The UK High Court ruled on Wednesday that the Scottish regional parliament cannot legislate holding a second referendum on the independence of the British province at the request of the home rule.
In a sentence read this Wednesday by the president of the court of last instance [equivalente ao Tribunal Constitucional em Portugal]Robert Reed said that “the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence.”
The judges’ body unanimously confirmed that questions of sovereignty are reserved for Parliament in Westminster in London, in accordance with the Scottish Home Rule Act 1998.
“Scotland Act gives limited powers to the Scottish Parliament. In particular, the Scottish Parliament has no power to legislate in relation to matters that are reserved for the UK Parliament at Westminster,” he explained.
Scotland and England have been politically united since 1707, but in 1999 Scotland had its own parliament and government in Edinburgh, which are responsible for public health, education, agriculture, security and other matters.
The London-based UK Government controls matters such as defence, foreign policy, immigration and tax policy.
In response to the Scottish National Party (SNP) argument that the right of determination is part of international law, the court finds that it only applies to cases of former colonies or territories oppressed by foreign military occupation, or where a people it is prevented from “pursuing its political, economic, cultural and social development”.
“It is not the situation in Scotland,” he stressed, concluding that the proposed legislation to organize a referendum “is in fact related to matters reserved” to the Westminster-based British government.
The British executive has so far refused to authorize the repetition of the consultation held in 2014, when 55 percent of voters rejected independence.
The SNP argues that Britain’s departure from the European Union (EU) justifies a repeat independence referendum because ‘Brexit’ was approved by 52% of Britons but rejected by 62% of Scots.
Scottish First Minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon intended to hold the referendum on October 19, 2023.
Anticipating the possible failure of this initiative, the SNP threatens to run in the next legislative elections with a program focused on this single proposal, so the result is considered a plebiscite for the project.
The next UK general election is undated, but must be held by the end of January 2025 at the latest.
In 2019, the SNP won 48 out of 59 parliamentary seats, with 45% of the vote in Scotland.
In the 2021 regional elections, the SNP was the most voted for the fourth time in a row, but did not reach an absolute majority, allying with the Greens to form a pro-independence majority in the Holyrood assembly.
The Conservative, Labor and Liberal Democrat parties are against breaking up the UK.
Source: TSF
