ALBA’S Westminster leader will attempt to bring forward a bill this week to give powers for a Scottish independence referendum to Holyrood.
Neale Hanvey MP has secured the opportunity to introduce the Scotland (Self Determination) Bill in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
It is being brought under a rule which allows a backbench MP to make a case for a new bill in a speech lasting up to 10 minutes. The Ten-Minute Rule Bills are unlikely to become law but are a way of drawing attention to an issue.
Hanvey will propose amending the Scotland Act 1998 to transfer the Section 30 power from Westminster to Holyrood which can enable an independence referendum to be held.
The Alba MP said it was vital to “use every avenue” to assert Scotland’s right to determine its own future.
He said: “The decision to legislate for an independence referendum should rest with Holyrood not Westminster.
"That is why I am bringing forward this bill to assert the right of the Scottish people to self determination, and to remind the UK Government that, however much they may argue to the contrary, it is the Scottish people who are sovereign, in the Scottish constitutional tradition of popular sovereignty.
“In presenting this bill I am taking the fight for Scottish democracy, for our right as a nation to determine our own future, to the heart of Westminster
“The bill transfers the Section 30 power, in the Scotland Act 1998, to legislate for a Scottish independence referendum, from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament.
“It is not a bill in favour of independence per se but rather about the Scottish people’s right to choose their own constitutional future.
“Therefore it is one which every democrat should support regardless of their view on independence.”
The proposed bill says that the power to legislate for a referendum may only be exercised where the Scottish public has demonstrated its support for the holding of such a vote.
It also says that no such referendum may be held sooner than seven years after the previous such referendum.
Hanvey added: “At this important juncture in Scotland’s constitutional journey it is vital that the Yes movement and all independence supporting MSPs and MPs continue to assert Scotland’s right to determine our own future and to use every avenue open to them to do so.”
