First Minister Alex Salmond met his ministers to discuss plans for a referendum consultation Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has said his government has a mandate to hold a referendum on independence in the autumn of 2014.
The UK government says Holyrood cannot legally go ahead without its authority.But Mr Salmond said UK PM David Cameron had "no mandate" to set the rules and suggested he was doing so because he was "frightened" he would lose.
The BBC's Nick Robinson says it could mean an historic Supreme Court struggle between Westminster and Holyrood.
Mr Salmond said the 2014 date would allow people to make a "considered" decision on the country's future within the UK.
'Not right' He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was "not fair" to suggest he was worried he would lose if the referendum had only two options - to stay in the UK or leave it - which is the UK government's preference.
He denied wanting a "get out clause" and said there was a "lot of opinion in Scotland" supporting a third option - increased financial powers for the Scottish government, short of full independence, known as "devo max".
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Alex Salmond Scottish First MinisterI thought his intervention at the was almost Thatcher-esque in its nature”
"I just don't think it's right and proper at this stage, before people have had a consultation on the referendum question or questions for the UK government to start ruling that out."
"Why should we be excluding what is a legitimate point of view across Scotland?""Perhaps the Westminster politicians are trying to set the ground rules, the timing, who votes, the questions because they are frightened they will lose it?"
In a row that could become a constitutional crisis, Mr Salmond has accused the UK government of adopting a belligerent attitude.
'Sooner not later' He said Mr Cameron's intervention had been "almost Thatcher-esque": "The idea that London knows best and was really operating in our best interest but wanted to set the ground rules for our referendum, despite the fact he's got no mandate whatsoever for doing so."
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| SNP position | Unionist position |
|---|---|
| Wants the referendum in the autumn of 2014 | Wants the referendum "sooner rather than later" |
| Backs a "yes/no" ballot but is open minded on including a second "devo max" question | Wants a one question "yes/no" ballot |
| Wants 16 and 17-year-olds to be able to vote in the referendum | Backs the status quo with 18 and over able to vote |
| Wants a special commission to conduct the referendum | Wants the Electoral Commission to oversee the vote |
"The SNP won an overwhelming majority on the promise that we would offer the people a referendum on their own future, is it not entirely reasonable that that referendum ... is made in Scotland and decided by the Scottish people?"
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore says he hopes to work with the SNP government to resolve the dispute.He told MPs on Tuesday that there would be a consultation on how to hold a referendum.
He has not stated when the coalition government would prefer a referendum to be held, but said he would like it to be "sooner rather than later".
The government's "clear view" was that the power to hold a referendum was "reserved" to Westminster under devolution laws passed in 1998 and that the Scottish government could not authorise a referendum on its own.
Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said Mr Salmond's announcing the preferred date was a "panicked response from a panicked first minister".
Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said the "key issues" were what the referendum question would be and who would oversee the vote.
Under the Scottish government's timetable, a referendum bill would be introduced at Holyrood in January 2013, it would be expected to be passed by the autumn and gain Royal Assent later in 2013.
Big differences also remain between the Scottish and UK governments on the timing of the referendum, who would run it and on whether 16 and 17-year-olds could vote.
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