IT’S a “no.” Having war-gamed out all the potential outcomes, all the nuances and ambiguities, the Supreme Court gave us a clear and categorical judgment on Wednesday morning. Yes, the Lord Advocate had the power to refer the controversy to the Court. No, the Scottish Parliament doesn’t have the legislative competence to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence.
Short of amending the Scotland Act – however many democratic mandates are accumulated from the Scottish people, however many MSPs vote for the idea – this judgment means that Holyrood has no direct and lawful way of asking the people of Scotland whether they wish to be an independent country.
