Scottish government wants 2014 independence vote

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      Scotland’s first minister, Alex Salmond, has confirmed he wants a referendum on independence from Britain to take place in the fall of 2014.

      According to Salmond’s comments to BBC News on January 10, the proposed date would allow the Scottish people to make a “considered” decision on whether to end the country’s 305-year union with England within what is now the called the United Kingdom, which also includes Wales and Northern Ireland.

      “The date for the referendum has to be the autumn of 2014,” Salmond told the BBC. “That’s because this is the biggest decision that Scotland has made for 300 years. If you are going to do things properly and have the debate in the way it must be had then that is the date that we are going to move towards.”

      Salmond, who favours independence from the U.K., said the decision must be one led by the will of the Scottish people, with no meddling from Westminster.

      According to the same news report, Michael Moore, U.K. secretary of state for Scotland, said in a statement to parliament that, while the coalition government favours the status quo, there should still be a “legal, fair and decisive referendum”.

      He said there were legal hurdles to overcome, as he said in the House of Commons that Scotland is prohibited from seeking an independence vote without the authority of Westminster.

      The Scottish parliament currently has devolved powers in the areas of education, health, the environment, and justice, but not in foreign affairs and defence.

      Comments

      3 Comments

      Mike Hansen

      Jan 11, 2012 at 1:53pm

      First Jamaica and now Scotland want to 86 the 'blood-sucking" monarchy, opening the door to "democracy"! Wow, what a "democratic" move forward. If these smaller nation have the foresight and fortitude to move into the 21st century, why can't We Canadians move into the 21st century and become a "democracy" also? Canadian Children have suffered long enough under these undemocratic tyrants both in Britain and Ottawa.
      We Canadians must demand 'Our Democracy'!

      2020Vancouver

      Jan 11, 2012 at 11:00pm

      Salmond is a wily politician (reminds me a bit of Lucien Bouchard), who for the last few years has been priming the Scottish nation for independence.

      As well as aiming to put Scotland at the forefront of the green world economy, with policies such as a 42% reduction in GHG emissions by 2020 (energy is one of Salmond's personal areas of interest) and talk of shared defence expenditure with Northern countries like Norway and Denmark in an independent scotland, he's also gone to great effort to promote the Scottish brand at home and abroad.

      However, while passions are rising, at this stage nobody knows what independence will look like. For sure there is a strong nationalist fervour, and Salmond is by far the most charismatic of the bunch of scots party leaders. But many of the people who swept the Scottish Nationalist Party into majority rule in the Scottish parliament at last year's election probably did so to protest Labour and Lib Dem shortcomings. I doubt if the majority of Scots want fully fledged independence, although many would favour Scotland having more constitutional powers without fully breaking off from the Union.
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      GOT

      Jan 12, 2012 at 7:42pm

      it is my understanding that Scotland wants to join Jamaica and start up a single-malt rum industry. There is speculation on the name of the intended product, but 'Black and White' has been ruled out. Possibly 'Glenrasta'.