text: Scottish Labour Party narrowly backs referendum . STIRLING , Scotland 1996-08-31 British Labour Party leader Tony Blair won a narrow victory on Saturday when the party 's Scottish executive voted 21-18 in favour of his plans for a referendum on a separate parliament for Scotland . Blair once pledged to set up a Scottish parliament if the Labour won the next general election , which must be held by May 1997 . But many activists were dismayed when he abruptly decided earlier this year to hold a two-question referendum on the issue , asking Scots if they wanted a separate parliament and if it should have tax-raising powers . Many party members argued that a general election win would demonstrate popular support for a separate parliament and others said a single question referendum would suffice . Prime Minister John Major says the 300-year-old union of the Scottish and English parliaments will be a main plank in his Conservative Party 's election platform . Conservatives have only 10 of the 72 Scottish seats in parliament and consistently run third in opinion polls in Scotland behind Labour and the independence-seeking Scottish National Party .