-nous bien, "à une entente d'égal à égal entre le Québec et le Canada"? Il y a 32 ans de cela...

“Back in 2014, when no one else was planning how to win the referendum, @DouglasCarswell talked tactics at the @Tate. He said: "We can win in one of two circumstances: a visible failure of the renegotiation, or one of the two main party leaders being neutral."”

Daniel Hannan (1971) British politician

In the event, we got both. Thanks @jeremycorbyn.
Series of tweets following Jeremy Corbyn's sacking of shadow ministers who defied a Labour whip not to support an amendment calling for the UK to stay in the single market after Brexit https://twitter.com/DanielJHannan/status/880721871720808448 (30 June 2017)
2010s

Failure

“And I'd like to say this to [Sir James Goldsmith]……. who has got nothing to be smug about, and I would like to say that 1,500 votes is a derisory total. We have shown tonight that the Referendum Party is dead in the water, and Sir James can get off back to Mexico knowing your attempt to buy the British political system has failed.”

David Mellor (1949) former British politician, non-practising barrister, broadcaster, journalist and businessman

Quoted in Brian Cathcart, "Were you still up for Portillo?" (Penguin Books, 1997), pp. 63-4
From a speech following his defeat in the 1997 General Election and directed at Sir James Goldsmith.

Water , Dead

“The referendum of 5th July will stay in history as a unique moment when a small European nation rose up against debt-bondage…
Soon after the announcement of the referendum results, I was made aware of a certain preference by some Eurogroup participants, and assorted ‘partners’, for my… ‘absence’ from its meetings; an idea that the Prime Minister judged to be potentially helpful to him in reaching an agreement. For this reason I am leaving the Ministry of Finance today.
I consider it my duty to help Alexis Tsipras exploit, as he sees fit, the capital that the Greek people granted us through yesterday’s referendum.
And I shall wear the creditors’ loathing with pride….”

Yanis Varoufakis (1961) Greek-Australian political economist and author, Greek finance minister

Minister-no-more http://yanisvaroufakis.eu/2015/07/06/minister-no-more/ at yanisvaroufakis.eu, 2015/07/06; cited in: I shall wear the creditors’ loathing with pride http://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2015/jul/06/yanis-varoufakis-resignation-statement-creditors-loathing-with-pride, in: theguardian.com, 6 July 2015.

People , History , Idea , Help

“We lost the referendum vote but can still carry the political initiative. More importantly Scotland can still emerge as the real winner.”

Alex Salmond (1954) Scottish National Party politician and former First Minister of Scotland

“It is the old, old worry: will the British people perceive in time what is happening to them and where they are being taken? If they do, I am not afraid for the outcome. But will they? … referendum day is certainly not the last chance, because I am sure that, if the result is interpreted as sanctioning Stay In, the events of the following months will open many eyes that are closed at present. Perhaps, however, I might express it this way: if referendum day is not September, 1939, at any rate it is September, 1938. The nation is being invited to confirm the surrender, and the permanent surrender, of its most precious possession: its political independence and parliamentary self-government, and the right to live under laws and to pay taxes authorized only by Parliament and to be governed by policies for which the executive is fully accountable through Parliament to the electorate. Above and beyond all the arguments about butter mountains and Brussels bureaucrats there lies that stark fact, undenied and undeniable.”

Enoch Powell (1912–1998) British politician

'The one stark fact', The Times (4 June 1975), p. 14
1970s

People , Law , Way , Mountain

“If we are just going to have a fudged referendum on 'do we stay in or go further?”

Nigel Farage (1964) British politician and former commodity broker

then that's not good enough.
Segment from a BBC News interview, 2 July 2012. Farage: 'Fudged referendum on EU is no good' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18669796
2012

“As you are well aware, the last time the people of this country were given a say on membership of the European Union was back in 1975. This must have been a factor in your thinking when, in 2007, you gave a “cast-iron guarantee” to hold a referendum if you became Prime Minister. Since that promise, however, your message on the issue has been confusing and misleading. You say the time is not right but refuse to clarify when the time will be right. You believe that leaving would not be in our best interests and an in/out referendum is flawed because it offers a “single choice”. In last week’s Sun poll, almost 70 per cent of voters said they would like a referendum. In the same poll, a clear majority said they would like to leave the EU and yet your plans would deny them that opportunity. I believe the British people, along with many of your own backbench MPs, want and deserve a straight in/out choice in a referendum. I propose a public debate between us where we can put our respective cases forward. My challenge to you is an open and honest one and I hope you will afford me, and the people of this country, a proper say on the matter.”

Nigel Farage (1964) British politician and former commodity broker

Letter from Nigel Farage that was hand delivered to 10 Downing Street by Nigel Farage himself, challenging the Prime Minister to an open debate on the EU, 16 July 2012 - Nigel delivers challenge to Downing Street. http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/2719-nigel-delivers-challenge-to-downing-street
2012

People , Hope , Thinking , Time

“First of all, please make sure that you go and vote in the Common Market referendum on Thursday. And secondly, the Government asks you to vote 'Yes', clearly and unmistakeably.”

James Callaghan (1912–2005) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; 1976-1979

Referendum broadcast (2 June 1975).
Callaghan had not wanted to appear in a broadcast for 'Britain in Europe', so he was instead introduced as the Foreign Secretary giving a separate broadcast within a 'Britain in Europe' timeslot.
Foreign Secretary

“It is well known that I have not always seen eye to eye with Nigel, but I salute his very significant achievements. UKIP has a massive continuing role to play in British politics and, under a new leader, we will reach out to an even wider constituency. Nigel Farage deserves the thanks of every Brexiteer. There would have been no referendum without him. He is a controversial figure but, like him or loathe him, he is a dynamic force and one of the great figures in British politics today. He clearly has much still to offer in the continuing campaign for an independent Britain. He should be given a peerage.”

Neil Hamilton (politician)

Statement on the resignation of Nigel Farage http://www.neilhamiltonukip.com/blog/statement-on-the-resignation-of-nigel-farage (July 4, 2016)

“We believe there should be reforms in the EEC which would benefit all the members. If these were not achieved, our policy is to preserve the ultimate option of withdrawing Britain. That option would not, this time, need a referendum, as it did before.”

Neil Kinnock (1942) British politician

Source: On Labour policy regarding the EEC (8 January 1986)

Time

“We want friendship and co-operation with the people of Spain. But the people of Gibraltar said no to Joint Sovereignty in our referendum of 2002. By 98% we rejected Joint Sovereignty then. But that was obviously not loud and clear enough. So let me be unequivocal so that there is no mistake or any further foolish repetition of this warped notion for the transfer of our sovereignty: Gibraltarian is not for sale. The Gibraltarians will not be bribed. The Gibraltarians will never surrender!”

Fabian Picardo (1972) Gibraltarian politician and barrister

[14 June 2016, Chief Minister's Address To United Nations Committee Of 24, http://www.yourgibraltartv.com/politics/11901-jun-14-chief-minister-s-address-to-united-nations-committee-of-24, Your Gibraltar, 19 September 2016]
Address to the Special Committee on Decolonisation in New York
2016

Friendship , People

“There is a proper role for referendums in constitutional change, but only if done properly. If it is not done properly, it can be a dangerous tool. The Chairman of the Public Administration Committee, who is no longer in the Chamber, said that Clement Attlee—who is, I think, one of the Deputy Prime Minister's heroes—famously described the referendum as the device of demagogues and dictators. We may not always go as far as he did, but what is certain is that pre-legislative referendums of the type the Deputy Prime Minister is proposing are the worst type of all. ¶ Referendums should be held when the electorate are in the best possible position to make a judgment. They should be held when people can view all the arguments for and against and when those arguments have been rigorously tested. In short, referendums should be held when people know exactly what they are getting. So legislation should be debated by Members of Parliament on the Floor of the House, and then put to the electorate for the voters to judge. ¶ We should not ask people to vote on a blank sheet of paper and tell them to trust us to fill in the details afterwards. For referendums to be fair and compatible with our parliamentary process, we need the electors to be as well informed as possible and to know exactly what they are voting for. Referendums need to be treated as an addition to the parliamentary process, not as a substitute for it.”

David Davis (1948) British Conservative Party politician and former businessman

House of Commons Debates (Hansard), 26 November 2002, column 201 https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2002-11-26.201.7
On democracy and referendums

People , Thinking , Change , Housing

“Whatever else we can say about this referendum campaign, we have touched sections of the community who've never before been touched by politics. These sections of the community have touched us and touched the political process. I don't think that will ever be allowed to go back to business as usual in politics again. So friends, sometimes it's best to reflect where we are on a journey. 45 per cent, 1.6 million of our fellow citizens voting for independence, I don't think that any of us whenever we entered politics would have thought such a thing to be either credible or possible. Today of all days as we bring Scotland together let us not dwell on the distance we have fallen short. Let us dwell on the distance we have travelled and have confidence that the movement is so broad in Scotland that it will take this nation forward and we shall go forward as one nation. Thank you very much.”

Alex Salmond (1954) Scottish National Party politician and former First Minister of Scotland

Speech http://news.scotland.gov.uk/Speeches-Briefings/First-Minister-on-referendum-outcome-106a.aspx at Dynamic Earth (19 September 2014).

Travel , Confidence , Communication , Business

“The relationship between Scotland and the UK and that between the ROC-Taiwan and (Mainland China) are totally different. The ROC is an independent country, so the question of announcing independence via referendum is simply a nonstarter. Any kind of referendum that aims to change the status quo would be unwise. Keeping the ROC on Taiwan as an independent, sovereign state is our topmost priority. Any idea diverging from this would be at odds with the Constitution and against our citizens’ interests.”

Jiang Yi-huah (1960) Taiwanese politician

Jiang Yi-huah (2014) cited in " ROC not Scotland, independence vote not needed: Jiang http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/09/17/2003599885" on Taipei Times, 17 September 2014

Idea , Question , Change , Country

“In a 52-48 referendum this would be unfinished business by a long way. If the Remain campaign win two-thirds to one-third that ends it.”

Nigel Farage (1964) British politician and former commodity broker

Interviewed by the Mirror before the EU referendum result http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nigel-farage-wants-second-referendum-7985017 (16 May 2016)
2016

Way , Business

“I thought this election was an adult discussion on how best to protect ourselves in the face of terrorism, but apparently it was a referendum on boys kissing. I didn't know that, nobody.. told me that. But when homophobia trumps terrorism in America, wow.”

Bill Maher (1956) American stand-up comedian

This country needs to get laid.
I'm Swiss (2005)

Boy , Kiss , Country

“Do they believe that the aim of teaching English is to increase the exact and beautiful use of the language? Or that it is to inculcate and augment patriotism? Or that it is to diminish sorrow in the home? Or that it has some other end, cultural, economic, or military? … it was their verdict by a solemn referendum that the principal objective in teaching English was to make good spellers, and that after that came the breeding of good capitalizers. … I have maintained for years, sometimes perhaps with undue heat: that pedagogy in the United States is fast descending to the estate of a childish necromancy, and that the worst idiots, even among pedagogues, are the teachers of English. It is positively dreadful to think that the young of the American species are exposed day in and day out to the contamination of such dark minds. What can be expected of education that is carried on in the very sewers of the intellect? How can morons teach anything that is worth knowing?”

H.L. Mencken (1880–1956) American journalist and writer

On "teachers of English" in "The Schoolmarm's Goal" in The Lower Depths (1925)
1920s

Education , Beauty , Home , Thinking

“I knew that I could never win a referendum in Germany. We would have lost a referendum on the introduction of the Euro. That's quite clear. I would have lost and by seven to three…. If a Chancellor is trying to push something through, he must be a man of power. And if he's smart, he knows when the time is ripe. In one case – the Euro – I was like a dictator … The Euro is a synonym for Europe. Europe, for the first time, has no more war.”

Helmut Kohl (1930–2017) former chancellor of West Germany (1982-1990) and then the united Germany (1990-1998)

2002 interview for the PhD. of Jens Peter Paul, a German journalist

War , Time

“We will teach them to win referendums. For a referendum is an ideal way to manipulate people while maintaining their illusion of having chosen their fate on their own.”

Yurii Andrukhovych book The Moscoviad

The Moscoviad
Source: The Moscoviad. Yuri Andrukhovych. Spuyten Duyvil, New York City. ISBN1933132523, p. 175

Fate , People , Way

“Anyone who is a Palestinian citizen, whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim, should decide together in a very free referendum. There is no need for war. There is no need for threats or an atom bomb either.”

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (1956) 6th President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

2006
Source: Time Magazine, December 2006 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570714,00.html

War

“We have to give the American people a referendum. We will win this referendum if we have it now. If we wait and delay five or six years we will lose this referendum. The public is way ahead of the political class. They get that things are broken. They get that we're spending their kids' inheritance and mortgaging their future. They are ready to be talked to like adults and not like children. So when they see the demagoguery that is directed toward people or ideas that are sincere and are real, it doesn't work anymore. The Democrats are going to come at us with their old playbook. They're going to tap into the emotions of fear, anger, and envy. But that's not aspirational. That's not hope and change, and I don't think it's going to work anymore.”

Paul Ryan (1970) American politician

Source: Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders (2010), p. 15

Children , People , Fear , Hope

“Nationally the fight against the out of touch elite goes on. We have Boris Johnson calling for the government to hand out passports to illegal immigrants. We have Labour’s David Lammy asking MPs to reject the referendum result. We have Tories such as Dan Hannan MEP who is calling for the Brexit deal to include free movement. We have defeated the EU and now it’s time to rid Westminster of the establishment.”

Tim Aker (1985) British politician

Thurrock and Britain Vote To Leave The EU http://www.timakermep.org/site/thurrock-and-britain-vote-to-leave-the-eu/ (June 25, 2016)

Time , Fight

“[The Reform Party is] also the most conservative socially, but it's not a theocon party, to use the term. The Reform party does favour the use of referendums and free votes in Parliament on moral issues and social issues.”

Stephen Harper (1959) 22nd Prime Minister of Canada

1990s, Speech to the Council for National Policy (1997)

“Already in this country, as a result of the recent controversy, it is written in the constitution of the socialist party that "any member of the party who opposes political action or advocates crime, sabotage, or other methods of violence as a weapon of the working class to aid in its emancipation shall be expelled from membership in the party." Adopted by the national convention of the party in 1911, this clause was ratified at a general referendum of all the membership of the party. It is clear, therefore, that the immense majority of socialists are determined to employ peaceable and legal methods of action.”

Robert Hunter (author) (1874–1942) American sociologist, author, golf course architect

Source: Violence and the Labor Movement (1914), p. ix

Country

“How can a governing party propose to its people a referendum that won't be binding? Is that a serious political programme? No it is not. It's the final option that will end up with upset, at a dead end, reflecting the last 4 years of the Ibarretxe Plan”

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (1960) Former Prime Minister of Spain

April 2005, regarding Juan José Ibarretxe's plan to propose a referendum regarding whether to approve his plan to reform the aunomomy of the Basque Country.
As President, 2005
Source: El Correo, Saturday 9th April 2005, p. 23

People , Dead

“We want all the Palestinians back in their homeland, and then there can be a fair referendum for people to choose the form of state they want. Whoever gets the majority can rule.”

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1934–2017) Iranian politician, Shi'a cleric and Writer

Excerpts at Friday prayers http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/28/AR2005102801959.html (October 29, 2005)
2005

People

“What we now have in Iran is a religious dictator. Instead, I propose a secular parliamentary democracy, in which there would be a clear separation between the state and religion. Whether that would ultimately be a parliamentary monarchy or a republic will need to be decided at the end of this path by means of a national referendum.”

Reza Pahlavi (1960) Last crown prince of the former Imperial State of Iran

As quoted by Christoph Lehermayr, Der Sohn des Schahs spricht exklusiv mit NEWS.at: "Ich bin bereit, Konig zu werden" http://www.rezapahlavi.org/details_article.php?article=397&page=3, NEWS.at, September 15, 2009.
Interviews, 2009

Religion , Democracy

“This devilish Euro maniac is doing his best to keep the United Kingdom bound by the chains of EU bureaucracy and control. It is Tusk and his arrogant EU negotiators who have fanned the flames of fear in an attempt to try and overturn the result of the referendum.”

Sammy Wilson (1953) British politician

Donald Tusk: Special place in hell for Brexiteers without a plan https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47143135 BBC News (6 February 2019)
2010s

Fear

“The advantage of the Referendum is this—that the issue is quite clear and quite precise. It is not one of the mixed issues inevitably put before the constituencies at a General Election. It is perfectly easy to say, when the Referendum is over, on what the Referendum was, whereas after a General Election every man says that it was upon the subject in which he is interested, if the election has gone in his favour. The Referendum has an enormous advantage. It does not involve a General Election; it does not involve all the personal bitterness inevitably involved in a contest between the two competitors for a seat; it does not carry with it a change of Government; and it does get a clear verdict from the people.”

Arthur James Balfour (1848–1930) British Conservative politician and statesman

Speech in the Albert Hall, London (29 November 1910), quoted in The Times (30 November 1910), p. 9
Leader of the Opposition

Personality , People , Change

“Crimea is our land… Even if someone decides to argue with me, the dispute will immediately come to a dead-end… Democracy is the power of the people. How is it exercised, this power of the people? It is exercised through referendums, elections and so on. People came to a referendum in Crimea and voted for independence, first, and then for being part of Russia…. Let me remind you for the hundredth time that there was no referendum in Kosovo, only the parliament voted for independence, that was all. Everyone who wanted to support and destroy the former Yugoslavia said: well, thank God, we are fine with that… we proceed based on the will expressed by the people who live on that territory.”

Vladimir Putin (1952) President of Russia, former Prime Minister

Cooperation, Terrorism, UK & USA, President Trump, Resolving Conflict, Defense, Crimea, The Media, Nuclear Weapons Policy: 15th Plenary Session (18 October 2018)

Democracy , God , Time , Dead

“Those who had most insistently demanded the innovation of the referendum, because they thought it would produce exactly the opposite result, were temporarily stunned by the sudden revelation that they were populists without the support of the people. Now they have recovered from their concussion and seek to reopen the issue. … Even if they had a coherent alternative policy, which they do not, it would wreck itself upon the rock of inconstancy. … No one any longer expects us to be a rich country. But with an almost touching faith they still hope that we will be consistent and reliable. It is exactly this store of remaining national credit which the false democrats who first demanded and now deny the referendum seek to undermine.”

Roy Jenkins (1920–2003) British politician, historian and writer

Speech in Glasgow (1 July 1977), quoted in The Times (2 July 1977), p. 1
1970s

Faith , Country , Support , People

“Representative democracy demands a clear division of function between the electors and the elected. The former choose their representatives and retain the essential right of sacking them, if they are not satisfied with their work, at the end of a fixed period. But in the meantime the elected representatives, whether they are members of Parliament or city councillors, should be given full freedom to do their jobs. Any form of referendum is an infringement of this freedom, and the more complex and detailed the issue upon which it is held the more absurd an infringement it becomes.”

Roy Jenkins (1920–2003) British politician, historian and writer

Letter to The Times with Henry Usborne (22 January 1954), p. 7
1950s

Democracy , Freedom

“I just say to everybody in the country, including everyone in Parliament, the fundamental choice is this: Are you going to side with Jeremy Corbyn and those who want to cancel the referendum? Are you going to side with those who want to scrub the democratic verdict of the people - and plunge this country into chaos. Or are you going to side with those of us who want to get on, deliver the mandate of the people and focus with absolute, laser-like precision on the domestic agenda?”

Boris Johnson (1964) British politician, historian and journalist

Brexit: Michel Barnier rejects demands for backstop to be axed https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49540681 BBC News (1 September 2019)
2010s, 2019

People , Country

“The problem now (after East Timor independence from Indonesia referendum) is that we the East Timorese are without means. We are so dependent, we feel very small and fragile. But I have confidence that this will not last too long. We have hopes that after (United Nations-backed) the transitional period, we can rebuild our country.”

Xanana Gusmão (1946) former President and Prime Minister of East Timor

Xanana Gusmão (2019) cited in: " An interview with "Xanana" Gusmao http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/local/archives/1999/11/13/0000010511" in Taipei Times, 13 November 1999.

Confidence , Dependency , Country , Hope

“If this referendum is about anything it is about what kind of Britain we are and what kind of Britain we aspire to become. We should be a leader in Europe, not simply a member. We should not be fully out and we should not be half out. We should be fully in. We should recognise that the world has changed since the first referendum and we should be advocates for cooperation in an inter-dependent world.”

Gordon Brown (1951) British Labour Party politician

Gordon Brown says quitting EU would not be British https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36263256 BBC News (11 May 2016)
Post premiership

World , Dependency , Change

“It (referendum by Kinmen County residents which voted against the establishment of casinos in Kinmen) showed that Kinmen folks were thinking about development (of the county) in the long term, instead of being shortsighted and allowing themselves to be lured by profits (from casinos) close at hand.”

Yang Cheng-wu (1972) Taiwanese politician

Yang Cheng-wu (2017) cited in " Kinmen nixes casino development http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2017/10/29/2003681240" on Taipei Times, 29 October 2017

Thinking

“The referendum has taken place, a decision has been made, I think we have got to respect that decision and work out our relationship with Europe in the future.”

Jeremy Corbyn (1949) British Labour Party politician

EU referendum: Corbyn tells activists 'I did all I could' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36628305 BBC News (25 June 2016)
2010s, 2016

Future , Thinking , Decision

“We need a proper referendum that will come to a resolution on the issue, with remain on the ballot paper.”

Vince Cable (1943) British Liberal Democrat politician

Brexit: Theresa May plans 'bold offer' to get support for deal https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48323522 BBC News (19 May 2019)
2019

“It was always going to be uphill for us because I was someone who voted Remain and I think lots of party members felt that this was a moment when you just had to have someone who voted for Brexit in the referendum. In retrospect, that was a hurdle we were never able to overcome.”

Jeremy Hunt (1966) British politician

Boris Johnson wins race to be Tory leader and PM https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49084605 BBC News (23 July 2019)
2019

Thinking

“When we have negotiated that new settlement, we will give the British people a referendum with a very simple in-or-out choice to stay in the EU on these new terms; or come out altogether. It will be an in/out referendum.”

David Cameron (1966) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

David Cameron promises in/out referendum on EU https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21148282 BBC News (23 January 2013)
2010s, 2013

People

“Democratic consent for the EU in Britain is now wafer thin… Simply asking the British people to carry on accepting a European settlement over which they have had little choice is a path to ensuring that when the question is finally put - and at some stage it will have to be - it is much more likely that the British people will reject the EU. That is why I am in favour of a referendum. I believe in confronting this issue - shaping it, leading the debate. Not simply hoping a difficult situation will go away.”

David Cameron (1966) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

David Cameron speech: UK and the EU https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21160684 BBC News (23 January 2013)
2010s, 2013

Hope , People , Question

“It is good to see that we agree that the UK should leave the European Union with a deal and that the urgent task at hand is to find a deal that honours our commitments to the people of Northern Ireland, can command support in Parliament and can be negotiated with the EU - not to seek an election or second referendum.”

Theresa May (1956) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Brexit: Theresa May to give MPs update on Tuesday https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47192233 BBC News (11 February 2019)
2010s, On Brexit

Support , People

“But the EU should be clear: I will not overturn the result of the referendum. Nor will I break up my country.”

Theresa May (1956) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Theresa May: EU must respect UK in Brexit talks https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45603192 BBC News (21 September 2018)
2010s, On Brexit

Country

“A referendum is little more than a "rumour of choice."”

John Ralston Saul (1947) Canadian author and essayist

The idea behind the mechanism, ever since its first modern manifestations two centuries ago under Napoleon, has been to replace democracy with the sensation of democracy. That is: to replace the slow, complex, eternally unclear continuity of democracy, and all the awkwardness of citizen participation, with something clear and fast which allows those in power to impose their agenda. Through an apparently simple question with a one-syllable answer, those who ask can get a blank cheque from the citizenry; that is, if they choose their moment well and come up with a winning question.
Reflections of a Siamese Twin (1997)

“I do not think that the time is right to talk about democracy in its absolute concept. Arab societies marginalized their modern thinkers and scholars for the elders who stopped their time before fourteen centuries, which is the difference between us and them .. Therefore, it was necessary to work on spreading a more realistic culture in which modern science has a more open place. Take, for example, if we asked the Tunisian people (he meant former President Bourguiba then and not now) to hold a referendum on his position on women's education, then I can assure that 99.99% will refuse her education.”

Habib Bourguiba (1903–2000) Tunisian politician

Democracy , Time , People , Thinking

“I didn’t vote in the referendum [Brexit] although I can see how there is absolutely nothing attractive about the EU. My view has always been that the result of the referendum must be carried through. If the vote had been remain there would be absolutely no question that we would remain. In the interest of true democracy, you cannot argue against the wish of the people. Without the people, nobody in high office gets paid.”

Morrissey (1959) English singer

CULTURE Pop Icon Morrissey Says Diversity is Not a Strength https://summit.news/2019/06/24/pop-icon-morrissey-says-diversity-is-not-a-strength/?fbclid=IwAR398wYgRpEduvLPMg8qiO9WQNVnZl3LaNydJ8Bx1-DTF33ahE2rVTHFKuE, June 24 2019
In interviews etc., About politics and society

Democracy , People , Question

“We are a parliamentary democracy; we don’t function by plebiscite. It’s dangerous. I don’t believe in referendums – Hitler and Mussolini organised referendums.”

Sting (1951) English musician

Democracy

“We are being asked to vote for a customs union and a second referendum. The Bill is directly against our manifesto - and I will not vote for it. We can and must do better - and deliver what the people voted for.”

Boris Johnson (1964) British politician, historian and journalist

Source: Brexit: PM under fire over new Brexit plan https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48360456 BBC News (22 May 2019)

People

“[I] didn't say anything about Turkey during the referendum. Since I made no remarks...I can't disown them”

Boris Johnson (1964) British politician, historian and journalist

Source: Brexit: Did Boris Johnson talk Turkey during referendum campaign? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46926119, BBC News, 18 January 2019

“My fear is that if we did have another referendum, we might get the same or similar result and the country will still be divided. Somehow we have got to try and bring the country back together again.”

John McDonnell (1951) British politician (born 1951)

Source: Labour could form minority government without election - McDonnell https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46288429 BBC News (21 November 2018)

Country , Fear

“We should not pretend the referendum result can be undone.”

John McDonnell (1951) British politician (born 1951)

Source: John McDonnell says Tories want 'bankers' Brexit' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37782041 BBC News (27 October 2016)

“We have to respect the decision that was made in the referendum ... otherwise, to be frank, we undermine all confidence in our democratic process.”

John McDonnell (1951) British politician (born 1951)

Source: EU referendum result must be respected, says John McDonnell https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36680463 BBC News (1 July 2016)

Decision , Confidence

“We are well-prepared for this summer and autumn. And in view of the mood among our fighters, I can tell you that the situation will undergo a radical change. After the referendum, the activities of the resistance units sharply increased.”

Aslan Maskhadov (1951–2005) Chechen warlord

"Chechnya: Maskhadov speaks out on peace talks, resistance and recent explosions" in Relief Web https://reliefweb.int/report/russian-federation/chechnya-maskhadov-speaks-out-peace-talks-resistance-and-recent-explosions (2 June 2003)

Mood , Change , Autumn , Summer