Devolution Campaign On Hold Until After Diana's Funeral

There had been speculation that the referendum might be postponed to allow a longer period of campaigning after the funeral. Maverick Labour MP Tam Dalyell has called on the Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar to delay the referendum until April or May, but his request was turned down. Mr Dalyell claims that the hiatus in the campaign means that the Scottish people will not have enough time to gather all the information they need to make the decision on how they will vote.

However, the Governement is keen to stick to the planned timetable for devolution. Moving the date of the referendum would have required Parliament to be recalled, so that new legislation could be passed. With many MPs abroad on holiday, the logistics of recalling Parliament would have been extremely difficult.

The political parties and the referendum campaign groups have agreed that active campaigning will not resume until after the funeral of the Princess of Wales. Some low level camapigning may take place this week - Labour, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats have indicated that they will be delivering leaflets, but there will be no door knocking and no public contact. The campaigns will not gain full strength again until Monday which leaves just three days before the referendum next Thursday for the groups to press home their messages on devolution.