Editing Referendum Party (section)

{{short description|Former UK political party}}
{{about|the British political party|the South African political party|Referendum Party (South Africa)}}
{{featured article}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{use British English|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox political party
|country = the United Kingdom
|name = Referendum Party
|logo = [[File:Referendum Party Logo.jpg|250px]]
|leader = {{nowrap|[[James Goldsmith]]}}
|foundation = {{start date and age|1994}}
|dissolution = {{end date and age|1997}}
|ideology = [[Euroscepticism]]
|position = [[Single-issue politics|Single-issue]]
|colours = {{color box|{{party color|Referendum Party}}|border=darkgray}} [[Pink]]
|colorcode = {{party color|Referendum Party}}
}}

The '''Referendum Party''' was a [[Eurosceptic]], [[single-issue party|single-issue]] political party that was active in the [[United Kingdom]] from 1994 to 1997. The party's sole objective was for a [[referendum]] to be held on the nature of the UK's membership of the [[European Union]] (EU). Specifically, it called for a referendum on whether the British electorate wanted to be part of a [[European Federation|federal European state]] or to revert to being a sovereign nation that was part of a European free-trade bloc without wider political functions.

The Referendum Party was founded by the Anglo-French multi-millionaire businessman and politician [[James Goldsmith]] in November 1994. A Eurosceptic who had previously had close links to the UK's governing [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], he was also an elected [[Member of the European Parliament]] for the [[Movement for France]] party. He used his financial resources and contacts to promote the new venture, in which he was assisted by other former Conservatives. The party's structure was centralised and hierarchical, giving Goldsmith near-total control over its operations. Although not offering party membership, it claimed to have 160,000 registered "supporters", a number that was probably an exaggeration. The party gained a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for two weeks in 1997, when [[George Gardiner (politician)|George Gardiner]], the MP for [[Reigate (UK Parliament constituency)|Reigate]], defected to it from the Conservatives shortly before that year's general election.

In the build-up to the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|May 1997 general election]], the Referendum Party spent more on press advertising than either the incumbent Conservatives or their main rival, the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]]. It stood candidates in 547 of the 659 constituencies, more than any [[minor party]] had ever fielded in a UK election. Ultimately the party gained 811,827 votes, representing 2.6% of the national total; it failed to win any seats in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]. Support was strongest in southern and eastern England, and weakest in inner London, northern England, and Scotland. Following the election, [[Psephology|psephologists]] argued that the impact of the Referendum Party deprived Conservative candidates of victory in somewhere between four and sixteen parliamentary seats. In the months following the election, the party renamed itself the Referendum Movement. Goldsmith died in July 1997, and the party disbanded shortly afterward. Some of its supporters reformed as a Eurosceptic [[Advocacy group|pressure group]] called the [[Democracy Movement]] while many others joined Eurosceptic political parties like the [[UK Independence Party]] and the [[Democratic Party (UK, 1998)|Democratic Party]].