Two-question independence referendum would be legal farce, says Moore

Devolution: The Scottish Secretary said the Prime Minister would discuss options to extend powers after the 2014 poll.© STV

Scottish Secretary Michael Moore has claimed that a two-question referendum on independence would be vulnerable to a legal challenge.

Mr Moore branded the idea of a second question a "farce" and said it could produce an indecisive outcome.

His comments echo remarks made by Labour MSP Richard Baker, one of the directors of the Better Together campaign, who said the 2014 vote should focus on a single question.

Speaking on the BBC's Politics Show Scotland, Mr Moore said: "If you put two questions on the ballot paper and you get a majority in favour of independence, but a bigger majority in favour of more powers we will have this democratic outrage that the bigger result has been ignored because the SNP said that would make us independent.

"I can see us all having a lot of arguments about that and people going to the courts to interpret the outcome.

"That would be a farce. Lets have a simple, straightforward proposition, resolve that and then we can get on and work through the remaining issues about what more powers we want for Scotland."

SNP chief whip Stuart Hosie insisted the referendum "will be legal" and confirmed that a second question is still on the table.

The Nationalists favour a single-question poll but have included the option of a second choice "devo max" or "devo plus" in their consultation.

Mr Hosie said: "It's right and proper to recognise that there is a body of opinion that wants to go further with devolution than we do, than we currently have, but not as far as independence.

"And if that body of opinion can coalesce around a detailed prospectus as well then we're open to having that on the ballot paper."

He added that "the huge weakness in the no campaign" is that "they all claim to want more devolution".

"They need to determine what that is in advance of the poll so we can test that against independence and the status quo," he said.

Mr Moore said Prime Minister David Cameron would discuss the possibility of further devolved powers after the 2014 vote.

The Liberal Democrat MP also said his own party would "certainly be setting out our ideas for the future of devolution in the months ahead".

Earlier his LibDem colleague Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, told Sunday newspapers that independence could force up interest rates and lead to £1bn in extra mortgage costs.

Mr Alexander made the claim in Sunday newspapers on the basis of Scotland's projected budget deficit and lack of an independent track record.

He said: "Weve said before that if interest rates went up by 1% that would cost families across the UK about £10 billion in extra mortgage costs, so its likely that the same 1% rise would cost families in Scotland up to an extra £1 billion."

The Scottish Government dismissed Mr Alexander's claims as "economic illiteracy".

A spokesman for finance secretary John Swinney said: "Banks base their mortgages on the interest rate set independently by the Bank of England, which in a sterling zone would be exactly the same for Scotland as for England."

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