London
CNN
—
Britain’s Supreme Court has ruled that the Scottish government cannot unilaterally keep second referendum on whether to secede from the UK, a blow to independence campaigners would be welcomed by Westminster’s pro-union base.
The court unanimously rejected an attempt by the Scottish National Party (SNP) to force a vote next October, as it did not have the approval of the British parliament.
But the decision is hard to come by lively debate about independence covered British politics for a decade.
Scotland last held a vote on the issue, with Westminster’s approval, in 2014, when voters rejected the prospect of independence by 55% to 45%.
However, pro-independence SNPs have dominated politics north of the border over the years, at the expense of traditional pro-coalition groups. Successive SNP leaders have pledged to give Scottish voters another chance to vote, especially since the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon’s latest attempt involves holding an advisory referendum by the end of next year, similar to the 2016 poll that led to Brexit. But the country’s top court agreed that even a legally binding vote would require oversight from Westminster, given its practical implications.
“A legally held referendum would have significant political consequences concerning the Union and the UK Parliament,” Lord Reed said as he read out the court’s ruling.
It will strengthen or weaken the democratic legitimacy of the Union and the sovereignty of the UK Parliament over Scotland, whichever prevails, and will either help or weaken it, he said. democratic certificates of the independence movement”.
Sturgeon said she accepted the ruling on Wednesday, but tried to treat the decision as another pillar in the secession argument. She wrote on Twitter: “A law that does not allow Scotland to choose our own future without the consent of Westminster, considers it a myth about any conception of the UK as a relationship partner voluntarily and make (a) the case” for independence.
“Scottish democracy will not be denied,” she said. “Today’s ruling blocks a path to Scotland’s voice on independence – but in a democracy our voices cannot and will not be silenced.”
England and Scotland have been involved in a political union since 1707, but many Scots have long resented what they see as a unilateral British-dominated relationship. Scottish voters have historically rejected the ruling Conservative Party at the ballot box and have voted heavily – but in vain – against Brexit, fueling debate on the issue over the past decade.
Since 1999, Scotland has had an authorized government, meaning that many, but not all, of the decisions are made in the SNP-led Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh.
