The Supreme Court in London has ruled that Scotland should not vote again on their independence. This is fuel in the fire of Prime Minister Sturgeon, who still does not want to give up.
The UK Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that another Scottish referendum on secession from the UK against Westminster’s wishes is not allowed. Despite the rejection by the British government, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon presented her plans for a second independence referendum in June. The referendum, which should take place in October 2023 if Sturgeon had his way, would be the second since 2014, when a majority of Scots voted to remain in the kingdom.
The court was concerned with whether the regional parliament in Edinburgh should be able to decide on a referendum on detachment from London – even if the British government is against it. The Prime Ministers who have been in power since 2014, David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, were all opposed to a Scottish independence referendum because Scots would have made a clear decision in 2014.
Brexit changed everything
But Sturgeon argues that the cards have been reshuffled since the 2016 Brexit referendum: the UK has left the EU, while in Scotland there was a clear majority against Brexit. Meanwhile, under the influence of the severe economic and energy crisis that Great Britain, like many other countries, is currently experiencing, discussions about whether Brexit was the wrong decision from an economic point of view have become louder again. However, Prime Minister Sunak denies this.
The rejection of Scotland’s request by a court in England could now give a boost to pro-independence advocates who deny Scotland is in a voluntary union. Sturgeon had stressed in advance that she would accept a no from London, but would then conduct the next British general election as a quasi-referendum.
In Parliament in Edinburgh, pro-independence is in the majority. Regardless of the London decision, the independence camp had called for demonstrations in several Scottish cities in the afternoon. There should also be smaller meetings in five EU cities, including in Munich (6.30 p.m.).