The rise and rise of the referendum

Your vote counts. Baddum TISH.

Referendums have been called on issues as diverse as peace deals, nuclear power, and whether New Zealand should change the national flag.

Colombia held a referendum on a longed-for peace deal in October, with voters rejecting it in a shock result.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants Turkey to vote on reinstating the death penalty, backing or scrapping talks on EU membership, and changing the constitution in his favour.

On 4 December Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will ask Italians if they support his plan to cut the number of senators in Italy's upper house by two-thirds, ending its ability to bring down governments.

Switzerland is the "country most likely to" where public votes are concerned, and has already had 12 in 2016. The next is scheduled for 27 November, when people will consider a proposal to phase out nuclear power plants.

Britain's post-war Prime Minister Clement Attlee called them "a device of dictators and demagogues". Recently the UK was asked if we wanted to stay in Europe. The three main political parties - Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats - all wanted to stay. 17.4 million people had other ideas.

Democracies are based on electing people who reflect our views to represent our interests. Referendums put the issue back into the hands of the individual voter. My first referendum was in 1991 - to support FW de Klerk in his campaign to end apartheid, yes or no? 85% of registered voters turned out to have their say. The result was a foregone conclusion - everyone, even those who voted no, knew what the answer was going to be, the only question was how close the vote would be. It wasn't. He had the support of 70% of the voting public.

The recent ones, not so easy to call. In fact the polls got them wrong, every time.

So are referendums good? They are certainly one man, one vote, in action. Every time the result shocks government, it underlines how out of touch our leadership has become.

Are they bad? They are expensive. They are divisive and cause lasting resentment. It does give every single numpty around, no matter how misguided in their views an equal say. Are we properly informed, fully aware of the issues and consequences, qualified to have a say?