# Integration Referendum (11–12 February 1956)

URL: https://allhistories.com/malta/timeline/1956-integration-referendum
Location: Valletta, Malta
Themes: Key Events

Following the Round Table Conference of 1955, Dom Mintoff's government put the proposal for integration with the United Kingdom to a referendum. Under the plan Malta would have had three seats in the British House of Commons, the Home Office would take over Maltese affairs, and Westminster would control defence and foreign affairs and eventually direct taxation, while the Maltese parliament kept responsibility for all other areas, including education and the position of the Catholic Church. The referendum was held on 11 and 12 February 1956. Of those who voted, 77 per cent approved the proposals, but turnout was only about 59 per cent of the electorate, partly because of a boycott by the Nationalist Party. The Church, led by Archbishop Mikiel Gonzi, had urged voters to vote no or abstain, fearing for its privileged position, and banners warned that God would be watching how people voted. The opposition argued that the result was inconclusive. Integration was never implemented. British MPs worried about the precedent for other colonies, and Malta's strategic importance to Britain was declining. Disputes over the dockyard and financial guarantees led to the collapse of the plan in 1958, and Labour turned instead to independence.

## Why it matters
The referendum was the only serious attempt to integrate a British colony into the United Kingdom, and its failure set Malta on the road to independence.

Ruler at the Time: [Elizabeth II](https://allhistories.com/malta/rulers/elizabeth-ii)

Governor of Malta: Sir Robert Laycock
Prime Minister of Malta: Dom Mintoff (Labour Party)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — 1956 Maltese United Kingdom integration referendum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_Maltese_United_Kingdom_integration_referendum)
- [Parliament of Malta](https://parlament.mt/)
- [Wikipedia — Independence And Republic (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta_Independence_Act_1964)