I'll lead independence fight against Alex Salmond, says Alistair Darling

Former chancellor Mr Darling, the Labour MP for Edinburgh South West, is seen by many as the most credible man for the job and he has now confirmed he is ready to take it on.

His commitments at Westminster mean he cannot manage the whole anti-independence campaign, but he is willing to devote all his time to it in the months immediately before the referendum.

'I am ready to do everything I can. It is something I believe in. I am passionate about this,' Mr Darling told the Sunday Mail.

Alistair Darling believes 

Alex Salmond's judgement is flawed (PA)

He plans to make a positive case for Scotland remaining part of the union, rather than rubbish Mr Salmond's claim that it could become a strong independent nation.

However, Mr Darling is prepared to point out what he views as the first minister's weaknesses, even though he described him as 'an accomplished politician'. 

'That doesn't mean you have to be mesmerised by him,' said the ex-chancellor.

'One of the things is that he is happiest when he is abusing David Cameron. He is distinctly unhappy when you press him on specifics and practicalities.

'I think his judgment is wrong. This is the man who famously said he thought the Royal Bank of Scotland's bid for ABN Amro was a good thing.'

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sunday-mail/

Salford referendum votes for directly elected mayor

A referendum in Salford has resulted in favour of having a directly elected mayor for the city.

Results from the poll showed 17,344 voted yes against 13,653 votes no, thus endorsing the new proposal. But turnout was just 18.1% of the city's 171,000 eligible voters.

The result means residents will now vote to directly chose a mayor instead of the old system where the effective leader of the authority was chosen internally by councillors from the ruling party.

The Government is keen to see US-style directly elected mayors in big cities to engage voters more closely in local politics and have a say in how local taxpayers' cash is being spent.

The Yes campaign said the public should elect the mayor, instead of politicians from the ruling party deciding behind closed doors.

The result means Salford residents will
vote for their first directly elected in mayor in May

Local businessman Geoffrey Berg, who triggered Salford's referendum by collecting enough signatures in the petition, said: "I'm very pleased about it because the council originally said there should not be a vote."

Leader of the council, Councillor Merry said he would put his name forward to be Labour's candidate in the election.

He said: "The real issue is the future of Salford and that's what I will be fighting for."

No campaigners said the new system would undermine democracy, by taking power away from local councillors and putting it in the hands of a single elected figurehead.

Salford's first-ever mayoral election will now be held on May 3, 2012, the same day as referenda are being held in Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Sheffield and Wakefield.

Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2012, All Rights Reserved.

OUR REFERENDUM IS LEGAL - SALMOND

Alex Salmond has insisted his plans for an independence vote in the autumn of 2014 are legal - despite Westminster saying his Scottish Government does not have the power to stage such a ballot.

The Scottish First Minister announced his preferred date last night for a vote on whether or not the country should remain part of the UK.

That came just over an hour after Scottish Secretary Michael Moore offered to temporarily extend Holyrood's powers so it could hold an independence ballot - if certain conditions are met.

The two administrations now appear to be on a collision course over the staging of a vote on Scotland's future.

When he announced his plans to the Commons yesterday, Mr Moore said: "To legislate for a referendum on independence, the Scottish Parliament must have the legal power to do so. It is the Government's clear view that the Scottish Parliament doesn't have that legal power."

But when asked today if his plans were legal, Mr Salmond said: "Yes, we believe so."

He accused Westminster of trying to interfere in Scottish affairs, and said the Prime Minister should "butt out".

The coalition Government has proposed using a Section 30 order to temporarily extend Holyrood's powers, enabling it to deliver a referendum.

The Scottish National Party leader told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme he had "no objection" to this, but added: "The objection, of course, is that the Prime Minister has started to put all sorts of London-based strings on."

Mr Salmond said there was "plenty of legal authority" to support Scottish Government proposals to stage its own ballot.

The Scottish Secretary refused to say today if the UK Government would mount a legal challenge to any referendum staged by the SNP administration, but he said that the Nationalists' plans "run the risk somewhere along the line of legal challenges".

Mr Salmond hit out at UK ministers and said: "The Prime Minister came in with his size 10 boots and started to put all sorts of strings and conditions, and basically wanted to pull the strings of Scotland's referendum."

He said there had been a "huge adverse reaction" north of the border to "the Thatcheresque idea that Downing Street knows best".

The First Minister continued: "Our conditions are quite clear: this must be a referendum built and run in Scotland, accountable to the Scottish Parliament. It has to be run fairly and transparently, of course, but we won't accept unreasonable conditions placed by London on how Scotland should run the poll."

The order proposed by Westminster would require any referendum to take place under the oversight of the Electoral Commission, with a single ballot paper offering voters the choice between independence or remaining part of the UK.

Those registered to vote in Scottish parliamentary elections would be entitled to take part.

But the SNP has previously suggested an independence referendum could be opened up to those aged 16 and 17, with Mr Salmond saying today: "If you're having a vote on Scotland's future, 16 and 17-year-olds on the electoral roll have a stake in the future of the country."

©Press Association 2012