'Your Scotland, Your Referendum': An Analysis of Consultation Responses

Footnotes

1. Scottish Government (2012) 'Your Scotland, Your Referendum'. 25 January 2012. Available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0038/00386122.pdf.

2. See https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/scotreferendum/.

3. This campaign also included eight responses from respondents from the Falkirk Council area.

4. Scottish Labour statement: "I do not want the referendum to be subject to legal challenge or dragged through the courts. Clarity on which parliament has the legal responsibility to call the referendum must be sorted out." SNP statement: "I believe the Scottish Parliament rather than the UK Government should decide the arrangements for the referendum."

5. These were sometimes the result of an individual submitting a response by email and also by post. However, in around three quarters of cases they arose through multiple submissions by the same individual via the SNP or Scottish Labour websites.

6. A complete list of responding organisations / groups is given in Annex 2.

7. The campaigns did not ask respondents to complete a Respondent Information Form.

8. This number includes respondents who made comments on the ballot paper without specific reference to the proposed referendum question itself, and vice versa. It also includes respondents who made comments at Question 1 that did not relate either to the proposed referendum question or the ballot paper.

9. No attempt was made to quantify precisely the number of comments made specifically on the ballot paper.

10. The analysis of comments regarding approval thresholds is presented in Chapter 11, rather than in the current chapter. Comments on this topic were made across all questions (not only at Question 2), and often at Question 9, which is discussed in Chapter 11.

11. This number includes respondents who made comments on the voting arrangements without specific reference to the timetable and vice versa. It also includes respondents who made comments at Question 2 that did not relate to either the timetable or the voting arrangements.

12. No attempt was made to quantify precisely the comments on the voting arrangements.

13. The Scottish Government has described devo max in some detail in 'Your Scotland, Your Voice'. Available from: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/11/26155932/16.

14. This number includes respondents who made comments on the voting system without specifically saying whether they wanted the inclusion of a second question in the referendum, and vice versa. It also includes respondents who made comments at Question 3 that did not relate either to the issue of a second question or the voting arrangements.

15. No attempt was made to quantify the comments on potential voting systems for the referendum.

16. Such suggestions were made both by those who wanted a second question, and those who did not. Comments from the latter group often took the form of: "I would prefer only one question. However, if there is a second question, it should be like this…."

17. This may suggest that people attempted to answer the consultation questions without having read the consultation document itself.

18. It was generally not possible to ascertain whether respondents were referring to the usual practices for elections in Scotland, in the UK, for local government or for parliamentary elections.

19. This number includes respondents who made comments about other ways of making voting easier without specific reference to Saturday voting and vice versa. It also includes respondents who made comments at Question 6 that did not relate either to the issue of Saturday voting or other ways of making voting easier.

20. No attempt was made to quantify respondents' comments about other ways of making voting easier.

21. This number includes respondents who made comments about topics or issues other than the issue of extending the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds.

22. As explained within the consultation document, the franchise for elections is reserved to the UK Parliament. The electoral register is established and maintained under UK legislation. The system currently allows 16 and 17 year olds to apply to be on the register if they will become 18 during the twelve months beginning on 1 December after their application. The draft Bill therefore provides that those 16 and 17 year olds who are eligible to be registered under the existing UK legislation will be able to vote in the referendum.

23. These responses tended to refer to public spending more generally.

24. A typical example would be "Yes, there should be spending limits".