- Title: UK top court will take 'months' to decide Scottish referendum case
- Date: 11th October 2022
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 11, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CHANTING FOR INDEPENDENCE SCOTTISH FLAG EXTERIOR OF SUPREME COURT BARRISTER JAMES EADIE, WORKING ON TEAM REPRESENTING UK GOVERNMENT, WALKING IN STATUE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MP FOR LINLITHGOW AND EAST FALKIRK, LARTYN DAY, SAYING: “I think the outcome from the Supreme Court ruling will be highly important for us one way, or another it gives us certainty of direction and that is absolutely critical. I don’t know how they'll rule, but I do know that they will rule, and that gives us the clear route forward, be it another referendum or be it an election. But whatever way it is the Scottish people will decide.“ LEADER OF THE SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVE PARTY, DOUGLAS ROSS, WALKING MAN WITH SCOTTISH FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRO INDEPENDENCE CAMPAIGNER, EWAN FORREST, SAYING: “The state of the UK now and even just in the past few weeks. I think a lot more people are increasingly sceptical that the UK can offer the sort of future that a lot of Scottish people want. Even people who are kind of undecided on independence, a lot of them are starting to look at the UK, what its become both economically but also politically, and I don’t think they’re very happy with it.“ PEOPLE WITH BANNER CHANTING BANNER FORREST / SUPREME COURT SCOTTISH THISTLE ON SUPREME COURT LOGO PROTESTERS IN FRONT OF THE SUPREME COURT
- Embargoed: 25th October 2022 12:00
- Keywords: Nicola Sturgeon Scotland UK independence
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND AND EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND AND EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: UK
- Topics: Europe,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA002141011102022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The United Kingdom Supreme Court said on Tuesday (October 11) it would take months to reach a decision on whether the Scottish government can hold a second referendum on independence next year without approval from the British parliament.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), has said she wants to hold an independence vote on Oct. 19, 2023, but that it had to be lawful and internationally recognised.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss and her predecessor, Boris Johnson, said they would not grant permission for any referendum, saying a 2014 plebiscite, in which Scots rejected ending the 300-year-old union by 55%-45%, was a once-in-a-generation event that should not be repeated.
However, the SNP says the 2016 vote for Britain to leave the European Union, which the majority of Scottish voters opposed, had materially changed the circumstances.
The Supreme Court, Britain's top court with authority over all civil matters across the United Kingdom, is now being asked whether the Scottish government can pass legislation to allow a second referendum without approval from the UK parliament in London.
"It's likely to be some months before we give our judgement," Robert Reed, the President of the Supreme Court, said at the opening of two days of hearings, which he said amounted to the "tip of the iceberg" in the case.
Under the 1998 Scotland Act, which created the Scottish parliament and devolved some powers from Westminster, all matters relating to the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England are reserved to the UK parliament.
The British government says that means it is clear that it alone can approve any referendum.
(Production: Natalie Thomas, Aiden Nulty) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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