Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Foreign Ministry: Moscow has lodged a protest with Israeli authorities over the attack on a vehicle belonging to the Representative office of the Russian Federation to Palestinian National Authority
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the town of Brital, Baalbek
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone launched three missiles on the Baalbek-Rayak international road in eastern Lebanon
Salam: The army has been tasked with developing a plan for "state weapons monopoly" by the end of this year and presenting it to the ministerial council before the 31st of this month
Salam: Discussion of the US document paper will be pursued in a government session next Thursday
Salam: We affirm Lebanon's right to self-defense in the event of any aggression.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, in a statement after the government session that discussed the "state weapons monopoly" clause: Based on the ministerial statement, the Lebanese state is committed to implementing international resolution 1701
Sheikh Qassem: Lebanon is a country where sacrifices and blood have been made, and we will discuss any matter related to it in Lebanon; no one think of imposing any diktats on us
Sheikh Qassem: We must beware of the advocates of sedition whose hands are stained with blood and who serve the Israeli project
Sheikh Qassem: We are a fundamental component of Lebanon, so how the resistance is approached must be reconsidered

UK Supreme Court rejects Scottish independence referendum bid

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 23 Nov 2022 14:38
  • 2 Shares
4 Min Read

The Supreme Court's Scottish President says the Scottish parliament does not have the power to legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence.

  • x
  • The British Supreme Court (AP)
    The British Supreme Court (AP)

Britain's highest court on Wednesday rejected a bid by the Scottish government in Edinburgh to hold a new referendum on independence without London's consent.

The unanimous ruling by the British Supreme Court impeded the Scottish nationalist government's push to hold a second referendum next year.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) had said that in that event, it would turn the next general election into a de-facto vote on splitting from the rest of the United Kingdom.

Scottish First Minister and SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, said she respected the ruling but was "disappointed", pledging to continue the fight for independence, saying Scotland’s “democratic right to choose our own future” was at stake.
 
 On Twitter, Sturgeon considered that if Scotland cannot "choose our own future without Westminster consent," the idea of the UK as a voluntary partnership was exposed as a "myth".

1/ While disappointed by it I respect ruling of @UKSupremeCourt - it doesn't make law, only interprets it.
A law that doesn't allow Scotland to choose our own future without Westminster consent exposes as myth any notion of the UK as a voluntary partnership & makes case for Indy

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) November 23, 2022

The Supreme Court's Scottish President, Robert Reed, said the power to call a referendum was "reserved" to the UK parliament under Scotland's devolution settlement, claiming that "the Scottish parliament does not have the power to legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence."

"Indisputable mandate" for another independence referendum

Sturgeon's SNP-led government in Edinburgh wanted to hold a vote in October next year on the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

The UK government, which oversees constitutional affairs for the whole country, has repeatedly refused to give Edinburgh the power to hold a referendum.

It considers that the last one -- in 2014, when 55% of Scots rejected independence -- settled the question for a generation.

Related News

Palestine Action wins bid to defy UK ban under anti-terrorism laws

Situation in Gaza 'reached new depths, continuing to worsen': Starmer

But Sturgeon and her party argue that there is now an "indisputable mandate" for another independence referendum, particularly in light of the UK's departure from the European Union. Most voters in Scotland opposed Brexit.

Scotland's last parliamentary election returned a majority of pro-independence lawmakers for the first time.

At a hearing in the UK Supreme Court last month, lawyers for the government in London argued that the Scottish government could not decide to hold a referendum on its own.

Permission had to be granted because the constitutional makeup of the four nations of the United Kingdom was a reserved matter for the government in London.

Lawyers for the Scottish government wanted a ruling on the rights of the devolved parliament in Edinburgh if London continued to block an independence referendum.

Scottish independence was a "live and significant" issue

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, Scotland's top law officer, stressed that Scottish independence was a "live and significant" issue in Scottish politics.

The Scottish government was seeking to create its own legal framework for another referendum, arguing that the "right to self-determination is a fundamental and inalienable right."

But the Supreme Court rejected international comparisons raised by the SNP, which had likened Scotland to Quebec or Kosovo.

Reed indicated that international law on self-determination only applied to former colonies, or where a people is oppressed by military occupation, or when a defined group is denied its political and civil rights, claiming that none of that applied to Scotland.

He also rejected the SNP's argument that a referendum would only be "advisory" and not legally binding, adding that any such vote would carry practical political consequences regardless of its legal status.

Without the court's approval, Sturgeon had promised to make the next UK general election, which is due by January 2025 at the latest, a campaign about independence.

Sturgeon's SNP ran in the 2021 Scottish parliamentary elections on a promise to hold a legally valid referendum after the Covid crisis eased.

Read more: The Scots Defeat the Israeli Team Twice in a Single Match

  • Britain
  • UK
  • United Kingdom
  • Scotland
  • SNP

Most Read

An Israeli tank explodes following an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza, Occupied Palestine, undated (Al-Qassam Military Media)

Al-Qassam strikes Israeli vehicles in Gaza, inflicts casualties

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025
UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

  • Politics
  • 1 Aug 2025
Protesters chant anti-Israeli slogans as they carry a banner that reads:" Freedom for Palestine, Alliance stop the war," during a demonstration in support of Palestinians in Gaza, outside the Israeli embassy, in Athens, Monday, June 9, 2025 (AP)

Athens mayor slams Israeli ambassador over Gaza war, graffiti claim

  • Politics
  • 3 Aug 2025
An explosion seen during an Iranian missile attack on Tel Aviv, Occupied Palestine, June 13, 2025 (AP)

If Iran is attacked again, geography of response may change: IRGC spox

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli soldiers drive on their armored personnel carrier back from inside the northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP)
Politics

Full occupation of Gaza on the table despite military's opposition

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the audience at a conference in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, Sunday, July 27, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu blamed for sabotaging Gaza captives deal, say their families

A mine operated by Serra Verde Mining in Minacu, Goias state, Brazil, Monday, July 28, 2025 (AP)
Politics

China’s mineral export ban disrupts US defense supply chain

ap
Politics

Aid allowed by 'Israel' covers only 14% of Gaza's needs: Media Office

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS