THE people of Scotland are the real “highest court in the land”, the Alba Party have said on the launch of their St Andrew’s Day Declaration, which pledges to “democratically challenge” anyone against Scotland’s “right of self-determination”.
Alba MP Neale Hanvey will today lead a St Andrew’s Day debate in the Commons in a bid to ramp up pressure on the UK Government on the issue of Scottish independence, after the Supreme Court blocked plans for indyref2 next year.
Alba’s St Andrew’s Day Declaration rejects the opinion of the court, which ruled that Scotland does not have recourse to claim the right to self-determination in its traditional sense because the country is not oppressed or colonised.
It states: “We, the people, elected members and civic organisations of Scotland assert that our nation has the right of self-determination to freely determine our political status and to freely pursue our economic, social and cultural development.
“Mindful of the Scottish constitutional tradition of the sovereignty of the people, we will democratically challenge any authority or government which seeks to deny us that right”.
It will also be published online for supporters to sign up and pledge their support for the campaign.
Alba leader Alex Salmond said that the party believed the “sovereign people of Scotland” were the country’s top authority – not the London-based Supreme Court.
The former first minister said: “No self-respecting Scot is going to be told by anyone that we are a second-class country without full national rights.
“The wording of the St Andrew’s Day declaration reflects the internationally accepted position of the United Nations.
“It was also the cross-party consensus which established the Scottish Parliament that, whatever our political future, it was for Scots to freely determine.
“In publishing this declaration, Alba are building a movement to take our case to the highest court in the land - the sovereign people of Scotland.”
In a unanimous judgement delivered last week, Lord Reed said the self-determination case put forward by the SNP did not apply to Scotland because it was not a colony, under military occupation or oppressed.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has now called an emergency conference of the SNP for early next year so party members can hash out the details of how to fight the next election as a de-facto referendum.
Salmond has previously urged all pro-Yes parties to unite under a “Scotland United” ticket.
