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By Adrian Croft
January 10, 2012 3:56 PM EST
Scotland's devolved government said Tuesday it wanted to hold a referendum in late 2014 on breaking away from the rest of Britain, setting up a clash with London which wants the vote held as soon as possible to dispel uncertainty.
Scotland, London Clash Over Independence Vote Watch Video
The Scottish and British governments began playing a cat-and-mouse game over the future of the 300-year-old union between Scotland and England, with London saying the Scottish parliament had no legal authority to call a referendum on independence.
Trying to seize the initiative from pro-independence Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, London said it would allow Scotland to hold an independence referendum but only on terms acceptable to it.
Salmond's Scottish National Party won a majority in Scottish elections last year, putting him in a strong position to push for a referendum on independence which is opposed by British Prime Minister David Cameron and other major British parties.
Salmond, who has previously said a referendum should be held between 2014 and 2016, said Tuesday the Scottish cabinet wanted the vote held in the autumn of 2014.
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"This is the biggest decision in Scotland for 300 years. This has to be a referendum which is built in Scotland ... and then is determined by the good sense of the Scottish people," he told Sky News.
Commentators say Salmond wants a later poll hoping support for independence in Scotland, currently running at around 38 percent, will build.
Some reports say the party hopes to exploit two events in 2014, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn when the Scots vanquished an English army, to create momentum for a breakaway.
"SOONER NOT LATER"
Cameron says uncertainty over Scotland's future is damaging investment in the Scottish economy and wants the referendum "sooner rather than later."
The British government said Tuesday the Scottish parliament had no power to call a referendum on independence and said it risked being struck down by the courts.
It offered to grant the Scottish parliament the power to hold a referendum but said it wanted it held promptly.
"It is essential that the referendum is legal, fair and decisive. As a government, we have been clear ... that we will not stand in the way of a referendum on independence. But neither will we stand on the sidelines and let uncertainty continue," Michael Moore, the British minister responsible for Scotland, told parliament.
A British government source said London believed a referendum could be organised within 18 months.
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