Nicola Sturgeon’s plans for a Scottish independence referendum in October 2023 should be declined by the Supreme Court as the matter "plainly relates to reserved matters”, the UK Government has stated. In its published submission to the Supreme Court the Westminster government challenged the application from Holyrood.
The Scottish Government’s Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain, was asked by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to refer the draft Bill on a referendum to judges in London to decide if Holyrood has the power to hold a vote without the consent of Westminster.
But in his submission to the Supreme Court, the UK Government’s law officer, Lord Stewart, homed in on the fact that Bain has not herself ruled on whether the proposed legislation is in the competence of the Scottish parliament.
