The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Leaders to sign deal on 2014 vote
THE PRIME Minister and Scotland’s First Minister will sign an agreement today paving the way for a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014.
Officials from both governments have been locked in negotiations over the last few weeks and the sides say they have achieved what they wanted from these talks and are now ready to move the debate forward.
It is understood plans to extend the referendum vote to Scots youngsters aged 16 and 17 have also been agreed.
It is believed the ballot will be a simple yes/no question — devo max will not be an option.
On the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show yesterday, Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said the vote would be the most important political decision in the UK for 300 years.
He added: “This has to be a straightforward and fair process, a framework of rules that are accepted by all sides that will allow us to focus on the big issues.”
The SNP Government’s deputy leader, Nicola Sturgeon, said both sides had made compromises, adding: “The good thing about getting the process issues out of the way ... is that we can get on to the substantive debate about why Scotland would be better as an independent country.”
LEADERS OF the Scottish and UK Go vernments are looking forward to debating the “big issues” of Scottish independence as Holyrood and Westminster prepare to finalise an agreement on the holding of a referendum.
The Prime Minister is expected to sign a deal with Scotland’s First Minister tomorrow granting the Scottish Parliament the power to stage the historic vote.
David Cameron will meet Alex Salmond in Edinburgh following months of negotiations about the ballot, expected to be held in autumn 2014.
Mr Salmond’s deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, said the agreement would allow opposing campaigners to focus on the issues at the heart of the debate.
Ms Sturgeon said: “The good thing about getting the process issues out of the way, which we’ll do tomorrow, is that we can get on to that substantive debate about why Scotland would be better as an independent country.”
Ms Sturgeon said negotiations with Scottish Secretary Michael Moore had been “constructive” and both sides had made compromises.
The ballot is likely to be limited to a singleYes-No option.
Suggestions of a second question on further devolution, short of independence, were firmly opposed by the UK Government.
The referendum is expected to be open to 16 and 17-year-olds as supported by the nationalists.
“If you consider issues over the timing, the question, the franchise, all issues which at the start of the year David Cameron was making noises about... all of these things will now be determined by the Scottish Parliament. I think that is a very good outcome,” Ms Sturgeon said.
Mr Moore said the agreement would produce a referendum that would be “legal, fair and decisive”.
The Liberal Democrat said: “I think it’s a good agreement. I believe it will now allow us to put up in lights the big issues about the big debate... on what is best for Scotland.
“I believe that when we look at the economy, at defence, at our place in the world, on all these big issues people across Scotland will continue to support Scotland being in the United Kingdom.
“Any detail about who is voting and who isn’t has to be in the referendum bill that the Scottish Government will put to the parliament in due course.
“As a Liberal Democrat I don’t have a problem with 16 and 17-year-olds being involved in elections or referenda.
“I accept that at a Westminster level there’s no consensus and you’d need that to be able to move on.”
The most recent poll on independence suggests support for leaving the UK has dropped. A survey of 995 adults, published last week, showed support for the Union at 53% compared with support for independence at 28%.
But, according to the latest YouGov poll of 1,000 people commissioned by the SNP, 64% of respondents said they thought the Scottish Government was better at making decisions for Scotland than the UK Government which received 24%.
Ms Sturgeon said she was confident of winning support for independence in the run up to the referendum.
“The game has changed considerably in the last couple of weeks,” she said.
“We now know there is a Tory-Labour consensus to roll back the progress of devolution and whichever one of these parties is in government at Westminster we know that they want to take away people’s bus passes, they want to take away free personal care and free prescriptions — the things that are the big achievements of the Scottish Parliament.”
Former chancellor Alistair Darling, who is leading the cross-party Better Together campaign, said he was pleased the referendum agreement had been made.
“The key thing at stake in these negotiations was to get the single question,” he said. “I would have preferred to have had this referendum in the autumn of 2013 because, frankly, a two-year election campaign is going to try the patience of the public, never mind the politicians and those who write about it.”