By a Newsnet reporter
The Scottish Government will today confirm the wording of the question that will be put to the people of Scotland in the 2014 independence referendum.
According to early media reports, the Scottish electorate will be asked to choose between Yes or No to the question: “Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?”
Final ratification will be made only after the wording is scrutinised by the Electoral Commission, however it is expected that the clarity and lack of ambiguity will see it accepted as fair and clear.
The wording, announced earlier this year, was described by Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson as “fair and decisive”. However, other anti-independence politicians have argued that it encourages people to choose Yes.
Voting experts however have challenged this notion and have stressed that there may be small advantages if people are asked the question cold, but with two years of debate then the wording is unlikely to have any significant influence on the result.
Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, Labour MP Ian Davidson, has previously called for Westminster to have control over the wording, and has admitted that he would like to see a question that favours the No campaign.
However the Edinburgh Agreement, signed last month, handed complete control over the wording to the Scottish Parliament.
The independence referendum will be held in the Autumn on 2014.