Cabinet backs referendum delay

ALEX Salmond's decision not to hold a referendum until after next year's Scottish Parliament elections has won the "unanimous" backing of his Cabinet.

Official confirmation came when the Cabinet met in Kilmarnock yesterday following the First Minister's announcement that there would not be a vote on independence before next year's Holyrood elections.

A spokesman for Mr Salmond said his government was still planning to publish a referendum bill "in the very near future" and indicated that this would be published within the next few weeks.

A spokesman for Mr Salmond said: "Cabinet agreed that clearly the Unionist parties would gang up to reject the right of the people of Scotland to decide Scotland's future.

"In these circumstances, ministers agreed we will take the right of the people to decide Scotland's future to the people over the heads of the London-based parties.

"It's for the people to cast a verdict on the refusal of the London-based parties to support the right of the people to decide.

"Our view is that if these parties don't trust the people then it is highly likely that the people won't trust them.

"There was a very clear discussion set out at Cabinet on this and there was a strong and unanimous decision."

Mr Salmond has promised to make an independence referendum a dominating feature of his campaign for a second term in office.

The Cabinet met in Kilmarnock as part of its summer tour of the country.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said a public discussion event attracted about 200 people - the highest turnout of the tour - and added that the main issue discussed was "Westminster cuts".

Meanwhile, Mr Salmond is today due to announce ten parliamentary bills