THE Scottish Government is being asked to extend the consultation time on its referendum plans by a new group, representing organisations across civic Scotland, demanding a proper debate on devolution options.
Urging the Scottish Government to lengthen its four-month consultation period ahead of a referendum in autumn 2014, Dave Moxham of the Scottish TUC said: "We think proper consideration of all the options may require an extension of Alex Salmond's proposed consultation period."
The line-up behind the new coalition, The Future of Scotland, includes the Scottish TUC and the Institute of Directors, churches, voluntary bodies, the National Union of Students, the Scottish Youth Parliament, and two think-tanks – Reform Scotland and the Centre for Scottish Public Policy.
They stressed that sparking a bottom-up debate among civic society was the sole immediate aim, with a special conference in Glasgow at the SECC on March 1 a key part of that.
Alison Elliot, convener of the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations, stressed: "This is not about making the case for independence, devolution, status quo or anything in between. We do not have a fixed view about the outcome of the referendum."
Or, as the Rev Ian Galloway of the Kirk's Church and Society Council, put it: "Some people say we're just a talking shop, but what's wrong with talking? There does seem to be a wider debate that has to happen."
However, behind the general talk of the need for a wider, bottom-up debate not set and dominated by the political parties, there was an admission yesterday that there had to be some end point for the exercise and relevance to the current Holyrood process.
But aside from Mr Moxham's suggestion about extending the consultation period, there were few firm demands or ideas yesterday.
Behind the scenes at the new group there is disdain both for the refusal of Labour and the Liberal Democrats to get involved in a better scheme for more powers for Holyrood, and for the way Alex Salmond has tried to lay down the parameters of the debate by defining "devo-max" at an extreme end of the possibilities of enhanced devolution almost indistinguishable from full independence.
Reform Scotland has already come up with its own suggestion dubbed "devo-plus" but the new coalition hopes its canvassing of public opinion in the form of a credible package of new powers for Holyrood could also be given a distinctive label.
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