1956 Maltese United Kingdom integration referendum
Malta voted to integrate with the UK; the plan was never enacted.
In February 1956, Malta held a two-day vote on whether to integrate with the United Kingdom. While 77% of ballots cast supported the plan, only 59% of eligible voters participated, partly because the Nationalist Party urged a boycott. The integration proposals were never carried out, and Malta instead became an independent Commonwealth realm, the State of Malta, eight years later.
Quick Facts
- Date
- 11–12 February 1956
- Country
- Malta
- Invalid
- 2,559
- Electorate
- 152,783
Facts from the source article.
Proposals
Under the plan, Malta would send three representatives to the British House of Commons. The Home Office, not the Colonial Office, would manage Maltese matters. Britain's parliament would oversee defense, foreign policy, and eventually direct taxes, while Malta's parliament would manage education and the Catholic Church's role. The goal was to raise wages, jobs, and living standards to match the United Kingdom's.
Background
In 1953 the Nationalist Party government proposed dominion status for Malta, which the UK government rejected, instead suggesting transferring Maltese affairs to the Home Office. Both major parties found this inadequate. All-party talks began in June 1954, by which time the Labour Party had won the 1953 general election on a platform of integration. Alan Lennox-Boyd ruled out dominion status but agreed constitutional revision was needed. The Malta Round Table Conference produced Command paper Cmd. 9657 in December 1955, recommending three Maltese MPs on condition that the Maltese people demonstrate their wishes clearly. The Maltese government scheduled a referendum. The conference concluded the Maltese government could arrange a referendum. Lennox-Boyd noted a key question was whether Malta would set a precedent for other places.
Aftermath
The low turnout allowed the opposition to claim the result was inconclusive. Lennox-Boyd told the House of Commons that Her Majesty's Government accepted the proposals unconditionally, but the government did not feel the referendum met the condition of demonstrating the Maltese people's wishes clearly and unmistakably, citing Newfoundland's 1948 requirement for a second referendum. Some British MPs worried about setting a precedent for other colonies and influencing general elections. Malta became an independent Commonwealth realm on 21 September 1964 and a republic on 13 December 1974.
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