Salmond fury at referendum date

ALEX Salmond and the First Ministers of Wales and Northern Ireland have written to the Prime Minister to signal their "extreme anger" about the coalition Government's plans to hold a voting reform referendum on the same day as the Scottish election.

Salmond, Carwyn Jones and Peter Robinson have signed a letter indicating their alarm about the plans to hold the vote on the same day that the devolved nations go to the polls next year.

The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish leaders have joined forces because they fear that the plan may be ratified on Tuesday when the UK Cabinet meets.

The letter was sent as the SNP stepped up their drive to block the holding of the referendum on May 5 next year. Both the SNP and Scottish Labour oppose the plan, which was not run past Scottish ministers, because they fear there will be chaos at polling stations.

Yesterday, Scottish ministers made it clear they will seek an "early opportunity" to hold a vote in the Scottish Parliament to express Holyrood's opposition. They are confident of gaining the support of three-quarters of MSPs.

Salmond's spokesman said: "The reported proposal of the UK Government to hold a referendum on the Alternative Vote (AV] - an electoral system that no party actually supports - on the same day as the elections for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies cannot possibly stand. For this to emerge in the media without a single word of consultation with the devolved administrations is an act of extraordinary disrespect by the Tory/Lib Dem government at Westminster.

"Each tier of government and election must be accorded proper respect for the sake of the voters - so that campaigns are focused on the relevant issues, and the kind of logistical problems experienced in 2007 avoided. That is exactly why we came together as a parliament to decouple the local authority and Holyrood elections in Scotland."

He added: "There is a strong Scottish Parliament majority for this democratic position. Already, the Labour and Green parties have supported the position of the Scottish Government - and together that represents around three-quarters of MSPs."

In 2007, there were 140,000 ballot papers rejected amid the confusion of council and parliamentary elections being held at the same time.

The referendum on AV was a key demand of the Lib Dems before they went into government with the Tories.Cameron has said he will campaign against AV in a move that will see the coalition divide along party lines.

Meanwhile, Scotland on Sunday can reveal Salmond's plans for an independence referendum have been thrown into further doubt as time runs out for a poll that would decide Scotland's constitutional future.

The First Minister has made it clear that he wants to hold the poll on March 31 to fit in with the timetable already agreed for the Welsh referendum for more powers for the Cardiff Assembly.

But Electoral Commission guidelines call for a gap of at least two months between legislation and referendum. The Referendum Bill has yet to be tabled at Holyrood and will not be allocated to a committee until September, squeezing the timetable further.