> By Chris Green, Scotland Editor
>
> The UK Supreme Court will hand down its crucial ruling on whether Holyrood has the power to hold a second Scottish independence referendum next week.
>
> The judgement in the case, which heard legal arguments from both the UK and Scottish governments last month, will be handed down on Wednesday, 23 November, at 9.45am.
>
> The ruling is being issued earlier than expected, with most legal observers assuming the court would not give its judgement until shortly before Christmas or early in the New Year.
>
> This is partly because Supreme Court president Lord Reed said at the start of the hearing in October that he expected it would be “some months” before a ruling could be given, with 8,000 pages of written material due to be considered.
>
> The court is being asked to decide whether draft legislation from the Scottish Government paving the way for a referendum goes beyond the Scottish Parliament’s powers.
>
> The outcome of the case will determine whether a second referendum will be held on 19 October next year, as Nicola Sturgeon wishes, or whether it will be postponed indefinitely.
>
> At the SNP conference in October, Nicola Sturgeon told supporters that if the Scottish Government loses the case, the referendum planned for next year would be cancelled.
>
> If this happens, the First Minister intends to proceed with her plan B of using the 2024 general election as a “de facto” referendum instead.
>
> This would involve the SNP and other pro-independence parties campaigning on the single issue of independence, and trying to win at least 50.1 per cent of the vote.
>
> “If the court decides in the way we hope it does, on 19 October next year there will be an independence referendum,” Ms Sturgeon said last month.
>
> “And if the court doesn’t decide that way? First, and obviously, we will respect that judgement. We believe in the rule of law.”
>
> The case was brought by the Scottish Government because the UK Government has repeatedly refused to agree to grant Holyrood the powers to hold indyref2, known as a Section 30 order.
>
> This is what happened ahead of the first referendum in 2014, when David Cameron signed an agreement with Alex Salmond, who had led the SNP to a majority at the Scottish Parliament in 2011.
>
> The Supreme Court will also consider the issue of whether the case was referred by the Scottish Government prematurely, as the Referendum Bill is still in draft form.
>
> However, even if the judges rule that it was premature, the court could still offer a view on the central issue of whether indyref2 is within Holyrood’s powers or not.
If the judgement is coming this quickly I imagine it’s fairly obvious what the decision is.
Be interesting to see how the SG go forwards now. The defacto referendum plan for the next election is obviously ridiculous so it appears they’ve got no more moves to make.
2 comments
> By Chris Green, Scotland Editor
>
> The UK Supreme Court will hand down its crucial ruling on whether Holyrood has the power to hold a second Scottish independence referendum next week.
>
> The judgement in the case, which heard legal arguments from both the UK and Scottish governments last month, will be handed down on Wednesday, 23 November, at 9.45am.
>
> The ruling is being issued earlier than expected, with most legal observers assuming the court would not give its judgement until shortly before Christmas or early in the New Year.
>
> This is partly because Supreme Court president Lord Reed said at the start of the hearing in October that he expected it would be “some months” before a ruling could be given, with 8,000 pages of written material due to be considered.
>
> The court is being asked to decide whether draft legislation from the Scottish Government paving the way for a referendum goes beyond the Scottish Parliament’s powers.
>
> The outcome of the case will determine whether a second referendum will be held on 19 October next year, as Nicola Sturgeon wishes, or whether it will be postponed indefinitely.
>
> At the SNP conference in October, Nicola Sturgeon told supporters that if the Scottish Government loses the case, the referendum planned for next year would be cancelled.
>
> If this happens, the First Minister intends to proceed with her plan B of using the 2024 general election as a “de facto” referendum instead.
>
> This would involve the SNP and other pro-independence parties campaigning on the single issue of independence, and trying to win at least 50.1 per cent of the vote.
>
> “If the court decides in the way we hope it does, on 19 October next year there will be an independence referendum,” Ms Sturgeon said last month.
>
> “And if the court doesn’t decide that way? First, and obviously, we will respect that judgement. We believe in the rule of law.”
>
> The case was brought by the Scottish Government because the UK Government has repeatedly refused to agree to grant Holyrood the powers to hold indyref2, known as a Section 30 order.
>
> This is what happened ahead of the first referendum in 2014, when David Cameron signed an agreement with Alex Salmond, who had led the SNP to a majority at the Scottish Parliament in 2011.
>
> The Supreme Court will also consider the issue of whether the case was referred by the Scottish Government prematurely, as the Referendum Bill is still in draft form.
>
> However, even if the judges rule that it was premature, the court could still offer a view on the central issue of whether indyref2 is within Holyrood’s powers or not.
If the judgement is coming this quickly I imagine it’s fairly obvious what the decision is.
Be interesting to see how the SG go forwards now. The defacto referendum plan for the next election is obviously ridiculous so it appears they’ve got no more moves to make.