Scottish voters will vote in September next year on whether to remain part of the UK, Alex Salmond has announced. 亚历克斯•萨尔蒙德(Alex Salmond)宣布，苏格兰选民将于明年9月份投票决定是否留在英国。

Scotland’s first minister yesterday revealed the date to members of the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood as he introduced draft legislation to confirm the referendum. 苏格兰首席部长昨天在荷里路德宫(Holyrood)提交确定公投的立法草案时，向苏格兰议会议员宣布了公投日期。

Mr Salmond said: “It’s worth reflecting, just for a moment, on the privilege this nation and this generation will have – nothing less than choosing the future course of our country. 萨尔蒙德说：“值得思考这个国家和这一代人将拥有的特权，那也就是选择我们国家未来的道路。”

“I’m honoured to announce that on Thursday 18 September 2014 we will hold Scotland’s referendum – a historic day when the people will decide Scotland’s future.” “我很荣幸地宣布，2014年9月18日周四我们将举行苏格兰全民公投，这是苏格兰人民决定本国未来的历史性时刻。”

Voters will be asked: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” The wording has been criticised for favouring independence as an option by including the idea within the question. 公投问题为：“苏格兰是否应该是一个独立的国家？”有人批判称，这种措辞偏向于独立选择，因为问题本身就包含了这一构想。

The referendum will be open to 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds for the first time in any main British poll. 此次公投将是英国主要投票中首次允许16岁和17岁公民投票。

The Scottish National party has long said the vote will be held in the autumn, which has led to fears of a low turnout. Holding it in September rather than any later in the year will mitigate some of those fears. 苏格兰民族党(Scottish National party)一直表示，投票将会在秋季举行，使得人们担忧投票率将会很低。在9月份而不是更迟的时间举行公投，将部分缓解这种担忧。

But Johann Lamont, the Scottish Labour leader, said: “Scotland has been waiting far too long, both for the date to be announced and engagement in a serious debate about the referendum.” 苏格兰工党(Scottish Labour)领袖约翰・拉蒙(Johann Lamont)说：“苏格兰一直在期盼着公投日期的宣布，也迫切想要开展一项关于公投的严肃辩论。”

Polls suggest the pro-union campaign will win convincingly. 民调显示，倾向于统一的一派将会获得较大的胜利。