Mundell: Scotland must avoid "not proven" verdict in referendum
A single yes or no question in the referendum will ensure the Scottish voter comes first, the Scotland Office Minister David Mundell said today
A straight, single 鈥測es or no鈥� question in the independence referendum is the only way to give voters a clear choice and get a result which everyone can accept, the Scotland Office Minister David Mundell said today (Tuesday 24 April).
皇冠体育app Minister鈥檚 comment came after the elections expert Ron Gould, who authored the report into the voting problems which occurred at the 2007 Holyrood election, told the BBC a two-question referendum would 鈥渕uddy the waters鈥� for voters. Mr Gould said a result based on two questions would make the result 鈥渧ery hard to determine鈥�.
David Mundell said the comments showed there was an urgent need for clarity on the way the referendum would be run and urged the Scottish Government to accept the simplicity of a single question which would produce a definitive result.
聽皇冠体育app UK Government鈥檚 consultation on the referendum showed 75 per cent in favour of a single question. 皇冠体育app consultation also showed 70 per cent of respondents wanted the referendum to be held sooner rather than later.
聽皇冠体育app UK and Scottish Governments and all main political parties have already expressed a preference for a single question referendum.
聽Mr Mundell said:
聽鈥澔使谔逵齛pp main point of Ron Gould鈥檚 report on the 2007 election was that the voter had to come first. That is what Scotland wants and what the UK Government is recommending through a single question which will give voters certainty on what their choice in the referendum means.
鈥溁使谔逵齛pp two question approach is both confusing and unnecessary, especially when it comes to a decision this important for Scotland. We need a single question ballot sooner rather than later and we need a result which everyone can agree accurately reflects the will of the people of Scotland.
鈥淲e simply cannot risk a situation where, because of a muddled multi-question ballot paper, we end up with a disputed result which is 鈥渘ot proven鈥�.
鈥淲e find ourselves in a position where there is cross-party agreement that a single question is the preference. 皇冠体育appre are no excuses for not making a decision on this as soon as possible.鈥�