Scotland will not be allowed to hold an independence referendum without permission from the London government for the time being. This has been determined by the UK Supreme Court after the Scottish government initiated a case. The current British Prime Minister does not want a referendum on secession from Britain.

Scotland got its own parliament in the 1990s, but all matters relating to the British Union remain in parliament in London. In recent weeks, courts have considered whether the Scottish Parliament has the power to legislate a non-binding independence referendum. That was not the case, five judges unanimously ruled that the consequences of the vote must be taken into account.

Read also | Will Scotland hold an independence referendum?

“Everything is very clear,” UK correspondent Lia van Bekhoven said of the case. ‘The Scottish government cannot organize a referendum on its own, which must be decided by Parliament in London. Such was the law also signed by the Scottish Parliament at the time. These matters, constitutional matters, are decided in the British Parliament in London, not in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.’

Sturgeon is feeling empowered

Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said he was “disappointed”, but respected the court’s decision. He believed that the verdict was an argument for independence. “The ruling blocks one way for Scotland’s voice to be heard on independence, but in a democracy our voices cannot and will not be silenced.” Sturgeon now wants to turn parliamentary elections in 2024 into a de facto referendum.

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“As far as Sturgeon is concerned, this was an act of hostility,” explained Van Bekhoven. He would tell his supporters London would not allow them to decide their own future. He hoped that there would be more enthusiasm for this matter. Sturgeon hopes that a landslide victory for the Scottish nationalists within two years will increase the pressure on London so much that a second referendum is inevitable.’

Collaboration

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed Wednesday morning’s “clear” statement. “I think Scotland wants us to work on finding solutions to the big challenges we face collectively,” he said. Like Alister Jack, British minister to Scotland, he called for cooperation. According to Jack, Scots want ‘both their governments to devote their attention and resources to the issues that matter most to them’, such as rising energy and health care bills.

Read also | Independence referendum next year

Sturgeon wants to hold a consultative referendum on October 19, 2023. It is unclear whether Scotland will vote for independence. According to a recent opinion poll, the number of supporters fluctuated by around 50 percent. In the 2014 referendum, passed by London, 55 per cent voted against secession from Britain.

Brexit

Sturgeon and the Scottish National Party (SNP) believe that circumstances have changed due to Brexit and therefore a new referendum is needed. The majority of Scots opposed Britain’s departure from the European Union in the 2016 Brexit referendum.