Angry but not surprised
Supreme Court confirms that Scotland is a colony, not an equal partner in a "United" Kingdom
The Supreme Court has ruled that Scotland is not allowed to hold an independence referendum without Westminster's approval. I am angry at this, but not surprised.
Picture: Protestors outside the Scottish Parliament tonight.
Reactions
The court’s unanimous ruling that the law does not allow the nationalist-led Scottish government to initiate a second independence referendum is politically explosive. After all, the Scottish National party itself brought the case, and this emphatic defeat throws down the gauntlet to the party’s leader, Nicola Sturgeon. In a formidably combative press conference, Sturgeon picked the gauntlet up. Where Scotland’s place in the UK is concerned, the game is once more afoot.
And on the SNP and a plebiscite election:
Back in 2015, Sturgeon said there should not be another vote until independence had become “the choice of a clear majority in this country.” That was briefed by the SNP to mean until the opinion polls showed consistent majorities of about 60% for separation. But such polling levels were never reached. Then came Brexit, which the SNP argued was such a substantial material change in Scotland’s circumstances that it justified revisiting the 2014 decision. That approach faltered too, after Britain finally left the EU.
Under increasing internal pressure to call a second vote, Sturgeon has now come up with yet another strategy, offering either a Scottish government referendum on independence – which the supreme court has now blocked – or a general election vote, which Sturgeon dubs a de facto referendum. This is the option on which, in the absence of any other legal route, the SNP has now had to fall back. Sturgeon’s response to the supreme court decision was the starting pistol for that campaign. In theory, she ought to be pleased. It’s the election she asked for.
But there are many problems with it. The main one is that an election is not a referendum. It’s a wide-ranging exercise in choosing a government. People cast their votes for many reasons, not for one reason alone frozen in space and time. Parties compete against one another, so although there are other pro-independence parties, the SNP cannot treat their votes as if they were for the SNP. And even if the SNP can claim a majority, its opponents are under no democratic or legal obligation to defer, since this surrogate referendum will not be a contest they recognise.
Today has been a momentous day for Scotland. The Supreme Court in London has in effect confirmed Scotland is a colony of Greater England.
But instead of being the victory unionists wanted, it may well invigorate the independence movement:
Some Unionists are getting very excited thinking this is the end of the independence struggle. Kids, this is just the beginning. You have no idea what you have unleashed today. Indeed, I would suggest today signalled the end of the union. We have several obstacles to navigate, but the Supreme Court in England has inadvertently helped the Scottish Independence movement today.
Iain Lawson also thinks the ruling could reinvigorate support for independence:
we need to allow time for Scots to finally realise we are in a colonial position with Westminster and for that to sink in. I am confident Scots will not accept that status
I live in the capital of my country. I had to travel hundreds of miles to the capital of a foreign country to hear a bunch of unionist judges, the majority from a foreign country, declare that my country has no right to existence, indeed my country only exists at all in so far as it was incorporated by a foreign parliament in the Scotland Act of 1998.
We now know Westminster will not grant Independence; we have to take it.
a court established in London by a British Government and steeped in the English constitutional dogma of the absolute sovereignty of Westminster was never going to find sufficient legal wriggle room to allow Holyrood to hold an independence referendum, even a referendum which was carefully specified as being consultative, without Westminster’s permission. The ruling was not just a no, it was a flat out no, a unanimous no. The ruling did at least give us a definitive answer to the question of whether Holyrood can proceed with its plans for another referendum
The judges have effectively ruled that Scotland is a hostage of whoever the Conservatives have chosen to install in Downing Street. The generations long claim so beloved of traditional Scottish Unionism that the United Kingdom is a voluntary union of nations is a myth, a lie told to the people of Scotland by British nationalists in order to secure Scotland’s loyalty. Traditional Scottish Unionism died today.
So it’s official – Scotland is not a partner in the UK, but a prisoner. Supposedly equal signatories to a treaty, we were in fact captured in 1707, with no hope of release other than at the whim of our jailer. It is an outrage, but a wholly predictable one.
My reaction
My immediate reaction is that this is indeed a watershed. It will take some time for the situation to sink in but I think Scots will increasingly see the United Kingdom not as their country but as a jail, and the Westminster regime as the jailer who is keeping them imprisoned. A regime that lacks any democratic legitimacy and which Scots increasingly do not consent to be ruled by.
I will surely come back to this topic later, for a more considered opinion.