The controversial bill which could give Scotland the chance to vote on independence is expected to be cleared by the Scottish Cabinet today – paving the way for it to be sent to parliament.
First Minister Alex Salmond celebrated the birth of Robert Burns with school pupils in Aberdeen yesterday – the day his political opponents had expected the Referendum Bill to be published.
The SNP leader, however, said his party was focusing on getting the Scottish budget passed first before returning to its flagship independence policy.
He denied the government was looking to launch the bill yesterday, saying it was only speculation that January 25 had been selected as the “early 2010” previously set out.
Labour claimed the Gordon MSP was “running scared”.
Speaking at Cults Academy, Mr Salmond said the bill will go before the Cabinet today and is expected to be lodged with Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson within weeks.
He added: “Matters are very far advanced.”
Labour leader Iain Gray used some of Burns’s most famous verse to attack Mr Salmond last night, saying his failure to publish the bill yesterday “exposed” him as a “sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie”.
“After all the hype and millions of pounds of taxpayers money, the SNP’s failure to launch their bill is a sign of their incompetence and that they are running scared,” he said.
“The question for first minister is ‘O, what a panic's in thy breastie’. Like his other flagship policies, the bill has run aground. Poll after poll shows there is no support for separation. The great majority of Scots do not believe now is the right time for a referendum and know the SNP want a rigged question.”
A spokesman for the first minister hit back, saying that Labour’s position on the referendum had become “utterly farcical” following Wendy Alexander’s now infamous “bring it on” call.
He said: “We said that we would bring a referendum bill forward early in 2010, and that is what we will do.
“We are extremely confident of taking our case for independence and equality for Scotland to the people – while Labour and the other London parties are running scared of the people’s verdict. The vast majority of people want to extend the responsibilities of the parliament far beyond the Calman Commission recommendations, and the watered-down version of Calman published by the Scotland Office, so that we have more powers to do more for Scotland.”