23rd February 12 
Open indie debate call
INCREASED campaigning on all sides in the Scottish independence debate has been welcomed by the man who oversaw the devolution referendum.
Sir Neil McIntosh, CBE, who lives in Moffat, was chief counting officer during the vote in 1997 which led to a devolved parliament for Scotland with tax-varying powers.
He said this week: “A lot of political debate is now taking place and while that is not my territory I’m pleased the issues are getting out to the public.
“What really matters is that people are fully aware of the arguments on both sides of the equation and have the question or questions clearly set out.”
He added that ballot paper question(s) should be carefully worded, not steering voters to one option rather than another.
Now retired, Sir Neil’s years of experience in running elections and referenda have led to a number of advisory roles and he served for a period on the UK Electoral Commission.
During his local government career he was chief executive of Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council and later the giant Strathclyde Regional Council.
He was in charge of referenda on congestion charges open to 2.4 million voters in Greater Manchester and one on water privatisation in Strathclyde, an area covering half of Scotland’s population.
Sir Neil stated that while the timing of the independence referendum was a matter for politicians he believed the machinery was in place for it to be organised within a relatively short period.
His appointment as chief counting officer for the 1997 referendum by the late Donald Dewar, then Labour Secretary of State for Scotland, began only three months before the vote.
Civil servants, he explained, were constantly preparing for all likely scenarios and there were highly professional returning officers at councils across the country.
Looking back to the devolution referendum, Sir Neil suggested an objective assessment of the issues relating to each option, which was circulated to every voter, had proved particularly useful.
He said: “The most effective preparation prior to the referendum will be to ensure everything is understood by the public and the questions fair and balanced.”
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