Should Westminster have the final say over whether a devolved nation can hold a referendum on its constitutional future?
The UK constitution reserves the Union and sovereignty of Parliament to Westminster. The 2022 Supreme Court ruling confirmed the Scottish Parliament cannot legislate for an independence referendum without UK consent. Today, nationalist leaders from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland signed a Cardiff memorandum declaring Westminster's time is ending and demanding the UK government facilitate constitutional referendums in each nation. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has repeatedly stated further independence referendums are off limits, prioritising economic growth and public services instead.
21 Opinions
Could add to general election ballot form . 5 questions of importance, legally binding on whoever wins
As a Scot I don't want the failure of devolution to be compounded by allowing nationalsts to keep winning 30% of the vote and inflicting neverendums on the majority of us. Woudl we allow a Scottish council to hold a referendum and remove itself from Holyrood and apply to Westminster? Obviously not
We cannot talk about other people's right of self-determination (think Falkland Islands) without apply the same standard within the home nations. Also, for all the noise, I don't believe any of the home nations would actually vote to leave the union at present, so let them test it.
Empire is dead, this the last of it. The good Friday agreement said a generation is 7 years. This should also be held across the other two nation. Unless they are saying violence is the only way to be heard. If the UK is democratic it has to apply this across to Scotland and Wales.
But they will have to stand on their own two feet so taxes raised in their country is used to fund them.
Self-determination is a fundamental democratic right. Westminster doesn't own these nations... running scared of the ballot box would speak volumes as to how fragile and hollow the Union is.
Westminster has to be the adult in the room when the pretendy parliaments are intent on harming UK citizens with their idiotic policies for education, health, net zero, women's rights, and every other loopy idea. I insist my Government protects me from them.
Yes. The Union is reserved. Holyrood cannot invent a poll. A memorandum is not a mandate. If a nation leaves, it leaves the pot and we are sovereign too. That is not a veto of a people. It is the only parliament that speaks for the whole. No rerun because the last result was inconvenient. One country until that country votes as a country.
You would argue that nations have a right to self-determination. Which they have to an extent with greater devolution. At the same time, you can't have a situation where they keep having referendum after referendum until the Nationalists finally get the vote they want.. So there is also a role for Westminster to play, but that can't purely be seen as Westminster doing what's best for Westminster.
Obviously yes. Let us be clear, we call these devolved nations but they are in fact Local Authorities. We should stop treating them with kid gloves. Parliament always has the last say and we should stop pandering to this nonsense. We should have a non-secession law (excl northern ireland for reasons already known) like other countries do.