24hoursworld

United Kingdom: Scotland to vote on independence in October 2023

United Kingdom: Scotland to vote on independence in October 2023

Eight years ago, the majority of Scots wanted to remain part of the UK. But then came Brexit – which most people there reject. Now there should be a second attempt.

Second attempt at independence? Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants her compatriots to vote again next autumn on whether Scotland should become an independent state.

“The time has come to put Scotland on the right track. The time for independence has come,” Sturgeon announced at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. A corresponding referendum should take place on October 19, 2023.

In the first referendum of this kind in 2014, a majority of Scots (55 percent) voted to remain in the UK. However, that was before Brexit, which the northernmost part of Britain had rejected with a clear majority (62 percent). The supporters of independence therefore hope that the situation will change if there is another vote. The question should be the same as last time: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” What sounds like Brexit 2.0 to some would be the fulfillment of a long-awaited dream for others.

Scotland back in the EU?

Sturgeon has a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament with her Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Green Party. She wants to lead her part of the country with almost 5.5 million inhabitants back to the European Union as an independent country after Brexit. Sturgeon said Boris Johnson’s Conservative British government tore Scotland out of the Union against its will and plunged it into a deep crisis with the rest of Britain. Cost of living crisis, labor shortages and the risk of a trade war with the EU – “our country deserves better.”

In order to pass a law to hold the referendum in the regional parliament, the approval of the government in London must first be obtained. But she refuses. Sturgeon therefore wants to override London if necessary. “I will not allow Boris Johnson to hold Scottish democracy hostage,” said the 51-year-old.

She wrote to the British Prime Minister and called on him to negotiate a referendum with her. Otherwise, the referendum law should be passed anyway. Their reasoning: The approval of the British government is not absolutely necessary under constitutional law, since it is only a matter of a consultative referendum – Scotland does not automatically become independent as a result, it is only a question of determining the will of the people.

Schedule concerns

A Scottish legal expert considers the envisaged timetable to be unsustainable. «A lot is unpredictable. This is not a smooth process,” said lawyer Nick McKerrell from Glasgow Caledonian University of the German Press Agency shortly before the announcement. McKerrell said the law would first have to be passed through the Scottish Parliament. The following legal disputes could drag on for months. “I don’t think the time is realistic,” said the expert.

Sturgeon acknowledged that the road to independence will not be easy. However, she wants to forestall possible lawsuits: she herself called the Supreme Court – the highest court in the United Kingdom – to clarify whether her plans were legal. And even if the judges should come to the conclusion that a referendum would be illegal, Sturgeon still has a plan B: “If the law says it’s not possible, the next general election will become a de facto referendum.” Her party will then campaign solely on the independence issue, she announced.

British election guru John Curtice of the University of Strathclyde sees Sturgeon’s move as the start of a new phase in the independence campaign. Only now that Great Britain has left the EU and the pandemic is no longer dominating the news agenda so much does the Scottish government have a chance to advance its goal. “She will hold a referendum,” Curtice said in a dpa interview, despite the rocky road ahead of Nicola Sturgeon. “She won’t give up.”

Source: Stern

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Posts