Scottish Government Pushes For Independence Referendum Bill
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Alaina
- . October 12, 2022
- . Update: November 11, 2022 12:44 am
Supreme Court hearing for the second referendum is on its way as Scotland wishes to fight for its infamous Scottish Independence Referendum Bill. A two-day exercise will see the involvement of some five judges that will adjudge the evidence being presented by the Scottish government.
The UK government is supposed to respond today. The case concerns proposed legislation at the Scottish Parliament called the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill. The agenda is to have an ‘indisputably lawful’ referendum. Judges have been asked to decide whether the Bill relates to “reserved matters” – meaning it is outwith Holyrood’s competence. Nicola Sturgeon asked the Lord Advocate, Scotland’s chief law officer, to refer the Bill to the Supreme Court when she published the legislation in June.
The five Supreme Court judges who will hear the case are Lord Reed, Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lord Sales, Lord Stephens and Lady Rose. While there is no set time for the judgment to be issued, it could be weeks or months away. Lord Hope, a former deputy president of the Supreme Court, has suggested such a decision could take six to eight weeks. It is to be noted that the UK government has been averse and resistant to the second referendum.
The UK Government, represented in the court by the Advocate General, is opposed to a second referendum. The Advocate General has argued in written submissions that a referendum plainly relates to reserved matters and is outside Holyrood’s legislative competence. He has also asked the court to rule on whether it has jurisdiction to hear the case, saying the Bill has not yet been introduced to the Scottish Parliament.
Meanwhile, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is facing pressure from inside her party, forcing her to call it a day. There is doubt building about her ability to handle it all. an SNP insider has apparently warned her that “her popularity is on the wane” as pressure surges over her government’s management of key policy areas in Scotland and continued doubts around a second referendum on independence.
