EDINBURGH, Scotland — The U.K.’s top judges threw out an attempt by the Scottish government to bypass Westminster and call a second independence referendum, thwarting nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon’s plan for a vote next year.
The Supreme Court was asked by Scotland’s top legal adviser to assess whether the Scottish Parliament had the power to legislate unilaterally for a consultative referendum. The London-based court ruled unanimously that a vote would need to be approved by the U.K. government, as it was when Scotland held a previous referendum in 2014.
“The Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence,” Judge Robert Reed said in his summary of the judgment at a hearing on Wednesday. “Even if the referendum has no immediate legal consequences, it would be a political event with important political consequences,” the court ruled.
