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MSPs cast doubt on timing of Sturgeon’s independence vote MSPs cast doubt on timing of Sturgeon’s independence vote
(32 minutes later)
A Holyrood committee has cast fresh doubt over Nicola Sturgeon’s plan to hold a second independence referendum based on a simple yes/no question late next year .A Holyrood committee has cast fresh doubt over Nicola Sturgeon’s plan to hold a second independence referendum based on a simple yes/no question late next year .
The finance and constitution committee said it supported requests from the Electoral Commission for up to 12 weeks to test the proposed question and for at least six months to pass between the referendum being agreed and the vote being held.The finance and constitution committee said it supported requests from the Electoral Commission for up to 12 weeks to test the proposed question and for at least six months to pass between the referendum being agreed and the vote being held.
The committee said any referendum intended to change the constitution must require special primary legislation at Holyrood, suggesting it could take up to a year for an independence vote to be held, taking all these stages into account.The committee said any referendum intended to change the constitution must require special primary legislation at Holyrood, suggesting it could take up to a year for an independence vote to be held, taking all these stages into account.
Sturgeon plans to make an independence referendum the centrepiece of the Scottish National party’s election campaign, with the party enjoying a significant lead in the polls in Scotland.Sturgeon plans to make an independence referendum the centrepiece of the Scottish National party’s election campaign, with the party enjoying a significant lead in the polls in Scotland.
She told the SNP’s annual conference this month that she wanted the referendum to be staged in late 2020 and would ask the UK government to grant the powers to hold one as soon as possible after the election.She told the SNP’s annual conference this month that she wanted the referendum to be staged in late 2020 and would ask the UK government to grant the powers to hold one as soon as possible after the election.
She argues that the prospects of a Boris Johnson-led Tory administration forcing through a hard Brexit makes the case for Scotland leaving the UK – and, in time, rejoining the EU – unanswerable.She argues that the prospects of a Boris Johnson-led Tory administration forcing through a hard Brexit makes the case for Scotland leaving the UK – and, in time, rejoining the EU – unanswerable.
Her government insists a second independence vote should be based on the same question asked in the 2014 referendum: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”Her government insists a second independence vote should be based on the same question asked in the 2014 referendum: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
Derek Mackay, the Scottish government’s finance and constitutional affairs secretary, told the committee that this question was simple and understood by voters and had been used more than 200 times in opinion polling. Derek Mackay, the Scottish government’s finance secretary, told the committee that this question was simple and understood by voters and had been used more than 200 times in opinion polling.
The Electoral Commission has said it needs to evaluate the question against other options, likely to include the leave/remain option used in the 2016 EU referendum, and it wants up to 12 weeks to test the wording with voters.The Electoral Commission has said it needs to evaluate the question against other options, likely to include the leave/remain option used in the 2016 EU referendum, and it wants up to 12 weeks to test the wording with voters.
The rough timetable sketched out by the committee begins with tabling and passing an act of parliament to stage the referendum, then up to three months to test the question, 28 days for the main yes/no campaigns to register with the Electoral Commission, 16 days for the commission to register those campaigns and at least 10 weeks for the campaign.The rough timetable sketched out by the committee begins with tabling and passing an act of parliament to stage the referendum, then up to three months to test the question, 28 days for the main yes/no campaigns to register with the Electoral Commission, 16 days for the commission to register those campaigns and at least 10 weeks for the campaign.
The committee said calls from the commission and other experts for at least six months to elapse between the act being passed and the referendum taking place also had to be taken into account.The committee said calls from the commission and other experts for at least six months to elapse between the act being passed and the referendum taking place also had to be taken into account.
The referendum bill is expected to be put to its first-stage vote at Holyrood next Thursday before going back to the finance and constitution committee for line-by-line scrutiny and amendments under stage two of Holyrood’s legislative process.The referendum bill is expected to be put to its first-stage vote at Holyrood next Thursday before going back to the finance and constitution committee for line-by-line scrutiny and amendments under stage two of Holyrood’s legislative process.
The committee hinted strongly in its interim report on the bill, published on Thursday morning, that it expected the government to accept the Electoral Commission’s recommendations during the stage-two process.The committee hinted strongly in its interim report on the bill, published on Thursday morning, that it expected the government to accept the Electoral Commission’s recommendations during the stage-two process.
It unanimously endorsed the bill’s primary purpose – to establish a clear framework for all future referendums in Scotland – but Bruce Crawford, the committee’s convenor and a veteran SNP MSP, said it also wanted the government to live up to Mackay’s promise to be open-minded about calls to revise the bill.It unanimously endorsed the bill’s primary purpose – to establish a clear framework for all future referendums in Scotland – but Bruce Crawford, the committee’s convenor and a veteran SNP MSP, said it also wanted the government to live up to Mackay’s promise to be open-minded about calls to revise the bill.
Crawford said: “Our committee supports the policy objective of the bill – to put in place a generic framework for referendums – on the basis that the bill is amended to reflect the weight of evidence we received and have set out in our report.”Crawford said: “Our committee supports the policy objective of the bill – to put in place a generic framework for referendums – on the basis that the bill is amended to reflect the weight of evidence we received and have set out in our report.”
Mike Russell, the Scottish government’s constitutional relations secretary, welcomed the committee’s unanimous support for the bill’s core purpose, and he repeated that the SNP still believed in replicating the wording of the 2014 referendum.Mike Russell, the Scottish government’s constitutional relations secretary, welcomed the committee’s unanimous support for the bill’s core purpose, and he repeated that the SNP still believed in replicating the wording of the 2014 referendum.
“I will seriously consider the report’s findings,” Russell said. “There is still a strong case, in my view, for not changing a question which has been previously proposed and tested by the Electoral Commission, remains in use and has the confidence of the public. However, I am open to constructive proposals.”“I will seriously consider the report’s findings,” Russell said. “There is still a strong case, in my view, for not changing a question which has been previously proposed and tested by the Electoral Commission, remains in use and has the confidence of the public. However, I am open to constructive proposals.”
Scottish independenceScottish independence
Scottish National party (SNP)Scottish National party (SNP)
ScotlandScotland
Nicola SturgeonNicola Sturgeon
Scottish politicsScottish politics
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