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Scottish referendum: Tory warning over electoral roll | |
(about 6 hours later) | |
Almost a million Scots could be denied an independence referendum vote if the SNP refuses the proper powers to run it, the Conservative Party has claimed. | |
The Tories said the SNP would be unable to access the full electoral roll of four million voters, if it held a referendum on its own terms. | |
But the Scottish government dismissed the claims as "simply nonsense". | But the Scottish government dismissed the claims as "simply nonsense". |
Westminster MPs have said new powers must be devolved to Scotland so the result cannot be legally challenged. | |
The Conservatives are the majority party in the UK's coalition government, which is also made up of Liberal Democrat MPs. | |
Ministers at Westminster have also previously said they want to work with the Scottish government to ensure it has the proper powers to hold the referendum - planned for autumn 2014 - because constitutional issues are not devolved to Holyrood. | |
But the move has provoked a row with SNP ministers, who said the coalition was trying to attach strings to the referendum, such as dictating the precise date and what will appear on the ballot paper. | But the move has provoked a row with SNP ministers, who said the coalition was trying to attach strings to the referendum, such as dictating the precise date and what will appear on the ballot paper. |
The Conservatives now say that, if the Scottish government went ahead on the issue itself, it would only have access to the publicly available, edited electoral register - mainly used by direct marketing companies - on which voters can opt out of being included. | |
'Overwhelming mandate' | |
Scotland Office Minister David Mundell said: "The UK government has set out very clearly that the Scottish government cannot legislate lawfully for a referendum with its current powers. | Scotland Office Minister David Mundell said: "The UK government has set out very clearly that the Scottish government cannot legislate lawfully for a referendum with its current powers. |
"The full electoral register can only be used for specific purposes such as the general or Holyrood elections. | "The full electoral register can only be used for specific purposes such as the general or Holyrood elections. |
"The legal position is clear - if the SNP attempts to go ahead with its own referendum then it will be nothing more than an opinion poll, with a million Scots unable to be asked for their view." | "The legal position is clear - if the SNP attempts to go ahead with its own referendum then it will be nothing more than an opinion poll, with a million Scots unable to be asked for their view." |
A Scottish government spokesman said the referendum would be brought about through legislation at Holyrood, which would ensure full access to the electoral register. | A Scottish government spokesman said the referendum would be brought about through legislation at Holyrood, which would ensure full access to the electoral register. |
"The Scottish government is entirely confident of its position, and of the overwhelming mandate it has received from the people of Scotland to hold a referendum," said the spokesman. | "The Scottish government is entirely confident of its position, and of the overwhelming mandate it has received from the people of Scotland to hold a referendum," said the spokesman. |
"In any event, the claim that the full electoral register will not be used for the referendum is simply nonsense." | "In any event, the claim that the full electoral register will not be used for the referendum is simply nonsense." |
The Tories said that, based on figures from the General Register Office for Scotland almost 27% of the 3.9 million voters on the electoral register had opted out of the edited version. | The Tories said that, based on figures from the General Register Office for Scotland almost 27% of the 3.9 million voters on the electoral register had opted out of the edited version. |