Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore MP writes a regular column for local newspapers in his constituency. Here’s the most recent edition.

Meeting with First Minister

After a short illness-related delay I met the First Minister this week to discuss the Scottish Government’s independence referendum. I am absolutely committed to working with Mr Salmond to agree on the terms of the referendum and this meeting was the first part of this process.

On this most important of questions where all of us living in Scotland will decide the future of our country, it is vitally important that the referendum is legal, fair and decisive. At the moment, the Scottish Government does not have the power to hold a legal referendum and we discussed this during the meeting. The UK Government has proposed devolving this power to the Scottish Government and I am pleased that the First Minister agreed that officials will now look at the option of using a ‘Section 30’ order, approved by the UK and Scottish Parliaments, to put the referendum on a proper legal footing. I was also pleased that the Mr Salmond agreed with the use of the Electoral Commission to oversee the referendum.

There were other important issues we discussed such as the timing of the referendum, the need for a single question on the ballot paper and the franchise. On these issues, disagreement remains, but I’m sure that as we continue to work together and reflect on the responses from the UK and Scottish Government consultations, we will be able to reach an outcome. There is however some way to travel before we get to this point.

I am still not convinced that the people of Scotland should have to wait nearly three years to have their say on independence. It is a long time until autumn 2014 and I have not yet heard a compelling reason why we should wait so long. I also believe that an independence referendum should be a straight question on independence. Scotland’s future inside or outside the United Kingdom is the issue we are dealing with. I want all of us in Scotland to be asked a straight question, fairly and clearly on whether Scotland should be independent or remain part of the UK.

The UK Government is also not persuaded that we should start changing the referendum rules to allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote. Our view is that the electorate that elected the Scottish Parliament should be the same one that votes in the referendum.  Extending the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds is another issue which needs to be discussed separately, and if agreed, applied to all elections

It is in everyone’s interests that both of Scotland’s governments work together to agree a referendum that is legal, fair and decisive. This meeting was the first of many and it was certainly a productive beginning.

Rural Development Group

Here in the Borders, the rural economy is our lifeblood: from farming to fishing, food processing to tourism, so it was great to meet up with a group taking part in the Scottish Enterprise Rural Leadership Programme last week.

During our time together we discussed a wide range of issues, from my work as Borders MP and Secretary of State for Scotland, through to rural issues and questions regarding the Independence referendum. The Rural Leadership Programme does excellent work in developing the interests and skills of enterprising people in rural communities. It was therefore very encouraging to see so many people taking part in the Programme including one of our own Berwickshire farmers.

* Michael Moore was the Liberal Democrat MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk from 1997-2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2010-2013.