Scottish government seeks 2014 independence vote
Scotland Desires Vote for Independence

Scotland’s devolved government said it wanted to hold an independence referendum in late 2014, setting up a clash with London which wants the vote held as soon as possible to dispel uncertainty.

The Scottish and British governments are playing a cat-and-mouse game over the future of the 300-year-old union, with London saying the Scottish parliament had no legal authority to call a referendum on independence.

Trying to seize the initiative from pro-independence Scottish first minister Alex Salmond, London said it would allow Scotland to hold an independence referendum but only on terms acceptable to it.

Mr Salmond’s Scottish National Party (SNP) won a majority in Scottish elections last year, putting him in a strong position to push for a referendum, opposed by British prime minister David Cameron and other major British parties.

Mr Salmond, who has previously said a referendum should be held between 2014 and 2016, said on Tuesday the Scottish cabinet wanted the vote in the autumn of 2014.

“This is the biggest decision in Scotland for 300 years. This has to be a referendum which is built in Scotland … and then is determined by the good sense of the Scottish people,” he told Britain’s Sky News.

Commentators say Mr Salmond wants a later poll, hoping support for independence in Scotland, currently running around 38 per cent, will build.

Some reports say the party hopes to exploit two events in 2014 – the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, where the Scots vanquished an English army – to create momentum for a breakaway.