“Now is not the time.” “Off the table.” “They’re not having one.” Words of UK Prime Ministers and government ministers past and present on the issue of whether or not Scotland should be allowed a referendum on its independence from the United Kingdom.
Here lies the problem with these so called ‘democratic’ politicians who don’t even represent a constituency in Scotland. They would dictate Scotland’s future to it, tell the Scottish people that they and their elected representatives are not allowed to even ask questions about their own future, that their opinion doesn’t matter when up against the opinion of the UK Prime Minister.
Legally the UK can say no
Of course, the UK Government is perfectly within its legal right to be able to deny Scotland a referendum on independence. Under the current devolution settlement, Scotland does not have powers over the constitution and does not have the legal power to hold a constitutionally changing referendum, let alone enact any changes that might arise from one.
In the past, Scotland was temporarily granted this power through a Section 30 Order, which enabled them to hold a referendum on independence in 2014, but this was done at the discretion of the UK Government and the Prime Minister of the time, David Cameron.
Whereas perfectly legal, however, this doesn’t make it anywhere close to moral.
Morally the UK should play no part
On the issue of Scottish independence, I am not supportive. Not through any sense of British nationalism but because I love all four home nations deeply and, as an internationalist, I believe in the, admittedly idealist, viewpoint that all nations across the world should be coming together and doing away with borders. But that doesn’t mean for one second I don’t support Scotland’s right to have a democratic choice about its constitutional future. Far from it.
The question of whether or not Scotland should become an independent country is one for the people of Scotland alone. Nationalists know it, unionists know it, even the British Government knows it. In fact, I’ve only ever met two people who disagree and believe the whole UK should get a vote on the issue.
But where Scottish unionist parties and the UK Government consistently let the side down is on respecting the Scottish Government’s wishes to hold a referendum.
Scotland’s people consistently elect a pro-independence government and a majority of pro-independence MSPs. This has been the case since 2011. Yet David Cameron, for all his faults as a Conservative politician, has been the only Prime Minister to respect the will of Scotland’s democratically elected Parliament and grant the necessary powers to Holyrood to hold one. Successive Conservative and Labour Prime Ministers, as well as other government ministers, have all ignored the pro-independence majorities of MSPs, placed there each time by the voters of Scotland. This is anti-democratic and morally wrong.
Devolve the power permanently
The solution to the constitutional deadlock is simple: devolve the power to hold a legally binding independence referendum to the Scottish Parliament permanently.
If Holyrood has the power to hold a legal vote on independence, no longer will the Scottish Government be bogged down in endless arguments and tedious legal battles. The case for independence can be made by the yes campaign, the case for the Union can be made by the no campaign and, to paraphrase, ‘may the better campaign win.’
More importantly, it will be the people of Scotland deciding Scotland’s constitutional future, not Prime Ministers down in Westminster, none of whom since Gordon Brown even represent a Scottish constituency.
The issue of independence is a hot topic, and one that, as someone on the left of the political spectrum, I disagree with. But I firmly believe that the decision should be made by the people of Scotland and the power to ask the question should be in the hands of Scotland’s elected representatives. Scotland’s place in the Union must be earned by a successful, grassroots campaign in Scotland, not imposed upon the nation by Prime Ministers who are too scared to face the outcome.
