Election watchdog ‘must have authority’

THE country’s election watchdog has warned it must have “clear authority” to set out its views on the question which the SNP proposes to ask Scots in the independence referendum.

But the head of the Electoral Commission, John McCormick, insists in an article for The Scotsman today that it will not “veto” the question, which must remain an issue for politicians.

Alex Salmond’s preferred wording – “Do you agree Scotland should become an independent country?” – has already been attacked by pro-Union critics as a “loaded” question. This view was backed by a group of experts at Westminster’s Scottish affairs select committee yesterday. Professor John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, warned MPs that the wording could affect the result.

In its submission to the Holyrood and Westminster consultations on the referendum, the commission notes that the vote may be legislated for at the Scottish Parliament. “There should be clear statutory authority in place to enable the commission to publish its views on the intelligibility of a referendum question formally proposed by government,” it states.

Mr McCormick says that, if the Electoral Commission is brought in to assess the question, its role will be solely to draw up advice on the “intelligibility” of the question prior to legislation. He adds: “It is the people we elect to represent us who must have the final say on what to ask voters.”

Negotiations about the wording of the question remain on-going between the UK and Scottish governments.

Labour constitution spokesman Patricia Ferguson said: “I strongly welcome the Electoral Commission’s insistence that their role in setting the question is not watered down, under any circumstances.”

SCOTT MACNAB