No votes for 16 and 17-year-olds, says Moore

Michael Moore MP has said no to under-18s being able to vote in the Scottish independence referendum.

The Scottish Secretary has made it clear that 16- and 17-year-olds should not be allowed to vote in the referendum, due to take place in autumn 2014.

This differs with the views of the Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and his SNP government, who want the group to have a say in the future of their country.

Speaking on BBC One’s Sunday Politics, Moore stated that it is the "fairest" approach and said there was "no convincing argument" for changing the format of voting.

The SNP’s youngest MSP Humza Yousaf told The Journal: "Support is growing for 16 and 17-year-olds in Scotland to have their say over our country's future.

"The SNP supports votes at 16 in all elections and, where we have the power, such as for Health Board Elections and elections to the Crofting Commission, we have ensured that young people have a say.

"Young people of this age should have the right to have their say on Scotland's future."

Mr Moore this week clashed with an SNP MP over the referendum in the House of Commons. The SNP’s
Stuart Hosie was accused of having "cheek" when he asked Moore to detail the powers that Scotland
could acquire through "enhanced devolution" that David Cameron spoke about when recently visiting Scotland.

The contention comes amid an on-going conflict between the UK Government and the Scottish Government over the upcoming referendum, over which several points are being disputed.

There has been considerable disagreement over the date of the referendum in particular. The Scottish Government wants the referendum to be held in the autumn of 2014, yet Michael Moore delivered the Westminster Government's announcement to MPs this week stating their preferred date was September 2013.