Perhaps it's time for the people to decide what stays and what goes.

After all, it is they who pay the bills!

Topics like, Gay marriage, smoking in public, wearing the burka in public, the war in Afghan, to name just a few.

Good idear or not?

Great idea.

It's about time some of these issues were concluded.

How do you decide which issues should be decided by referendum, and which not?

The ones that get a conscience vote in parliament

We need voter initiated referendums on any subject. I wrote to all local candidates before the election asking if they had to vote on a bill where they knew the electorate clearly wanted one result but they personally wanted the opposite, what would be their vote. I received only one answer from 5 candidates and he didn't answer directly but just advocated a referendum instead of a parliamentary vote.
However we as ordinary voters, cannot initiate any referendums. How do we get this changed ?

Bad idea.
Joe Public is an ignoramus.