Compared with its ideologically zealous US counterpart, the UK supreme court is a cautious group of senior judges. They are careful not to throw their institutional weight around. They are particularly reluctant to get embroiled in politically contentious issues, especially since their predecessors were forced to do just that in the prorogation ruling in 2019. Today, however, the judges put caution aside.
The court’s unanimous ruling that the law does not allow the nationalist-led Scottish government to initiate a second independence referendum is politically explosive. After all, the Scottish National party itself brought the case, and this emphatic defeat throws down the gauntlet to the party’s leader, Nicola Sturgeon. In a formidably combative press conference, Sturgeon picked the gauntlet up. Where Scotland’s place in the UK is concerned, the game is once more afoot.
