EUROPEAN supporters have sent a message to Scotland saying “you are not alone in this fight” after the decision of the Supreme Court.
A series of gatherings will be held this evening in Paris, Berlin, Munich, Brussels, Rome and Dublin to show solidarity and help Scotland “defend democracy”.
Organisers Europe for Scotland said following the announcement of the Supreme Court decision that it brought “long awaited legal clarity” with the judgment that Holyrood cannot legislation for a new referendum without Westminster’s approval.
Writing on Twitter, the group said: “Truth is that the longer Westminster deny Scotland a choice, the weaker the democratic legitimacy of the Union will be. Ball is now firmly in Westminster's court.
“How much longer should Scots be denied by UK gov their democratic right to choose their own future? Brexit must not be Scotland’s destiny.
“Europeans will always keep a light on for Scotland.
“Tonight we will bring European solidarity to Scotland in Rome, Paris, Dublin, Berlin, Munich and Brussels.
“The fight is not over but rest assured: Scotland is not alone in it.”
'Significant defeat' for UK Government
Anthony Barnett, co-founder of Scotland for Europe, told The National that on balance it was a “very significant defeat” for the UK Government which provided clarification for the Scottish Government.
He said: “The British government wanted the court to rule that there was no decision for it to take.
“This would have left a fog of unclarity about any consultative referendum and challenging [Nicola] Sturgeon to either go ahead with a vote that would be accompanied by boycotts and declared illegal after the fact or take the wiser course and pull back and be declared ‘frit’.
“Instead, the court decided unanimously that it could decide and also that any decision had to be practical not just legal, as the Government argued before it.”
Barnett said the judgment was clear and confirmed the fact that the “UK is a prison of its nations” and “not a union based on freshly given and freely refreshed consent”.
He added: “But there is a larger issue. Why has this come about now, given the outcome of the referendum in 2014?
"The answer is Brexit, a decision to leave the EU that a much larger majority in Scotland opposed than supported in the UK overall.
“This is a material change in the Scotland’s place in the world which legitimises the Scottish government’s claim that another decision can be taken by this generation.”
He also called for EU leaders to say that Scotland would be welcomed back as a “special case” because it was a unique country in being taken out of the EU against its will.
Solidarity from Wales
In Wales, Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said the ruling exposed the “fundamentally undemocratic nature” of Westminster rule.
She said: “It is time for the UK Government to guarantee the right to self-determination for all the devolved nations.
“The combination of an antidemocratic Conservative government and a nodding dog Labour opposition means our voices will never matter while we’re tied to the Westminster system.
“This should be a wake-up call for the First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford, who views the United Kingdom as a voluntary association of four nations which choose to pool sovereignty.
"That is clearly not the case under this Conservative Government, nor will it be under a future Labour Government in Westminster.
“Plaid Cymru urge the Labour Welsh Government to strongly defend the right to self-determination today. We must all stand united against Westminster’s denial of democracy.”
In a statement, the Catalan Government said it "respects the position of the government of Scotland and the decisions it legitimately takes from now on".
"We support the democratic right of Scottish citizens to decide its own political future," it added.
