Leader: Simple, clear and decisive? Well, yes and no

Published on Friday 27 January 2012 00:00

TO SECEDE or not to secede, that is the constitutional question facing Scotland. Twenty-four hours after the launch of the Nationalist government’s consultation paper on the referendum and questions over the question have emerged to which there appear to be no satisfactory answers.

The formulation proposed by Alex Salmond had the benefit of simplicity: Scots would be asked “Do you agree Scotland should be an independent country?” and answer Yes or No. Yet for all its apparent clarity, there are doubts emerging over whether this question is a fair one and who will decide if it is or is not, before it is put to the people.

Unionist politicians and some academics claim that asking people to agree something is biased. People like to respond positively, they argue. However, the same criticism could equally be made of a question which asked if people agreed Scotland should remain part of the United Kingdom.

So if affirmative questions are unfair, are there other alternatives? As it happens there are. As academic Nicola McEwen explains on these pages, when New Zealanders voted on changing their voting system they were first asked if they wanted change or the status quo. Had they voted for change, which they did not, they would then have been offered a range of options. There might be scope for a similar system here, particularly if there is agreement on a formulation for increased devolution, devo-max. An alternative with the attraction of offering two affirmative answers would be to ask people to choose between two statements: “I agree Scotland should become an independent country”, or “I agree Scotland should remain part of the United Kingdom”.

What is troubling for those who wish this ballot to be scrupulously fair, including this newspaper, is the division of opinion among politicians and academic “experts”, which we report today, something that makes the role of the Electoral Commission, as the supervisory body for the plebiscite, even more important and the emerging ambiguity of the Scottish Government towards it more worrying.

At the launch of the referendum consultation, Mr Salmond appeared to accept a full role for the commission, after agreeing a UK government offer it should report to Holyrood. Last night, however, all a spokesman for the First Minister would say was the commission would “obviously have a role in oversight of … and in analysis of all aspects of the question”. Given the disputes over the question, this obfuscation is simply not good enough.

The commission is politically neutral and trusted to be fair. The Scottish Government must join the UK coalition in giving it its full backing to test all of the question options and come up with one that is unbiased and allows this controversial matter to be settled without doubts over the validity of the question casting damaging doubt over the decision of the people.

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christelijk_recht

Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 12:47 AM

#5 KON AKA - Biscuit - "We all know that Salmond will do everything in his power to ‘fix’ the result." .......................................................................................................................... We all know it, how? We all know that you are a multi-personae poster who hates Scotland, but that's about all.

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IanElder

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 09:25 PM

I think the referendum should ask two questions. 1. "Do you support status quo - the Scottish Paliament retaining the same powers and the UK parliament retaining the same powers and continuing look after England and the UK? Answer YES or NO 2. If you voted NO, you should answer the questions: "Do you want Scotland to have less powers?" "Should Scotland be given more powers within the UK?" The problem could be solved with England getting its own parliament outside of Westminster? Then the constitution would allow for a merging of responsibilities and clearer demarcation of responsibilities.

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Hearthammer

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 03:59 PM

'5, the mailce is dripping from you! You are Lord Forsyth and I calim my £5!

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Biscuit McVittie

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 01:39 PM

We all know that Salmond will do everything in his power to ‘fix’ the result. This is why he is unfit to lead an independent Scotland. If the SNP want independence let them produce a leader with integrity who commands the trust and respect of the people of Scotland.

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gus1940

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 09:11 AM

Can I suggest another referendum question which could be tagged on:- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is The Scotsman a Newspaper?

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christelijk_recht

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 08:06 AM

The question the Jocksman would prefer put to the voters: ............................................................................................................. "Do you agree that Scotland should become a banana republic ruled by the separatists?

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Proud Doonhamer

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 01:08 AM

Now we are too wee, and too stupid to understand a simple question.

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The fucking Shitesman

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 01:01 AM

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