The Scotsman says: Any future Independence referendum must pose the right question

Doubtless, it is a development that will frustrate supporters of independence but we believe the Electoral Commission is correct to intervene in discussions over the staging of a second referendum on Scotland’s place in the UK.

The elections watchdog’s insistence it must be allowed to assess the question that would be asked may prevent First Minister Nicola Sturgeon from staging the quick-fire referendum she desires but recent experience tells us a careful approach to such votes is essential.

The commission – which has also proposed a lengthy timeframe for the staging of any second referendum – has called for a series of changes to Scottish Government legislation, paving the way for Indyref2. Perhaps the most problematic issue is the proposed wording of any referendum question.

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The Scottish Government has proposed the commission should not, where it has previously been involved in assessing the question asked of voters, have any further input. This would mean the First Minister could simply ask the same question – should Scotland be an independent country? – as in 2014. However, the commission ruled out a Yes/No question in 2016’s EU referendum, insisting a question to which the answer was either Leave or Remain was more balanced.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on stage as she is interviewed by journalist Graham Spiers, during an Edinburgh Festival discussion event at The Stand's New Town Theatre, Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA WireScotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on stage as she is interviewed by journalist Graham Spiers, during an Edinburgh Festival discussion event at The Stand's New Town Theatre, Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on stage as she is interviewed by journalist Graham Spiers, during an Edinburgh Festival discussion event at The Stand's New Town Theatre, Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

The Scotsman will take no position during a future independence referendum campaign but it is our view that such a vote must be scrupulously fair, with the wording of the question giving no advantage to either side. We are also in favour of the commission’s proposal for greater controls over campaign spending and tougher powers to deal with any breaches of financial limits. It is clear that regulation of spending during the EU referendum was not as strict as it should have been and damaging ‘grey areas’ were allowed to develop.

Nicola Sturgeon and her supporters hunger for a referendum in the next year. The chances of this happening were always going to be slender. The Conservative Government has, after all, repeatedly made clear its opposition to a second vote on independence.

The First Minister may see the opportunity to make political capital from this latest apparent road block but we hope she, and all political leaders, will engage with the Electoral Commission to ensure that – should it take place – the next referendum on Scottish independence is scrupulously fair.