Scottish Parliament CANNOT hold second independence referendum
Judges have ruled the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate without Westminster's approval
Last updated 23rd Nov 2022
Judges at the Supreme Court have ruled the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate for an independence referendum without Westminster approval.
A panel of five justices at the UK's highest court have delivered their decision.
It's a blow to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's plans to hold a vote next October.
The Supreme Court president Lord Reed said on Wednesday: "The Scottish parliament does not have the power to legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence."
It means the Scottish Government's top law officer, the Lord Advocate, will not be able to clear the Bill for passage through the Scottish Parliament.
Announcing the Supreme Court's unanimous decision, the court's president Lord Reed said that legislation for a second independence referendum would relate to "reserved matters" and was therefore outside the powers of Holyrood.
He said: "A lawfully-held referendum would have important political consequences relation to the Union and the United Kingdom Parliament.
"Its outcome would possess the authority, in a constitution and political culture founded upon democracy, of a democratic expression of the view of the Scottish electorate.
"It would either strengthen or weaken the democratic legitimacy of the Union and of the United Kingdom Parliament's sovereignty over Scotland, depending on which view prevailed, and would either support or undermine the democratic credentials of the independence movement.
"It is therefore clear that the proposed bill has more than a loose or consequential connection with the reserved matters of the Union of Scotland and England, and the sovereignty of the United Kingdom Parliament."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon responds
Nicola Sturgeon tweeted that while she was "disappointed" by the decision, she would "respect " the ruling the court had made.
The Scottish First Minister added that the "ruling of @UKSupremeCourt - it doesn't make law, only interprets it".
She stated: "A law that doesn't allow Scotland to choose our own future without Westminster consent exposes as myth any notion of the UK as a voluntary partnership & makes case for Indy."
Opposition parties respond to Supreme Court judgement
Shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray said the court's decision should be respected - and insisted Labour could offer the change needed by the people of Scotland.
"The UK Supreme Court has made their decision and we should respect that and thank them for their work," he said.
"The people of Scotland do want and need change regardless of their views on the constitution. Change is coming with a UK Labour government at the next election."
Former Scottish Conservative leader Baroness Davidson warned the SNP would seek to "leverage this ruling for further grievance" against Westminster.
She tweeted: "While this ruling isn't surprising, its unanimity and clarity is welcome.
"No doubt the SNP will try to leverage this ruling for further grievance.
"If only the huge effort, capacity & resource spent bidding to rerun the original vote had been put into health, education & the economy."
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross welcomed the decision by the UK's highest court that Holyrood would need Westminster's consent to legislate on the decisive constitutional issue.
He said: "This was a clear and unequivocal verdict delivered by the highest court in the country - and the SNP Government and their supporters must respect it.
"Nicola Sturgeon insisted on taking this case to the Supreme Court at the cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Scottish taxpayer - and this ruling confirms that it was a waste of time and money.
"Following this judgment, the SNP must now get back to work, drop their referendum obsession and focus on what really matters to the people of Scotland."
Salmond: ruling a "bad gamble that hasn’t paid off"
Reacting to the Supreme Court decision Former First Minister and Alba Party Leader Alex Salmond has said that attempts to deny Scottish self determination will be doomed to failure.
Salmond, who delivered the Edinburgh Agreement in 2012 between the Scottish and UK Governments which resulted in an agreed independence referendum, says that the people of Scotland will not take kindly to being toldthey cannot determine their own future.
Mr Salmond says that today’s decision will likely spark an increase in support for independence: “The decision of the Supreme Court today is the result of a bad gamble that hasn’t paid off.
"What should have happened was the Scottish Parliament should have passed the legislation for an independence referendum and forced the UK Government to be the ones that challenged it. Real Parliaments don’t ask for permission to implement their democratic mandate. Although the verdict is hardly a surprise it now begs the question of what is the democratic route for Scots to determine their own future?
“Unionists should beware in their glee as the lesson of history is that you can postpone democracy but you cannot deny it.
“Scotland’s future must be placed back in Scotland’s hands - not a parliament or a court in London. “
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