British government to give Scotland power to hold independence vote

The British government said Tuesday it would give Scotland the legal powers to hold a referendum on independence, after holding a consultation on how soon the vote should happen. Prime Minister David Cameron's government said a vote should be held on the 300-year-old union with England because the uncertainty about the issue was damaging Scotland's economy.
But it said that Scotland's devolved parliament, which opened in 1999, has no power of its own to hold a referendum, opening up a future row with Scottish nationalists who want the vote to be delayed. The Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore, said in a statement to parliament that while the government believed the United Kingdom should remain intact, there should still be a "legal, fair and decisive referendum".
"The UK government is willing to give the Scottish government the powers to hold a referendum which they otherwise cannot do legally," Moore said. The consultation with Scottish people and the Scottish government will also ask whether the referendum should feature a simple yes/no answer - the British government's preferred option.
The move is being seen as a ploy to force a referendum before Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond wants it, in the belief that Salmond does not yet have enough support for independence. Salmond rejected the British government's claim that it was illegal for the Edinburgh assembly to hold its own referendum and accused it of "cackhanded" attempts to impose its will north of the border. In elections in May, the Scottish National Party led by Salmond won the first overall majority in the Edinburgh parliament since it opened and promised to hold a referendum on independence.