Nick Clegg urged to keep referendum separate from Scottish vote

DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg has been told by one his own Lib Dem MSPs that he is wrong to insist on holding the referendum on voting reform on the same day as the Scottish Parliament elections.

Jim Tolson, the Lib Dem MSP for Dunfermline, has broken ranks with his party leadership over the planned poll on the alternative vote system.

His comments to a consultation organised by Westminster's Scottish Affairs Select Committee, reflect concerns that the current proposals will overshadow the Holyrood election and cause the sort of confusion among voters that led to 147,000 votes being discounted in Scotland in 2007.

Submissions from Ron Gould, who carried out the inquiry into what went wrong in the 2007 elections, and Holyrood's Local Government Committee also suggested that an alternative date might be better.

Mr Tolson, who sits on the local government committee, said: "I, and many of my fellow committee members, are in no doubt that the combination of the two ballot papers led to confusion with many voters. I am determined that this confusion be avoided at all costs for next year's election to the Scottish Parliament.

"I am therefore very much against the inclusion of a referendum on the same day as the Scottish elections!"

It comes as MPs today prepare to debate the merits of the referendum and boundary changes in the committee stage, which unusually will be taken on the floor of the House of Commons meaning that all MPs can take part.

Ahead of the five days of debate the government has already had to backtrack on the wording of the referendum question.

A number of amendments have been put forward on changing the date of the referendum from 5 May to an alternative date, including one from Dunfermline and West Fife MP Thomas Docherty to move it to 8 September.

Negotiations were taking place last night between opposition parties and rebel Tories, believed to number around 45, to decide on which amendment to back.

Mr Docherty said last night: "I am delighted that my constituent Mr Tolson is supporting me on this. I hope that Mr Clegg listens to a member of his own party. It is not too late for him to see sense."

However, despite Mr Gould recommending a different date, his comments on the referendum not providing a similar challenge as 2007 were welcomed by the government.

A Scotland Office spokesman added: "The (University College London] Constitution Unit also makes the useful point (in the consultation] that there is no evidence that the understanding of devolved issues would suffer.

"Holding the referendum on the same day would increase turnout, save voters from two trips to the ballot box and save 17 million of taxpayers' money. We have also repeatedly said we believe the Scottish electorate is more than capable of voting on important matters at Holyrood and a yes/no referendum at the same time."