Scotland cannot issue a second independence referendum without UK government consent.
23 November 2022
The Supreme Court has issued its verdict on if the Scottish government has the power to issue a second independence referendum.
The question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” was determined to be a devolution issue and within the remit of the Court to pass judgement on.
The Court unanimously ruled that Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate for the referendum. Matter relating to the union between the kingdoms of Scotland and England are reserved for the UK government. Therefore, the UK government must consent if an additional referendum is to take place.
The Court noted that “in the absence of any modification of the definition of reserved matters” that the proposed bill is “outside of the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament”.
The full judgement and press summary was release shortly after Lord Reed delivered the verdict.
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