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The Scottish parliament cannot hold a second referendum on independence without consent from Westminster, the Supreme Court has ruled in a fresh blow to Nicola Sturgeon\u2019s hopes of holding a vote.<\/p>\n
The UK\u2019s highest court ruled that Holyrood cannot legislate on a vote, agreeing with the UK government that constitutional matters are reserved for the UK parliament.<\/p>\n
The case was brought by SNP leader Ms Sturgeon, Scotland\u2019s first minister, who had set out plans to hold a second ballot \u2013 dubbed indyref2 \u2013 on 19 October 2023.<\/p>\n
But Supreme Court president Lord Reed said on Wednesday that judges unanimously agreed that the independence vote bill proposed by the SNP \u201cdoes relate\u201d to reserved matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Scottish parliament does not have the power to legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Ms Sturgeon has said she is \u201cdisappointed\u201d by the ruling \u2013 but claimed the decision \u201cmakes [the] case\u201d for independence.<\/p>\n
\u201cA law that doesn\u2019t allow Scotland to choose our own future without Westminster consent exposes as myth any notion of the UK as a voluntary partnership,\u201d she tweeted.<\/p>\n
The SNP leader, set to make a full statment at 11.30am, added: \u201cScottish democracy will not be denied. Today\u2019s ruling blocks one route … but in a democracy our voice cannot and will not be silenced.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the blow to her hopes, Ms Sturgeon is set to use the decision to try to drum up more support for independence, which lost narrowly to the \u201cNo\u201d campaign in 2014.<\/p>\n
The SNP leader previously warned that her party would run on the sole platform of independence at the next general election if the Supreme Court ruled against it.<\/p>\n
Rishi Sunak has said now is not the time for \u201can unnecessary, divisive constitutional referendum\u201d on Scottish independence.<\/p>\n
The prime minister called the idea of holding indyref2 anytime soon as a \u201cquite frankly barmy idea\u201d during the Tory party\u2019s August leadership contest.<\/p>\n
Mr Sunak\u2019s Scottish secretary Alister Jack said ministers \u201cnote and respect the unanimous ruling\u201d, adding that people in Scotland want government to focus \u201con the issues that matter most to them\u201d. <\/p>\n
The verdict means the Scottish government\u2019s top law officer, the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, will not now be able to clear a referendum bill for passage through the Scottish parliament.<\/p>\n
During a hearing in October, Ms Bain had said resolving the legality of the proposed referendum bill was a \u201ccritically important question\u201d which had been \u201cfestering\u201d since the early days of devolution.<\/p>\n
The UK government\u2019s representative, Sir James Eadie, had argued the bill \u201csquarely and directly\u201d relates to a reserved matter. He also argued that the bill was at too early a stage for the court to even issue a ruling on.<\/p>\n
But Lord Reed said the Supreme Court had decided that \u201cit does have the power to decide\u201d now on the question of whether a referendum could be held without Westminster consent.<\/p>\n
Lord Reed said the court did not accept SNP arguments based on the \u201cright to self-determination\u201d in international law.<\/p>\n
He said a Canadian case, which concerned Quebec, held that self-determination under international law only exists in situations \u201cof former colonies, or where a people is oppressed … or where a definable group is denied meaningful access to government\u201d.<\/p>\n
The SNP case had in part relied on a potential independence vote being \u201cadvisory\u201d.<\/p>\n
But the Supreme Court concluded that the impact of the bill could not be \u201cconfined\u201d to simply the holding of a referendum. \u201cA lawfully-held referendum is not merely an exercise in public consultation,\u201d said Lord Reed.<\/p>\n
Scottish independence protesters outside Supreme Court<\/p>\n
(PA)<\/p>\n
SNP MP Angus MacNeil said the court ruling was why he wanted the party to debate a \u201cPlan B\u201d at its conference, arguing that UK and Holyrood\u00a0elections could now be used to force a\u00a0vote\u00a0on\u00a0independence.<\/p>\n
\u201cScotland is effectively a hostage in the union, but the way out is of course the ballot box,\u201d said Mr MacNeil.<\/p>\n
Alex Salmond, Ms Sturgeon\u2019s predecessor, has also encouraged the SNP leader to use the general election as a mandate for indyref2.<\/p>\n
The Alba Party leader accused Ms Sturgeon of leading the independence movement down a \u201ccomplete blind alley\u201d with the \u201cbad gamble\u201d of the court case \u2013 and called for \u201ca civic campaign of protest and action\u201d.<\/p>\n
He is expected to speak\u00a0at one of 15 pro-independence rallies being held across Scotland on Wednesday in response to the Supreme Court decision.<\/p>\n
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the SNP should now \u201cfocus on the problems facing our country\u201d. He said there is \u201cnot a majority for a referendum or independence\u201d in Scotland, but there is a \u201cmajority for change\u201d.<\/p>\n
Recent polls show Scottish voters evenly split on the independence question, with a YouGov October survey showing 49 in favour and 51 per cent against. <\/p>\n
Plaid Cymru\u2019s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts MP said the \u201cexposes the fundamentally undemocratic nature of Westminster rule\u201d.<\/p>\n
Calling for new powers, the Welsh nationalist leader added: \u201cIt is time for the UK government to guarantee the right to self-determination for all the devolved nations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politicsGet our free Inside Politics email The Scottish parliament cannot hold a second referendum on independence without consent from Westminster, the Supreme Court has ruled in a fresh blow to Nicola Sturgeon\u2019s hopes of holding a vote. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n