The UK Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that the Scottish Parliament cannot hold a second independence referendum without prior authorization from Westminster, an alternative put forward by Nicola Sturgeon’s government to get around London’s recurrent misgivings.
The Supreme Court has pointed out in a note published on its website that «in the absence of any amendment to the definition of reserved matters, the Scottish Parliament has no authority to legislate for the holding of a referendum on Scottish independence».
Thus, it has indicated that the Scottish Parliament does not have this authority because this project would be linked to the future of the union in the United Kingdom, a matter reserved to Westminster.
After this, Sturgeon was «disappointed» with the ruling, although she said that she «respects» it. She also said that the Supreme Court «does not make the law, it only interprets it» and added that «a law that does not allow Scotland to choose its own future without Westminster’s consent exposes as a myth any notion that the UK is a voluntary association and strengthens the case for independence,» she argued.
«Scottish democracy will not be denied. Today’s ruling blocks a route for Scotland’s voice on independence to be heard, but in democracy our voice cannot be silenced and will not be silenced,» he said on his Twitter social networking account, before announcing he would give a more detailed speech in the coming hours.
Sturgeon wants to bring out the ballot boxes again on October 19, 2023, but the central executive considers that the independence debate was settled with the consultation of September 2014. The Scottish authorities consider that the scenario is now very different, with the United Kingdom outside the European Union.
