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Nick Robinson
Political editor
Salmond and Cameron in high-stakes fight
David Cameron and Alex Salmond are on a potential collision course
Let's talk about how to organise a referendum on independence or you could end up in court.
That was the message sent from the Parliament in Westminster to the Parliament in Edinburgh today.
It could herald a first and historic struggle in the Supreme Court over the respective powers of the two parliaments.
Westminster's case is simple - constitutional questions were reserved for the UK parliament. They were not devolved to Scotland.
Edinburgh's reply is that we have a right to ask the people of Scotland what we like and when we like.
David Cameron knew that his government's intervention this week would be used by Alex Salmond's government to complain of yet more lecturing from an English Tory-led government.
However, he was not prepared to allow the canniest political operator in these Isles to set the date and the question and even decide who votes for a referendum which could lead to this United Kingdom dividing.
When Alex Salmond named a date for his referendum some in Westminster claimed he'd blinked first. Scotland's first minister will claim, however, that he's not done anything he wasn't already planning to do.
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Comment number 1.
meninwhitecoats10th January 2012 - 22:47
Interesting that Cameron has chosen this time to push this debate, a 2014 referendum would surely have some effect on the GE in 2015.
It will be an interesting battle of wills and a cynic might see it potentially as a win-win situation for Cameron
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Comment number 2.
RMP7710th January 2012 - 22:48
Trying to block the legitimate choice of the Scottish people with regards to their self-determination by "seeing them in court". Very grown up approach from the "mother nation". I wonder how other countries would view that, must be against UN conventions. London BBC send your reporters up more often; they blatantly don't have a clue about the feelings of the Scottish people - for or against.
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Comment number 3.
Steve_M-H10th January 2012 - 22:48
Maybe he was the first to blink. However, what you say is true. There are constitutional issues that have to be dealt with and they were not devolved. Alex has not given a valid reason for why he is waiting to 2014 to either the UK Parliament or to his own electorate, has he? Yes, Holyrood can ask the Scots what it likes when it likes, but when there are such matters involved, it aint that simple.
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Comment number 4.
Berner10th January 2012 - 22:49
I would very much like to see Scotland leave the Union. They will then realise what a disaster it is and we will not have to put up with the iniquitous funding that takes place at present.
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Comment number 5.
PMK10th January 2012 - 22:54
Salmond has roundly trounced another British-level politician yet again. Cameron's ridiculous intrusion in to Scottish politics (with his total mandate of 1 MP and 3 FPTP MSPs) has been exposed to all as a cynical ploy. In the meantime the Unionist paranoia about "Bannockburn Day" 2014 has also been exposed and disproven. Game, Set and Match ... Referendum will be held in late 2014 - as promised!
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Comments 5 of 279