The Scottish National Party has fulfilled its pledge to publish a White Paper on an independence referendum within 100 days of coming into office as the minority government at Holyrood. As well as setting out the case for independence, the paper also raises the option of stopping short of full separation by extending the powers of the present parliament. It sets out a draft question for a referendum which asks voters whether they agree or disagree ‘that the Scottish Government should negotiate a settlement with the Government of the United Kingdom so that Scotland becomes an independent state'. First minister, Alex Salmond, has had little alternative but to accept that his dream of full-scale independence may yet be a long way off as he does not have enough votes in the 129-member parliament to secure the required legislation. As a result, he has had to offer other choices. Opposition parties have united to oppose a referendum. Significantly, however, they have stated their willingness to enter into a debate jointly ‘about the way in which devolution within the UK can be developed in the years to come'. So, what will all of this mean for local government? For the immediate future, it probably means it will be left alone – in terms of its powers and structure – with the SNP focused solely on the future of the constitution. Finance secretary, John Swinney, has already made it clear that he has no plans to change the present set-up of 32 councils, and that he wants to have a positive relationship with councils, an approach that has been welcomed by local government. However, COSLA president, Pat Watters, has criticised the use of taxpayers' money for the White Paper referendum, which is doomed from the start because of lack of cross-party support. But, it could be a difficult issue for COSLA where the SNP now has its biggest-ever representation of members – 39 compared with 48 for Labour, 20 Liberal Democrats, 17 Independents and nine Conservatives. Cross-party consensus is now more important than ever in the convention. n
