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Story: Referendums

Edmund Burke

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Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke was an 18th-century British parliamentarian and political thinker who achieved prominence for his political ideas, including his support for the American Revolution and his opposition to the French Revolution. Burke argued that the reasoned views of elected representatives should have priority over what he saw as the whim of the electorate. This has remained the standard view among British parliamentarians, who have generally had a low opinion of referendums.

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Nigel Roberts, Referendums – Representative democracy and referendums, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/36943/edmund-burke (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Nigel Roberts, published 12 June 2012, updated 1 December 2020.