Scottish first minister to unveil formal consultation on blueprint for vote on ending political and economic union with England
Alex Salmond will urge civic leaders who want greater powers for Holyrood to join forces with his government to produce a multiple-option referendum on independence.
The Scottish first minister is unveiling a formal consultation on his blueprint for the referendum, planned for autumn 2014, on whether Scotland should end its 300-year-old political and economic union with England.
At the Scottish parliament, Salmond will confirm that his preference is for full independence, but will say he could stage a two-question or multi-option referendum to include a middle way choice of far greater powers for Holyrood while remaining in the UK – but only if its supporters can make that case.
His invitation will put direct pressure on civic and business leaders in Scotland who want greater devolution within the UK to produce their own definitive blueprint and find the funds to fight on that policy at the referendum.
The consultation paper is also expected to propose extending the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds, staging the referendum on a Saturday in a break with tradition, and setting up a Scottish referendum commission to oversee the vote.
Speaking at the Guardian's headquarters in London as he answered questions on his Hugo Young lecture on Tuesday, Salmond said his government was keen to maintain close and friendly economic and social ties with England were Scotland to win independence.
He predicted that many observers would agree his consultation was being done in "an orderly, progressive fashion".
Citing the overwhelming yes vote in the 1997 referendum to set up the devolved Scottish parliament, he implied that a yes vote for independence in 2014 was inevitable.
"It's a genuine consultation with the community of Scotland – and when the community of Scotland determines something, I think perhaps that the lesson of the last 12 years or so is that that's probably what will happen," Salmond said.
Yet despite the consultation, he will begin talks with Michael Moore, the Scottish secretary in the UK government, on Friday about its offer to make the referendum legally watertight.
Earlier this month, the UK government's law officers said Salmond's government did not have the legal authority to stage any referendum without Westminster's approval using a section 30 order under the Scotland Act 1998.
Those talks – which could include direct negotiations between Salmond and David Cameron – are expected to continue for some weeks, with further meetings between civil servants and ministers before a final deal is struck.
Salmond is expected to abandon his objections to allow the UK Electoral Commission to oversee the referendum, and may also give way on his demands that 16 and 17-year-olds be given a vote.
But the major dispute will be over Cameron's insistence that the referendum has just one yes or no question on independence, and not a second "devo-plus" option.
The Liberal Democrats have said they will campaign for increased devolution at the next UK general election, partly to head off a campaign for that question to be added to the referendum.
Despite widespread interest in proposing "devo-plus" at the referendum, no detailed plans for that campaign have yet come to light, but Salmond is understood to be confident that one will emerge.
The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, senior figures in the Scottish TUC, the Reform Scotland thinktank and church leaders have been staging increasingly detailed talks on holding events to study possible options for "devo-plus" without yet committing to joining the referendum.
Speaking prior to Salmond's referendum speech at Holyrood, Moore urged the first minister to confirm that he would accept Cameron's offer of a legal deal on the vote to make it "legal, fair and decisive".
Salmond has been warned he would face court challenges over the referendum at the UK supreme court because of the dispute over his government's legal powers.
Moore said: "Everyone wants to have a referendum that avoids a courtroom wrangle. Everyone in Scotland expects to have a referendum that follows the normal and fair rules we associate with a referendum.
"We should not start re-writing the rule book in the run-up to the most important decision Scotland will ever make."