Should Cameron and the coalition government butt out of the referendum debate?
talkback poll results — By JMorrison on 20/01/2012 12:29 pmToday Lord Steel, former Liberal leader and Holyrood’s first Presiding Officer, has warned that Westminster should keep out of the pro-UK referendum campaign. Steel advises Westminster politicians “don’t understand Alex Salmond” and are not well placed to take part in the referendum debate.
It looks like Lord Steel might be putting himself forward as the person to lead the pro-UK campaign, sighting himself as someone who has the measure of Alex Salmond.
Is Lord Steel right? Does Westminster lack understanding of the political landscape in Scotland? Will “interference” from the coalition government in Westminster damage the pro-UK campaign? Should Cameron and the coalition government butt out of the referendum debate?
And please tell us why?
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Tags: Alex Salmond, Lord Steel, Presiding Officer, UK
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4 Comments
As unionists the coalition government have every right to be part of the debate on constitutional change. I think part of the problem is that the the UK goverment itself has failed to change. I has resisted modernisation, resisted becoming more accountable, resisted change to support an English voice and retained an inflated notion of the UK’s role in the world. Is the government loyal to the people or to big corporations?
Of course everyone is allowed to express their opinion and David Cameron should stick to doing just that.
He should not be threatening to disallow us from making our own decision on how we should be governed. EVERY country in the world has the right to decide whether they want to be independent.
In the last 200 years, 48 countries have declared their independence from the UK including the USA, New Zealand and Malta. Scotland cannot and should not be stopped from deciding whether or not we want to be the 49th independent nation.
Of course he has a right to contribute to the date but he must be more careful than he has been not to be seen to demand that he dictate the terms of the referendum. He misses the point that a Tory government are not exactly your average Scots vision of a true spokesperson of what they feel. His interventions so far have increased tensions and only driven more people towards Salmond’s arms. At least Salmond has a mandate to speak for Scots. Cameron has a mandate to speak for a minority of English people. Less hubris please Prime Minister!
contribute to the debate even *holds head in hands*