Edinburgh Agreement (2012)

Agreement between the United Kingdom Government and the Scottish Government on a referendum on independence for Scotland
Created	2011–12
Ratified	15 October 2012
Location	St Andrew's House, Edinburgh, Scotland
Author(s)	Bruce Crawford Michael Moore Nicola Sturgeon
Signatories	David Cameron Michael Moore Alex Salmond Nicola Sturgeon
Purpose	to provide a clear legal basis for the holding of the Scottish independence referendum, 2014

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The Edinburgh Agreement (full title: Agreement between the United Kingdom Government and the Scottish Government on a referendum on independence for Scotland) is the agreement between the Scottish Government and the United Kingdom Government, signed on 15 October 2012 at St Andrew's House, Edinburgh, on the terms for the Scottish independence referendum, 2014.^[1]

Both governments agreed that the referendum should:

have a clear legal base
be legislated for by the Scottish Parliament
be conducted so as to command the confidence of parliaments, government and people
deliver a fair test and decisive expression of the views of people in Scotland and a result that everyone will respect

The governments agreed to promote an Order in Council under Section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 to allow a single-question referendum on Scottish independence to be held before the end of 2014 so to put beyond doubt that the Scottish Parliament can legislate for the referendum.^[2]

The agreement was signed by David Cameron, Prime Minister; Michael Moore, Secretary of State for Scotland; Alex Salmond, First Minister; and Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister.

The legal status of the agreement is a matter of academic discussion.^[3]

References

^ Text of the 'Edinburgh Agreement' www.independent.co.uk, 15 October 2012
^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-19942638
^ See Christine Bell 'The Legal Status of the Edinburgh Agreement'

External links

2014 Scottish independence referendum

Referendum question

"Should Scotland be an independent country?"

Key events

Parties

For a "Yes" vote	Scottish National Party Scottish Greens Scottish Socialist Party
For a "No" vote	Scottish Labour Scottish Conservatives Scottish Liberal Democrats UK Independence Party

Campaign
organisations

Advocating a "Yes" vote	Yes Scotland
Advocating a "No" vote	Better Together

Other
campaign groups

For a "Yes" vote	Business for Scotland Generation Yes Labour for Independence National Collective Women for Independence Radical Independence Campaign
For a "No" vote	United with Labour