There are a number of things about referendums that annoy me, and I am sure many of the British population too. The first thing I find frustrating is that the British people don't get the opportunity of voting in a referendum on subjects we wish to vote on. Take for example the call for a referendum on Europe. The British people were promised one, but fearing we would choose the wrong answer the treaty was altered and Labour voted on it without offering a referendum. Even if this treaty was so significantly different so as to make Labour's promise of a referendum irrelevant, the fact is that the British people still wanted a referendum on the new treaty but were not given a choice. This country belongs to us, the British people. If there is sufficient demand for a referendum on a specific subject then we should be given it.
Another thing that frustrates me on this subject is the idea of not being able to change our minds. For example, how can it be possible for us to sign over control of certain parts of our decision making to Europe and then never be able to change our minds? How can it be right that we can sign over rights that our descendants have to live with but will never have a say in? Would we have been happy if our ancestors has signed over some of our decision making rights and we had to live with their decision? What if the decision was the right one to make at the time, but with new factors to take into consideration years later (such as a global financial collapse) it makes sense to revoke the decision?
The people of Ireland were given the opportunity to vote on Europe, and they voted "No." Politicians apparently aren't happy with them giving the "wrong answer" so want them to vote again. Will they have to keep voting until they get the answer right? This isn't how a referendum should be used.
In summary I believe there are two things that need to be done with relation to referendums. Firstly I think that when the population want to vote for themselves en-masse on a particular subject we should be given that opportunity. Secondly I feel that there should be no such thing as an irreversible decision. Finally I think that No means No and Yes means Yes, a repeat referendum should only be called if circumstances change significantly to suggest that the population may wish to change their minds.