Law and Rights
Updated 22nd, 23rd September, 25th and 26th September
The Scottish Independence referendum was held on 18th September. The turnout was 84.5% and NO votes totalled 2,001,926 and YES votes totalled 1,617,989. For more on the results see BBC News Scotland 19th September. Independence was therefore rejected but, as mentioned in my earlier post, the status quo cannot remain though the historic Union will remain in place and major problems relating to membership of the European Union (EU) and currency have been avoided.
The Scottish people have been promised greater devolution of power and this must be delivered but the precise details of those powers remain to be thrashed out and time is relatively short given the General Election in May 2015. However, it appears that
the aim is to have a Bill before Parliament by January 2015. Numerous other issues are now firmly on the agenda. For example, the so-called Barnett Formula is popular in Scotland and politicians, desperate to secure a NO vote, have promised its retention but it is deeply unpopular with taxpayers in England. Then there is the West Lothian question which refers to the fact that Scottish MPs are permitted to vote in Parliament on matters not affecting Scotland. No doubt, there will also be demands from Wales and Northern Ireland for greater devolution. A further matter is that the franchise will inevitably have to be extended to all 16 year olds in the UK. It could not be acceptable to return to 18 in Scotland or, for that matter, to have 16 in Scotland but 18 elsewhere.
In short, many of the United Kingdom's constitutional arrangements are now in the melting pot and, at the moment, there are no clear answers. Inexorably, the nation appears to be moving toward a federal system of government but that should not be done in a hurry. The Of Interest to Lawyers blog has a good post on that very question arguing that there we now have an 'historic opportunity to draft a new Written Constitution for the whole of the Union and its constituent parts' but also arguing that 'we need to slow down, convene a Convention and work out a lasting and final settlement, in a written federal constitution, to lay down a fair mode of collective, rights, obligations and governance for the future. Nothing less will do and nothing less will respect the feelings of the large numbers of people in Scotland and the rest of the Union who are now, but so rarely, politically engaged on these issues.'
I agree that too much haste here may well cause difficulties in the future. The next few weeks will be full of interest ....
Addendum 22nd September:
1. Prime Minister's statement following the referendum
2. The referendum certainly enlivened politics not only in Scotland but elsewhere in the UK. Questions of constitutional reform are now being raised. How they will be answered is uncertain. In a post on the UK Constitutional Law Group blog, Cormac Mac Amhlaigh (Lecturer in Public Law, Edinburgh) argues that a "constitutional convention" ought to be convened rather than matters being left to the political parties to resolve - see . Cormac Mac Amhlaigh, ?For a Constitutional Convention for the United Kingdom? UK Const. L. Blog (22nd September 2014)
3. Following the NO result, Alex Salmond (Scotland's First Minister) said that he would step down in November. This is discussed in The Guardian 19th September
Despite losing the referendum, the SNP leader claimed that there are alternative routes to independence - Herald Scotland.
Addendum 23rd September:
The Spectator - The Union is saved but at what cost?
Addendum 25th September:
Joshua Rozenberg - The Guardian 19th September - West Lothian question: easy to ask, trickier to answer
Vernon Bogdanor - The Guardian 24th September - Why English votes for English laws is a kneejerk absurdity
Addendum 26th September:
Head of Legal Blog 24th September - Let's avoid a huge constitutional talkfest
February 2014 - The McKay Commission report
- The West Lothian Question ~ A Few Thoughts !
The so-called West Lothian question is a political and not legal question. It was asked as long ago as 1977 by Tam Dalyell MP who represented West Lothian from 1962 to 1983 and Linlithgow from 1983 to 2005. The question asks whether MPs from Northern...
- Scotland ~ The Eve Of The Referendum
18th September 2014 - Referendum Day in Scotland on the question of independence from the remainder of what is now the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. "The Union" of the separate Crowns of Scotland and England came on 24th...
- Moohan And Another V Lord Advocate - Supreme Court Of The Uk - Serving Prisoners And The Independence Referendum
18th September 2014 is the date set for the referendum on Scottish Independence. The referendum is being held by virtue of the Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 and those entitled to vote are detailed in the Scottish Independence Referendum...
- Scotland And Its Currency In The Event Of Independence
Update 17th February: The Telegraph reported on a defiant speech by Alex Salmond. The speech delivered in Aberdeen claimed that the British government would back down with regard to its stance of no currency union in the event of independence....
- Scotland ~ Independence White Paper
Sgurr na Banachdich, Skye - 3166 ftOn 18th September 2014 (the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn - see post of 26th January 2012), a referendum will be held in Scotland to enable the Scottish electorate to decide whether to proceed to an...
Law and Rights
Scotland voted NO
The Scottish Independence referendum was held on 18th September. The turnout was 84.5% and NO votes totalled 2,001,926 and YES votes totalled 1,617,989. For more on the results see BBC News Scotland 19th September. Independence was therefore rejected but, as mentioned in my earlier post, the status quo cannot remain though the historic Union will remain in place and major problems relating to membership of the European Union (EU) and currency have been avoided.
The Scottish people have been promised greater devolution of power and this must be delivered but the precise details of those powers remain to be thrashed out and time is relatively short given the General Election in May 2015. However, it appears that
the aim is to have a Bill before Parliament by January 2015. Numerous other issues are now firmly on the agenda. For example, the so-called Barnett Formula is popular in Scotland and politicians, desperate to secure a NO vote, have promised its retention but it is deeply unpopular with taxpayers in England. Then there is the West Lothian question which refers to the fact that Scottish MPs are permitted to vote in Parliament on matters not affecting Scotland. No doubt, there will also be demands from Wales and Northern Ireland for greater devolution. A further matter is that the franchise will inevitably have to be extended to all 16 year olds in the UK. It could not be acceptable to return to 18 in Scotland or, for that matter, to have 16 in Scotland but 18 elsewhere.
In short, many of the United Kingdom's constitutional arrangements are now in the melting pot and, at the moment, there are no clear answers. Inexorably, the nation appears to be moving toward a federal system of government but that should not be done in a hurry. The Of Interest to Lawyers blog has a good post on that very question arguing that there we now have an 'historic opportunity to draft a new Written Constitution for the whole of the Union and its constituent parts' but also arguing that 'we need to slow down, convene a Convention and work out a lasting and final settlement, in a written federal constitution, to lay down a fair mode of collective, rights, obligations and governance for the future. Nothing less will do and nothing less will respect the feelings of the large numbers of people in Scotland and the rest of the Union who are now, but so rarely, politically engaged on these issues.'
I agree that too much haste here may well cause difficulties in the future. The next few weeks will be full of interest ....
Addendum 22nd September:
1. Prime Minister's statement following the referendum
2. The referendum certainly enlivened politics not only in Scotland but elsewhere in the UK. Questions of constitutional reform are now being raised. How they will be answered is uncertain. In a post on the UK Constitutional Law Group blog, Cormac Mac Amhlaigh (Lecturer in Public Law, Edinburgh) argues that a "constitutional convention" ought to be convened rather than matters being left to the political parties to resolve - see . Cormac Mac Amhlaigh, ?For a Constitutional Convention for the United Kingdom? UK Const. L. Blog (22nd September 2014)
3. Following the NO result, Alex Salmond (Scotland's First Minister) said that he would step down in November. This is discussed in The Guardian 19th September
Despite losing the referendum, the SNP leader claimed that there are alternative routes to independence - Herald Scotland.
Addendum 23rd September:
The Spectator - The Union is saved but at what cost?
Addendum 25th September:
Joshua Rozenberg - The Guardian 19th September - West Lothian question: easy to ask, trickier to answer
Vernon Bogdanor - The Guardian 24th September - Why English votes for English laws is a kneejerk absurdity
Addendum 26th September:
Head of Legal Blog 24th September - Let's avoid a huge constitutional talkfest
February 2014 - The McKay Commission report
- The West Lothian Question ~ A Few Thoughts !
The so-called West Lothian question is a political and not legal question. It was asked as long ago as 1977 by Tam Dalyell MP who represented West Lothian from 1962 to 1983 and Linlithgow from 1983 to 2005. The question asks whether MPs from Northern...
- Scotland ~ The Eve Of The Referendum
18th September 2014 - Referendum Day in Scotland on the question of independence from the remainder of what is now the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. "The Union" of the separate Crowns of Scotland and England came on 24th...
- Moohan And Another V Lord Advocate - Supreme Court Of The Uk - Serving Prisoners And The Independence Referendum
18th September 2014 is the date set for the referendum on Scottish Independence. The referendum is being held by virtue of the Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 and those entitled to vote are detailed in the Scottish Independence Referendum...
- Scotland And Its Currency In The Event Of Independence
Update 17th February: The Telegraph reported on a defiant speech by Alex Salmond. The speech delivered in Aberdeen claimed that the British government would back down with regard to its stance of no currency union in the event of independence....
- Scotland ~ Independence White Paper
Sgurr na Banachdich, Skye - 3166 ftOn 18th September 2014 (the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn - see post of 26th January 2012), a referendum will be held in Scotland to enable the Scottish electorate to decide whether to proceed to an...