The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Should Scotland be an independent country?

Scotland’s referendum will be held on 18 September next year, First Minister Alex Salmond announced in the Scottish Parliament today. The date is contained in the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill, introduced to the Parliament and published today, which also confirms that voters will be asked the question: Should Scotland be an independent country?.

The legislation provides that the referendum will be:

• preceded by a 16-week formal campaign period, during which limits will apply to the amount of money any registered participant may spend on campaigning, aimed at ensuring a level playing field for both sides of the debate
• overseen by the independent Electoral Commission, responsible for regulating the campaign rules, informing the public about the referendum and reporting to the Scottish Parliament on the conduct and administration of the referendum
•  conducted under the direction of a Chief Counting Officer responsible for appointing local Counting Officers to run the poll in local areas

Mr Salmond said: “On 18th September 2014 people across Scotland will vote to determine their country’s future. It will be a historic day, and one on which this ancient nation decides its place in the world. People will be able to choose if they want a Scotland that is independent and able to make her own decisions – with a Scottish Parliament that is responsible for making the most of Scotland’s rich resources to benefit its communities and safeguard the welfare of our most vulnerable citizens and accountable for how we engage other nations around the world.

“Devolution has shown how we can use Holyrood’s powers to improve lives in the policy areas where we are already effectively independent. Scotland has made great strides since our national Parliament was reconvened in 1999 after almost 300 years. We are a more confident country, secure in the knowledge that when we take decisions for ourselves we can help make this a better place to live for all our citizens.

“Landmark policies introduced since devolution have made Scotland a safer, healthier and fairer country. Throughout the Parliament’s history, we have used our powers for progressive purposes – such as free personal care, pioneering homelessness legislation, an end to tuition fees, and protecting the National Health Service.

“But we can and must do more – and only the powers of an independent Parliament with control of the economy, of international representation and of security will allow us to make the most of our huge national potential. Scotland now faces two futures: continuing with an outdated political entity that ill-serves the interests of the people of Scotland – a system that will continue to give us governments we didn’t vote for. Or independence, where Scotland will get a Parliament that is both fully empowered and fully accountable to those whose lives are affected by its actions.

“With full economic levers and access to our huge natural resources, we can not only defend the progress made with devolution but we can become a fairer, more prosperous society. And one where a new, 21st Century relationship is forged between the nations of these islands and with the wider community of nations. 18 September 2014 can be a date which becomes etched in our nation’s story as the day Scotland took a decisive step forward to a better, fairer future.”

Opposition parties who support the Union – including Labour, Conservatives and the Lib Dems – argue Scotland is better off as part of the wider UK. Scottish Labour Johann Lamont responded to news of the referendum date by accusing the government of ‘putting Scotland on pause’.

She said: “If the hand of history is on the First Minister’s shoulder I wish it would give him a shove and he’d get on with it. This is the man who got into power by playing down his belief in independence. And there will be many people who voted SNP but don’t believe in independence who will breathe a sigh of relief, like me, that the date when we can finish this constitutional debate once and for all and get on with dealing with the real issues and priorities of Scotland is now in sight. Until then Scotland remains on pause.

“What I do not understand is that why if leaving the United Kingdom is the key to Scotland’s prosperity, why he wants Scotland to languish for another year and a half before we get the chance to vote on it. The truth behind the delay is not that he is holding to a promise made to the electorate in a tv debate. The truth is Alex Salmond knows if he held the referendum now he wouldn’t just lose it he would be routed. All the self-aggrandizement of today isn’t just a sign of the First Minister’s usual pomposity. Making an occasion out of a delayed announcements, is an attempt to con the people into believing that we have moved a step towards independence when we haven’t.

“The truth is, I believe, we have moved a step down the road of cementing Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom. If today is the day when the debate starts in earnest then it should also be the day when the First Minister breaks the habit of a lifetime and starts answering questions. What controls would the Bank of England, by then a foreign bank, have over the policies of the government of a separate Scotland? What would the deal be if Scotland became a new member of the European Union?

“Alex Salmond has avoided giving detailed answers to these questions and many more in the years past, in the months ahead the people of Scotland will hold him to account. He plans to hold the referendum in the autumn of next year and to publish his white paper in the autumn of this. Why the delay? If we are to have the transparent debate the First Minister says he wants, why does he not publish his full independence plans now. If he wants a proper debate then he must disclose that white paper today. If not the whole country will be asking: What’s the plan, Alex?”

Who do you believe? Whatever your current opinion, both sides of the argument now have eighteen long months to persuade and convince voters.

And they say a week is a long time in politics … !