Swedish nuclear power referendum, 1980

A non-binding referendum on nuclear power was held in Sweden on 23 March 1980.[1] Three proposals were put to voters:

  1. Nuclear power would be phased out over a period that would not impact too severely on employment and welfare. The twelve nuclear power stations operating or under construction would continue to be used until renewable sources became available, in order to reduce dependence on oil. There would also be no further expansion of nuclear power and the order in which the existing nuclear power stations would close down would be dependent on security.[2]
  2. As with proposal 1, but efforts would also be made to reduce energy consumption whilst protecting low income groups, including phasing out electric heating and increased R&D of renewable energy led by the government. In addition, a security committee with local membership would be put in place at each nuclear power plant and the public sector would take responsibility for generating and distributing electricity. Nuclear power plants would be owned by central and local government and any surplus profits from hydroelectric generation would be subject to a 100% tax rate.[2]
  3. The expansion of nuclear power would cease immediately and the six operational stations would be subject to stricter conditions and closed within ten years. Efforts would be made to reduce energy consumption and to increase renewable energy capacity. Uranium mining would be banned and efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons would be enhanced.[2]

The second option won a narrow plurality of the vote, receiving 39.1% of the ballots cast to 38.7% for option 3.[2] Option 1 was the least popular, receiving only 18.9% of the votes.[2]

The actual long term result of the nuclear power politics in Sweden after the referendum has been most similar to option 1. Nuclear power plants did not change ownership. Some were fully private and other owned by the government, and this did not change much. High profits in hydroelectric generation were not excessively taxed. Some of the nuclear power plants have been phased out, but most (as of 2017) haven't.

Results

Choice Votes %
Option 1904,96818.9
Option 21,869,34439.1
Option 31,846,91138.7
Blank votes157,1033.3
Invalid votes3,153–
Total4,781,479100
Registered voters/turnout6,321,16575.6
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Results by County

Results by county
  Option 1
  Option 2
  Option 3
County Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Blank vote Total
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
Stockholm County 230 04525,41295 83732,68350 94238,7628 5033,15905 327
Uppsala County 25 21918,052 64237,658 05141,44 2733,0140 185
Södermanland County 23 94616,5667 19246,4648 11033,275 3673,71144 615
Östergötland County 42 34318,9395 02242,4977 27834,569 0114,03223 654
Jönköping County 29 71717,0667 13738,5671 31440,955 9843,44174 152
Kronoberg County 16 90917,5435 66937,0140 70242,233 0983,2196 378
Kalmar County 23 46817,3054 50740,1953 56839,504 0723,00135 615
Gotland County 4 16113,6710 47434,4114 84348,769643,1730 442
Blekinge County 15 11618,1241 35949,5924 14128,942 7883,3483 404
Kristianstad County 35 93723,7462 62941,3847 49031,375 3123,51151 368
Malmöhus County 124 58428,36190 65143,40109 31024,8814 7453,36439 290
Halland County 24 69518,7045 81334,6956 49842,785 0593,83132 065
Gothenburg and Bohus County 80 58419,30145 79134,92177 13642,4214 0343,36417 545
Älvsborg County 39 79716,4591 74837,92101 86942,118 5083,52241 922
Skaraborg County 24 55716,1352 24834,3270 07946,035 3633,52152 247
Värmland County 25 22415,0267 23941,6863 92939,634 9243,05161 316
Örebro County 21 97513,7969 12743,3763 16239,625 1363,22159 400
Västmanland County 29 37520,0264 66644,0846 92231,985 7383,91146 701
Kopparberg County 19 24911,9165 72540,6771 11244,005 5313,42161 617
Gävleborg County 17 14510,3269 91142,0874 08044,595 0003,01166 146
Västernorrland County 15 83110,0967 92343,2868 66143,754 5192,88156 934
Jämtland County 7 2509,5831 25941,3035 12046,402 0582,7275 687
Västerbotten County 13 7349,8156 82740,5865 93847,093 5272,52140 026
Norrbotten County 14 1079,9167 94847,7556 65639,813 5892,52142 300
Sweden (total) 904 96818,941 869 34439,121 846 91138,65157 1033,294 778 326

References

  1. ↑ Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook. p. 1858. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Nohlen & Stöver, p1863
  • "Folkomröstningar 1922-2003" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 21 December 2007. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011.
  • "Nationella folkomröstningar" (in Swedish). Swedish Election Authority. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.