Tory rebels in talks with Labour over referendum

TORY rebels are pressing Labour to back them over imposing a minimum threshold for the referendum on voting reform in exchange for backing the amendment to change the date of the poll next year.

The move by disaffected back-bench Tories on the alternative vote (AV) referendum has raised memories of the 1979 vote on Scottish devolution, which was ignored because the minimum threshold was not met even though most people who voted wanted a Scottish Assembly.

Labour have tabled an amendment through Dunfermline and West Fife MP Thomas Docherty to move the referendum from 5 May, the same day as the Holyrood election, to 8 September.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, though, has insisted that holding the referendum on the same day as elections for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh and Northern Irish assemblies, and some English councils, will save millions of pounds.

Critics point out that the Gould report recommended that Holyrood elections should not clash with other votes following the fiasco in 2007 when confusion between council and parliament elections led to 147,000 being classified as spoilt.

But Tory rebels are more focused on imposing a threshold of 30 per cent of all registered voters being in favour of a change.

The issue of a minimum threshold was raised in talks between one of the rebel leaders, Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing, and Mr Docherty on Monday night.

The Scotsman also understands that further talks are taking place at a higher level.

One insider in the Tory Cornerstone group said: "There is a lot of support for a change of date but the real prize is a threshold. If it is set at 30 per cent of all voters then the turnout would probably have to be 60 per cent or more, which makes its success unlikely."