Sir, The political furore after Wendy Alexander’s call for a referendum on Scottish independence (report, May 12) suggests that if the Scots vote “yes”, they would automatically become independent. Not so. The most that a referendum initiated by the Scottish Parliament could achieve is to authorise the Scottish government to open negotiations with the UK Government.

Those negotiations would cover a wide range of complex issues that could take a long time to conclude. The Czech-Slovak “velvet divorce” in 1992 required 31 treaties and more than 2,000 agreements. These would constitute the terms of independence on which the people of Scotland deserve a separate vote.

The Constitution Unit has long argued that Scottish independence requires two referendums. The first reason is a question of law: under the Scotland Act only Westminster could authorise the second referendum that would grant Scotland independence.

But there are also reasons of principle why there should be two referendums. People in Scotland might support independence in principle but would think again when confronted with the terms of independence. The terms will include not just issues like North Sea oil, but division of the national debt, Scotland’s continued membership of the EU (not automatic), and the future of the UK’s defence bases on the Clyde.

There can be no doubt that the first referendum, if passed, would give the Scottish government authority to demand independence, and compel the UK Government to enter into negotiations. But the Scots are entitled to know the detailed terms of independence before making the final, momentous decision.

Prof Robert Hazell
Director, the Constitution Unit, School of Public Policy, University College, London

Sir, I have been following with interest the debate about just who should vote in the Scottish referendum. As a Londoner, I felt aggrieved that I wasn’t allowed to vote in the recent mayoral elections. I was born in London, went to school there, married there. My grandmother was born in Soho and, if ancestry is to be believed, my family on both sides have lived in London for at least 200 years. My career has taken me away from London, it is true, but my French friends, who have been away from France for almost as long, were able to vote by going to the consulate. Same thing for Americans.

Could not polling stations have been set up in leading cities where those who could produce a birth certificate, do a Tommy Steele impersonation and respond to questions in rhyming slang get to vote? Many newcomers who can barely speak cockney were given a voice. Is the same injustice going to be visited upon the Scots?

Michael Freeman
Bristol

Sir, Can we please ignore the siren calls of English and Scottish nationalists wanting the dissolution of our United Kingdom? We don’t need our fellow Britons to do Brussels’s work for it.

Eric Brown
Bromley, Kent

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