The UK Supreme Court today ruled that the government Scotland he cannot hold a second independence referendum without the approval of the British Parliament, which would hurt Nationalist hopes of holding a vote next year.

In 2014, the Scots rejected the end of the union with England by 55% to 45%, but independence advocates argued that a referendum held two years later to leave the European Union, which was opposed by Scottish voters, changed the conditions.

Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, head of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), announced earlier this year that she intends to hold a deliberative vote on independence on October 19, 2023, but that this must be legal and recognized by the international community.

But the British government in London said it would not allow a second referendum, saying it should be held once a generation. Polls show that voters remain divided on support for independence, and voting will be highly skewed.

The Scottish government’s most senior lawyer has asked the High Court whether the Scottish government can pass legislation paving the way for a second consultative referendum without the approval of the UK Parliament.

The unanimous verdict of the five judges of the court was that it was impossible.

“The Scottish Parliament does not have the power to hold a referendum on Scottish independence,” said Chief Justice Robert Reed.

In accordance with the Scotland Act 1998, which created the Scottish Parliament and transferred some powers from Westminster to it, all matters relating to the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England are left to the British Parliament. The Court concluded that any referendum, even a deliberative one, is such a matter.

Although the court’s decision will disappoint the nationalists, the matter does not end there.

The SNP, which has dominated Scottish politics for more than a decade, winning an overwhelming majority of seats in the 2019 UK election, argues that the UK government’s refusal to allow a second referendum means that Scots’ views are not being taken into account.

Sturgeon has already vowed that a defeat in the Supreme Court will mean her party will take part in the next UK election, due in 2024, on the sole issue of Scottish independence.

Sturgeon tweeted that she was disappointed with the decision but would respect it.

“A law that does not allow Scotland to choose its future without the consent of Westminster debunks as a myth any idea that the United Kingdom is a voluntary partnership and justifies India (independence),” Sturgeon wrote.

“Today’s decision blocks the way for Scotland’s voice to be heard on independence, but in a democracy our voice cannot and will not be silenced,” he wrote on social media.

2/ Scottish democracy will not be rejected.
Today’s decision blocks one way for Scotland’s voice to be heard on independence, but in a democracy our voice cannot and will not be silenced.
I will make a full statement this morning – tune in around 11:30.

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) November 23, 2022

Source: APE-MPE-Reuters-AFP.