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British Justice says ‘no’ to a new referendum for independence in Scotland: Edinburgh’s response

The Scottish separatists received the worst news from the Supreme Court of their kingdom on Wednesday morning. scottish parliament does not have the power to call a second independence referendum in the country and secede from the United Kingdom.

The unanimous ruling by the UK’s top judges said that despite the SNP’s demands, the scottish nationalists partyof a new vote, the Scottish government would need the approval of the government in Downing St, ie the British Prime Minister, before going ahead.

Five judges, who have spent the last month reviewing 8,000 pages of legal argumentsThey issued their ruling at 10 in the morning.




Scots unfurl their flag in front of the High Court in London. Photo: AP

The High Court ruling that the Scottish government cannot hold a unilateral independence referendum has ended Sturgeon’s hopes of holding another constitutional election next October.

The court unanimously decided that such a move would affect the integrity of the Unionwhich is reserved for the Westminster government.

Lord Reed, the president of the court, said: “The Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence.”

In announcing the ruling, Lord Reed said legislation up for a second vote would relate to “closed business” and would therefore fall outside the powers of Holyrood, the Scottish parliament.

“A legally conducted referendum would have major political consequences in relation to the Union and the UK Parliament,” he said. “It would strengthen or weaken the democratic legitimacy of the Union and the UK Parliament’s sovereignty over Scotland,” he explained.

Scottish First Minister and pro-independence SNP Nicola Sturgeon had proposed a second referendum, called indyref2by October 19, 2023, to secede from the United Kingdom and join the European Union.

The general election will be a referendum

But Sturgeon also warned that would use the next election general as “an informal and de facto referendum” if the court ruled against your plan.

Nicola Sturgeon.  Photo: Andy Buchanan/AFP


Nicola Sturgeon. Photo: Andy Buchanan/AFP

From Edinburgh, in the hours after the ruling, Prime Minister Sturgeon said she accepted the sentence and that the problem was not the judges’ interpretation, but the law itself.

“Until now, the opponents of independence, as well as its supporters, have understood that the United Kingdom is a voluntary association of nations,” he said.

“Let’s be frank. A so-called partnership where a partner is denied the right to choose a different future, or even to ask questions, cannot in any way be described as voluntary or even partnership at all,” the prime minister continued. .

“So this ruling confirms that the notion of the UK, a voluntary association of nations, if it ever was a reality, it is no longer a reality. It exposes a situation that is simply untenable,” the Scottish Prime Minister described.

Sturgeon said that the option “still open” for the UK government to “accept democracy and come to an agreement” on how to hold a second referendum.

Sturgeon said that the option "still open".  Photo: Andy Buchanan/AFP


Sturgeon said the option “remains open.” Photo: Andy Buchanan/AFP

But if not, he promised “not to renounce democracy” and use the next general election to ask the question, with a special party conference in the new year to agree the details.

“It’s no longer just a question of whether or not Scotland becomes independent, as vital as that decision is,” Sturgeon said. “It is more fundamental. Now it’s about whether or not we have the basic democratic right to choose our own future. In fact, as of today, the independence movement is both democracy and independence,” he declared.

the independentistas

The next UK general election north of the border will be a “de facto” referendum on Scottish independence, Nicola Sturgeon has said after a High Court ruling.

The Scottish National Party does not abandon the independence path. “Westminster is blocking it”said the Prime Minister, noting that the Scottish Government will seek A new way to hold a referendum.

“In my opinion, that can only be a choice,” he said. “The next scheduled national election for Scotland is, of course, the UK general election. making of that the first and most obvious opportunity to look for what I described as a ‘de facto’ referendumhe explained.

What do you think Rishi Sunak?

The first Rishi Sunak welcomed the ruling “clear and final”, saying that the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate for another referendum on independence.

The Prime Minister told the House of Commons after the court ruling that Westminster and Holyrood politicians they needed to “work together.”

He was “pleased” that the Scottish Parliament was “one of the most powerful devolved assemblies” in the world, and that he was “keeping up the work of working constructively and collaboratively” with Nicola Sturgeon. A different tone from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was completely pitted against Sturgeon.

Sunak tried emolliently in response to a series of angry questions from Scottish National Party MPs, at the debriefing of the Prime Minister.

Rishi Sunak said he wanted to work “constructively” with Prime Minister Sturgeon. But her parliamentarians said that she does not have a mandate because was not voted for by anyoneexcept for his party.

furious independentistas

Scottish independentistas listen to the ruling of the Court.  Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP


Scottish independentistas listen to the ruling of the Court. Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP

Ian Blackford, the leader of the SNP in Westminster, asked: “What right has a man without a mandate to deny Scottish democracy?”

“The prime minister cannot claim to respect the rule of law and then deny democracy at the same time. If democracy is going to matter, if elections matter, then mandates matter. Since 2014, the SNP has won eight elections in a row. Last year we won by a landslide. The Scottish Parliament now has the largest majority for an independence referendum since devolution,” said the Scottish nationalist MP.

Theresa May Request

Theresa May, the former prime minister, made a rare intervention in the parliamentary question to urge the SNP to leave his “obsession” with independence.

To raucous applause from her Tory colleagues, May said: “Scotland is a proud nation, with a unique heritage. He is a valued member of our family of nations. A union of people united through the generation by our shared interests.”

May said the High Court verdict gave the SNP “the chance for once to put the people of Scotland first and end their obsession to tear us apart.”

Journalists await the verdict, at the gates of the Court in London.  Photo: Reuters


Journalists await the verdict, at the gates of the Court in London. Photo: Reuters

In the House of Commons, Scotland Secretary Alister Jack said the government welcomed the ruling. He called on the Scottish executive to “set aside these divisive constitutional issues so we can work together, focusing all our attention and resources on the key issues” that matter to the people of Scotland.

“When we work together as one UK, we are safer, stronger and more prosperous,” he added.

A referendum they lost

Scotland held an independence referendum in 2014 and just over 55% voted to remain part of the United Kingdom.

But the independence party SNP, which has led the country since 2007, believes it has the mandate to hold a new vote. due to his continued success in the elections – most members of the Scottish Parliament support independence – and due to to changed circumstances since Brexit.

Sturgeon began his attempts to get a new referendum approved in 2017 by asking then-First Minister Theresa May for a Section 30 order, which is used to permanently or temporarily increase or restrict the legislative authority of the Scottish Parliament. It was used to temporarily legislate for the first referendum.

But May and the UK prime ministers who followed her denied it. This led to Wednesday’s court case over whether the Scottish Parliament could pass a bill to hold a referendum, without the go-ahead from Westminster.

The role of the Supreme Court is to look at the problem only from a legal perspective. The importance of this ruling cannot be underestimated because almost all day-to-day affairs in Scotland are seen through the prism of the Constitution.

Almost all surveys suggest that the scots are divided in half over the future of the country. It is unclear whether this trial will help resolve the ambition for independence.

Paris, correspondent

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