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February 13th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda - Disagreement on having extra questions in referendum
- These would cover whether 16- to 17-year-olds get vote and extra powers for Holyrood
- Prime Minister will visit Edinburgh on Thursday
By
Emma Reynolds
Last updated at 4:22 PM on 13th February 2012
Alex Salmond said ‘modest progress’ has been made over the independence referendum as he prepares to meet David Cameron on Thursday.
Scotland’s First Minister met with Scottish Secretary Michael Moore in Edinburgh this morning to discuss how a vote could be staged.
Now the Prime Minister, who opposes independence for Scotland, will travel north to talk with Mr Salmond about how the referendum will work.
Working together: Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond, left, discussed how to stage the vote with Scottish Secretary Michael Moore, right
Two key points of disagreement remain between the Scottish National Party and Westminster, according to the Scottish leader.
These are whether or not the
ballot should also give Scots the option of backing greatly-enhanced
powers for Holyrood – dubbed devo-max – and whether 16- and 17-year-olds
should be entitled to vote.
Furthermore, the Scottish Government wants the
vote to take place in the autumn of 2014, but Mr Moore said today that he would like it to be ‘sooner rather than later’.
After a 90-minute meeting with Mr Moore today, the First Minister said he did not anticipate any agreement between Holyrood and Westminster on the issues until after the consultations that both governments are staging.
Mr Salmond said the Scottish Government had an ‘open mind’ as to whether there should be a devo-max option on the ballot paper and were ‘favourable to 16 and 17-year-olds getting the vote’.
Ministers’ meeting: David Cameron, who opposes independence for Scotland, will travel north this week to discuss the referendum with Mr Salmond
He added: ‘I hope that once the consultation is completed and the process is completed then that will enable us to come to agreement.’
‘Hopefully the voice of the people will prevail upon the politicians to find common ground on these matter.
‘You wouldn’t have expected us to come out with complete agreement, it’s modest progress.’
He insisted there was not a ‘serious argument’ on the referendum’s timing, and that this matter, along with the issue of what role the Electoral Commission would play in the referendum, were ‘more or less settled’.
Mr Salmond said it was ‘useful’ that Mr Moore had said the British Government was willing to listen to consultation. ‘In terms of getting a resolution, then perhaps the voice of the people will be very, very important,’ he said.
The Coalition has repeatedly insisted Holyrood does not have the authority to stage a referendum on independence, as the constitution is reserved to Westminster.
Mr Cameron proposes using a Section 30 order to temporarily extend the Scottish Parliament’s powers to enable a ballot to be held.
But Mr Salmond said it was important the Prime Minister offers the Section 30 ‘without conditionality, without strings’.
The First Minister brushed off reports that Mr Cameron was only meeting him as a matter of courtesy, quipping: ‘Courtesy visits are usually what prime ministers do to foreign heads of state – I don’t know if that’s what Downing Street meant to imply.’
He added: ‘The Prime Minister makes the decisions, that much is obvious.
‘Michael Moore is the Secretary of State for Scotland, he’s appointed by the Prime Minister – that’s not meant to be a snub or any disrespect, that’s just a statement of fact.’
Mr Moore commented on the timing of the vote, saying: ‘We certainly want to explore as a starting point looking at the technical aspects of how you could deliver the referendum sooner than the Scottish Government has set out.
At an impasse: Mr Salmond said he did not see the Scottish parliament, pictured, finding an agreement with Downing Street until both governments had consulted with their people
‘There’s not a problem to bring this forward to some stage in 2013.’
Mr Moore said he took from the meeting that September 2014 is the preferred timescale for the Scottish Government.
He said there was positive discussion on legal process and the role of the Electoral Commission, but not on the timing, franchise and number of questions.
‘We had a good, thorough and constructive discussion around all of those issues, respecting the fact that both Governments are conducting consultation on all the issue,’ he added.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie previously raised concerns that a slender majority for independence might trump a landslide majority vote for more devolution in a multi-option referendum.
But Mr Moore said: ‘My strong view is that a single question is the way which would deliver a decisive outcome.
‘The issue at stake for us here is determining Scotland’s continuing place in the United Kingdom.
‘I very thoroughly want it to continue to be in the UK. I am convinced that when we make a decision as a country, that is what we will decide.
‘We think there are all sorts of technical issues around having more than one question that haven’t even been begun to be addressed.’
He added that it is ‘entirely right’ that the First Minister and Prime Minister should meet, but said his own position is ‘clear’.
‘On this central issue of the referendum, the Prime Minister is clear that he wishes me to get on and work this through with the First Minister.
‘This morning was a constructive first point on that journey.’
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