Scotland’s government announced that it wants to hold a referendum on independence from Britain, after the government in London announced the vote could go ahead.
British Prime Minister David Cameron’s government said it would give the devolved Scottish parliament temporary powers to hold the vote on whether to end the 300-year-old union with England.
The government in London said the vote should be as soon as possible because uncertainty about the issue was harming Scotland’s economy.
But Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond — who commentators say is keen to stall the vote in order to build support for independence — said the decisions should be left to the people of Scotland.
“The date we should have for this referendum should be the autumn of 2014,” Mr Salmond told Sky News.
His comments set up a possible constitutional clash with Mr Cameron’s government, though Mr Salmond does not currently have the support in polls for a break with England.