Chisholm: 'I think enhanced devolution should be part of the debate.' Pic: © STV
A former Labour minister has proposed holding a second referendum on devolving more powers to Holyrood if Scotland votes against independence.
Edinburgh MSP Malcolm Chisholm said many Scots who do not want independence want more powers for Holyrood, but he has rejected proposals to put this option on the independence ballot as a second question.
He has suggested a better way to gauge support for enhanced devolution would be a second subsequent referendum, which could be held as little as 18 months after the independence vote.
Mr Chisholm, a former junior Scottish Office minister at Westminster and ex-Scottish Executive health minister, said: "I think it is practically quite difficult to have a multi-option referendum.
"I don't think anyone has really come up with an answer about how it would be practically done.
"(Liberal Democrat leader) Willie Rennie has made the point that you might be 80% for devo-plus or devo-max, and 51% for independence, and the public would hardly accept that independence had won, but that is what the SNP are saying."
"Devo-plus" is generally defined as devolution of more tax and revenue-raising powers, short of the full fiscal powers of "devo-max" and well short of independence.
Mr Chisholm added: "I think enhanced devolution should be part of the debate, and having a subsequent referendum would perhaps deal with that question.
"You would have to have a bit of a gap between them, obviously.
"These are very important questions that we are dealing with so it won't necessarily happen in every Parliament, but you could have them both in this Parliament.
"You could have an independence referendum in, say, spring 2013, and if independence is defeated you could have an extra powers for the Parliament referendum in autumn 2014, or something like that.
"Public opinion does seem to indicate that a large number of people want the Parliament to have enhanced powers, and I think we need to have some kind of assurance that this will really be taken seriously and put to them."
A Labour spokesman said: "No one in the Labour Party would rule anything in or out about how we implement improved devolution as part of the UK."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "In exactly a week's time, we will publish a consultation document on the referendum, and then it will be open to everyone to submit their views.
"Whilst the Scottish Government has said that our preference is for a Yes or No vote for independence, equally we have said that we are entirely open to another option being included in the referendum in relation to devo-max — more powers for the Scottish Parliament.
"The consultation is the opportunity for everybody, Mr Chisholm included, to submit their views."
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