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Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats:Covering the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park |
Michael Moore MP’s Westminster Notes
January 20, 2012 6:30 PM
• [Jan 18] Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore MP writes a regular column for local newspapers in his constituency. Here's the latest edition, covering his busy week at Westminster and in the Borders:
• Independence Referendum: Deciding on the future of our country and whether it remains in the UK or becomes independent will undoubtedly be the most important decision we Borderers make in our lifetime . . when the referendum does come it is vital that it provides us with a true and fair opportunity to determine the future of our country.
This is why last week I launched a public consultation on how we can achieve a referendum which is legal, fair and decisive. At the moment the Scottish Government does not have the legal power to hold a referendum on independence and, while the UK Government's preference would be to devolve this power to the Scottish Government, we have launched this consultation to seek people's views.
We also think that the referendum should be sooner rather than later, with one simple-yes no question to the existing Scottish Parliament franchise, overseen by the Electoral Commission. However we want to hear people's opinions on these things too so we can come to an agreement.
On this most important of questions, it is vital that we achieve a referendum that isn't the result of back-room deals or political rigging by one side or the other, but which gives the Scottish people a fair opportunity to make their voices heard. So, I want to encourage people, from all sides of the argument, to engage in the consultation to shape a fair, legal, decisive referendum on the future of our country . .
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