‘Plenty of legal authority’ for independence referendum - Salmond
Alex Salmond has insisted his plans for an independence referendum in the autumn of 2014 are legal, despite Westminster saying the Scottish Government does not have the power to stage such a ballot.
The First Minister announced his preferred date last night for a vote on whether or not the country should remain part of the Union. That came just over an hour after Scottish Secretary Michael Moore offered to temporarily extend Holyrood’s powers so it could hold an independence ballot - if certain conditions are met.
When he announced his plans to the Commons yesterday, Mr Moore said: “To legislate for a referendum on independence, the Scottish Parliament must have the legal power to do so. It is the Government’s clear view that the Scottish Parliament doesn’t have that legal power.”
But when asked today if his plans were legal, Mr Salmond said: “Yes, we believe so.”
He accused Westminster of trying to interfere in Scottish affairs, and said the Prime Minister should “butt out”.
The coalition Government has proposed using a Section 30 order to temporarily extend Holyrood’s powers, enabling it to deliver a referendum.
The Scottish National Party leader told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme he had “no objection” to this, but added: “The objection, of course, is that the Prime Minister has started to put all sorts of London-based strings on.”
Mr Salmond said there was “plenty of legal authority” to support Scottish Government proposals to stage its own ballot.
The Scottish Secretary refused to say today if the UK Government would mount a legal challenge to any referendum staged by the SNP administration, but he said that the Nationalists’ plans “run the risk somewhere along the line of legal challenges”.
Mr Salmond hit out at UK ministers and said: “The Prime Minister came in with his size 10 boots and started to put all sorts of strings and conditions, and basically wanted to pull the strings of Scotland’s referendum.”
He said there had been a “huge adverse reaction” north of the border to “the Thatcheresque idea that Downing Street knows best”.
The First Minister continued: “Our conditions are quite clear: this must be a referendum built and run in Scotland, accountable to the Scottish Parliament. It has to be run fairly and transparently, of course, but we won’t accept unreasonable conditions placed by London on how Scotland should run the poll.”
The order proposed by Westminster would require any referendum to take place under the oversight of the Electoral Commission, with a single ballot paper offering voters the choice between independence or remaining part of the UK.
Those registered to vote in Scottish parliamentary elections would be entitled to take part.
But the SNP has previously suggested an independence referendum could be opened up to those aged 16 and 17, with Mr Salmond saying today: “If you’re having a vote on Scotland’s future, 16 and 17-year-olds on the electoral roll have a stake in the future of the country.”
Mr Moore, also speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, said: “The problem we have as Scots is in the original Scotland Act - the power to have referenda on issues to do with the constitution was not included.
“We wouldn’t want to carry out the whole referendum process, make the decision in the ballot box and then discover someone, somewhere, wanted to challenge it.”
He restated the view of UK ministers that any ballot on Scotland’s future should be held sooner rather than later, arguing: “My view is we want to get on with this.
“This is the most important decision any of us in Scotland will take in our lives, it’s the most historic decision in 300 years.
“A decision like that is one we want to get debated and resolved sooner rather than later.
“ With too long a period, we will just increase the uncertainty about Scotland’s future, which will affect jobs, it will affect investment plans.
“All of us in Scotland need to get on with a referendum that is legal, so we need to work with the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government to give them the powers to do this.”
Speaking about the Section 30 order, Mr Moore said: “We have put out a set of proposals, that we should have a clear-cut referendum, that it should be fairly conducted.
“We’ve also said we need to give a legal basis for this referendum, let’s sort that out, then we can have this momentous debate about our future.”
Former chancellor Alistair Darling said Mr Salmond had “put off” holding a referendum until 2014 because he “doesn’t think he can win just now and he is playing for time”.
The Labour MP for Edinburgh South West told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that much of Scotland’s political history over the last 40 years had been dominated by “process and political squabbling”.
But he said: “Get the process sorted out, let us get on to the merits of the argument because the sooner we treat people in Scotland like the grown-ups we are and we have a proper discussion about that, the better it will be.”
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Comments
There are 367 comments to this article
Page 1 of 25
Gillie
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 06:22 AMCameronMilliband=wind and pash.
glassbenmhor
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 06:06 AMActs of Union ( amusement ).....Foulksie, Forsyth (saga), Miliband, Oor Wullie (Rennie), Ruth-babe.
glassbenmhor
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 05:56 AMCome on guys and girls, you'd be silly to take Cameron for a fool, and you unionists words are too much to describe how abandoned you are becoming look Dave can see that the Scots cause is lost that by the way has be Tory thinktank thought for at least 5 years, it's as simple as Dave playing the real binder on Labour he will be the man whom exterminated Labour for any governance at Westminster. But I cannot believe how totally gullible Milliband is what a laugh...... The man's be taken in hook line and sinker. Now for Act 1 Scene 2 , McLeish and Chisolm in a coup, of which will be quiet and bloodless.(Keir Hardie smiling from his cloud). Act1 Scene3, Ruthie babe's partner has a child (press consumption, reality coup mk2) Murdo presiding the following morning saying something about fiscalar Social Democracy, attention gained. Oh yes indeed and the joiners widening the door on Bute house to accommodate the FM's grin!
Miliband's British Defence League
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 01:55 AM354 Vote 'NO' Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 11:31 PM 349 well spotted. Salmond's sneaky rhetoric, he does the same about the Monarchy, belies the character of a very cunning individual . _______________________________________________________ That's the next Scottish referendum. If tiny Jamaica can be independent from cruel Britishers and soon to hold a debate on dumping the unelected dictatorship of the German dynasty of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Roll on the independence referendum but the joy of seeing Cameron, Miliband and all the Britishers jigging to Salmond's Scottish tunes is delightful.
Miliband's British Defence League
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 01:44 AM350 British slevered; Scotland is the land of easy money from the government with the unfair barnett formula. I knew their was an unfair balance. But if we get independence I think life will become much harder up here. ______________________________________________________ Benefits are set outwith Scotland, benefits are controlled from out with Scotland, the benefits Agency is privatised from outside of Scotland and Scots must abide by the foreign rules of another land. It is harder in Scotland to qualify for the benefits from the foreign land! You too are an utter bullchitter. I hope the level of the argument is going to rise up from the level of the sewer! If not the UK is doomed. Benefits indeed. Greedy families in London are netting over £100,000 per year which is greed and incompetence and in case you need informing, London is not in Scotland.
Miliband's British Defence League
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 01:32 AM356 whitstomatowiu wrote; -----------I feel sorry for you and your fellow The London Olympics started of at 3 billion now 9 billion where is all that money helping people in the North and Midlands of current England. ______________________________________________________ +1.Agreed. The current bills for our British-London Sports day is running at just over £21 bn and the not yet added extra security costs (because of Theresa May passport cuts back) will spread the bill over the next twenty years and yet brilliant London spent just over another five million on a failed bid (fiddling votes) to bring the World Cup back to London and the bill to bring the 2015 Rugby World Cup to London has been kept a secret from me as has the Britisher plans to impose three filthy nuclear plants and Trident bases and Depleted uranium firing ranges on Scotland. Hardly surprising the unelected Cameron and Miliband are so fervid to force the referendum and impose time limits, clauses, conditions, restrictions and barriers on democracy! Mugabe has a very good teacher in the Britishers honoured by the Britishers and educated free by them.
Miliband's British Defence League
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 12:30 AM348 Danielrober2 Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 10:43 PM If Scotland is lead into a the high risk situation of living a bankrupt existence. ______________________________________________________ So erm you too are claiming Scots are funded by another nation's income?Care to give some detailed accounts? Thought not, you toadying Britisher weasel swine!
Miliband's British Defence League
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 12:25 AMYesterday a bigoted Britisher bullschitter was proffering the wisdom of his brilliant legal brain on why Scots have no legal right to decide upon their own nation's future, no legitimacy on the democratic limits of their politics and no right in Law to exercise their lack of incontrovertible human rights. Today, Justice Secretary Ken Clarke was found to be wrong to stop the interview of an innocent man held as a terrorism suspect for seven years without trial by the cruel, wicked, evil, warmongering, torture apologising Britisher state. Another thousand reasons to smash the broken Britisher Union.
davidjames
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 12:18 AM$ GDP per capita ---- Luxembourg 122,272 ---- Norway 96,591 ---- Denmark 63,003 ---- Sweden 61,098 ---- Netherlands 51,410 ---- Finland 50,090 ---- Ireland 48,157 ---- USA 48,147 ---- Germany 44,558 ---- Iceland 43,226 ---- UK 39,604. ---- But this makes no comment about resilience.
GlasgowIain
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 12:06 AM#345 Depends how you define running out. The stakeholders in North Sea oil, BP included, seem to be under the (perhaps naiive) impression that there is a considerable amount left. http:www.telegraph.co.ukfinancenewsbysectorenergyoilandgas7873355North-Sea-oil-hopes-rise-of-the-biggest-discovery-in-a-decade.html Claims about the oil "running out in a decade" have been circling since the 1970s. Also it is in the interests of the industry to downplay how much they can extract because it pushes up the value and this is true of oil reserved anywhere in the world.
free_scot
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 11:51 PMI'm still waiting for replies, with proof not waffle, that the UK is better off economically, socially, healthwise, environmentally, poverty gap, etc..... than many smaller European nations - namely, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg and others. Show your facts please on how being a citizen of the UK is better for the average person, than in these small independent nations? Also, it was announced only a few months ago, with even Herr Cameron hailing the news, of large new oil reserves west of Shetland. So much for the oil running out (although I agree we should be moving away from using oil altogether) and a main reason for the desperation of Westminster trying to leach off of Scotland's natural resources. If these resources mean nothing to the UK Government, then they will be quite happy to devolve them all to the Scottish Government tommorrow, why not?
whitstomatowiu
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 11:48 PMDorset Bloke,-----------------------I feel sorry for you and your fellow Englishmen unlike Scotland who have the SNP to fight our cause you have no one-----------------------------You are lucky that you live in south of England it's the people in the Midlands and North I feel sorry for.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Prudence Brown made his foolish comment that he had ended Boom and Bust ----------------------Inflation always started in the South East of England but the rest of Britain had to take the medicine too take the heat out of the economy with comments like unemployment is a price worth paying to take the heat out of the South--------------------------The london Olympics started of at 3 billion now 9 billion where is all that money helping people in the North and Midlands of England ------------------------------------Start an ENP for Englands Independence.
davidjames
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 11:46 PMAgain for our friends in the south. The Barnet Formula is convergent. That is to say the historical advantage is being progressively eroded. Otherwise the formula is there primarily to allocate spending and spending cuts automatically. The advantage dates from 1888. Those in the south that seek to exploit this situation for political reasons, or to sell papers, or to foment discontent choose their numbers selectively to set England as a whole against Scotland. If however we look at public spending in all of the regions of England we see that the North and London especially is not much different from Scotland. So if our friends in the south wish to have a dig at Scotland, then have a dig at Newcastle, or Manchester or London; or indeed Belfast and Cardiff. Statistics rarely lie; just the people that use them. (Source data: UK Office for National Statistics).
Vote 'NO'
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 11:31 PM349 well spotted. Salmond's sneaky rhetoric, he does the same about the Monarchy, belies the character of a very cunning individual .
Dorset Bloke
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 11:00 PM"There are 736 MEPs; 72 of which are returned by the UK., including 6 representing Scotland - http:www.europarl.org.ukviewenyour_MEPs.html So very little clout. Seems bizarre that the SNP want to be independent; but run by Europe." Yes - and not a single one of them has any say whatsoever in what happens. It is just a talking shop in which Scotland would have 0.82% of the voices. Now that's independence for you.
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