UK’s Top Court Mulls Legal Basis For New Scottish Independence Vote
Written by City Radio on October 11, 2022
The UK Supreme Court on Tuesday began considering the legality of Scottish moves to hold a new referendum on independence next year without the consent of the government in London.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s nationalist government in Edinburgh wants a fresh vote on the question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
On Monday, she told her Scottish National Party’s annual conference the hearing would not have been necessary if the UK government in Westminster respected Scottish democracy.
The Supreme Court hearings will see senior lawyers wrangle over the powers of the devolved parliament in Edinburgh versus Westminster.
Opening the proceedings, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, Scotland’s top law officer, said the issue of Scottish independence was a “live and significant one in Scottish electoral politics”.
It now wants to go ahead but the UK government, which has to give approval under the Scotland Act 1998, has not given permission.
New UK Prime Minister Liz Truss in a television interview this month reiterated her view that the last referendum in 2014 was a once-in-a-generation event.
CityRadio 89.7FM