Sturgeon: Holyrood has final say on referendum question

Tuesday 29 January 2013

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today re-asserted that the Scottish Parliament will have the final say on the question posed in the 2014 independence referendum.

Labour's Patricia Ferguson challenged the SNP administration to "accept in full" the Electoral Commission's recommendations on how the ballot is staged.

She made the plea the day before the commission publishes its assessment of the Government's preferred question for the referendum, which is "Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?" It will also Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that the assessments will carry "considerable weight" with ministers but that the Scottish Parliament has the final say on such matters.

"As with referendums held under UK legislation, it is for the Government to propose the referendum question, the Electoral Commission to test the question and the Parliament to make a final decision," Ms Sturgeon said."The Scottish Government will consider the wording of the question and indeed other matters relating to the conduct of the referendum in light of the commission's advice and, of course, the Scottish Parliament will have the final say during its scrutiny of the referendum legislation."Ms Ferguson, Labour's constitution spokeswoman, said she is disappointed that Ms Sturgeon would not commit to abide by the commission's recommendations. There is a "growing clamour of voices" calling on ministers to do so.She urged the Deputy First Minister to reassure MSPs that "her belief in independence extends to independent scrutiny too"."Does she not understand (that) for this referendum to be carried out in a fair and proper manner and, as importantly, to be seen to be carried out in a fair and proper manner, the recommendations of the Electoral Commission must be the guiding principles for the conduct of the referendum, both in terms of the question to be put and the spending limits to be applied?" Ms Ferguson asked.Ms Sturgeon replied: "I have made very clear the considerable weight that will be attached to the Electoral Commission recommendations by the Scottish Government."I've also made very clear, and will do so again, there would have to be a very good reason to depart from Electoral Commission recommendations, and any government so doing would have to explain its position to this Parliament."But it would be "an utter abdication of my responsibility as a minister to this Parliament to say what I thought of Electoral Commission recommendations before I had even seen what these recommendations are".She said: "This Government doesn't operate on the basis of commenting on recommendations of this nature before we see them."

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Sturgeon: Holyrood has final say on referendum question

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