The judgement from the Supreme Court last Wednesday was crystal clear: it is not within the powers of the Scottish Parliament to hold an independence referendum.
But this legal judgement is only that – the political ramifications will continue. What was most striking for me about the response from the UK Government, from both Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack, is that they appeared to believe that this judgement settled the matter.
It’s worth remembering that the UK Government argued in the Supreme Court that the argument shouldn’t even be heard, a position also rejected by the court.
The Supreme Court ruling exposed the reality that if the UK ever was a voluntary union, it certainly isn’t today. In their answers to SNP MPs in the House of Commons, Sunak and Jack struggled to answer the simple question: if this political union is voluntary, how does one part leave?
The difficulty in answering this extends to the Labour party too, with Keir Starmer reneging on his previous 2020 position that a win for the SNP in the Scottish Parliament elections would be a mandate for an independence referendum.
This isn’t a tenable position. Since 2014, the people of Scotland have consistently backed political parties with Scottish independence in their manifestos. It is about those people, and their desire to see change. It is an insult to democracy to deny both people and parties the chance to realise their manifesto commitments.
This matters. Democracy is never a one-time thing. I’ve had so many conversations over the years with people who weren’t convinced in 2014 but have over time changed their mind.
The older people who confess they were a bit feart, the younger people who weren’t old enough to take part, the EU citizens left bereft by Brexit. And those who were prepared to give the UK one last chance to convince them that we were better together.
The pace of change in the past eight years has been more dramatic than anyone could have predicted. Like a runaway rollercoaster, the UK has lurched from one crisis to the next, through the ongoing chaos of Brexit, the mishandling of the Covid pandemic, and now into a brutal cost-of-living crisis.
There’s been three elections, five Prime Ministers, seven chancellors. Yet supporters of the union say Scotland can’t possibly reconsider her constitutional position.
Independence is not some nebulous, theoretical question. It’s not a distraction in this cost-of-living crisis. It’s essential that we have all the tools at our disposal to look after our people; as every other normal independent country is doing, a darn sight better than broke, broken, Brexit Britain.
The Yes movement must do what we do best – focus on the campaigning, get out and deliver the leaflets, chap the doors and listen to voters. The position the UK Government, that “Scotland had its democracy back 2014, and that’s your lot” cannot hold.
Tories' toxic rhetoric on immigration
My Friday constituency advice surgeries are always busy, and always varied. People bring a whole host of issues from broken boilers and housing complaints to issues with the DWP and the Home Office.
Casework is the most satisfying part of my job but also the most difficult. In public debates about immigration, it’s impossible to convey the depth of despair felt by my constituents following their treatment by the Home Office.
Often, it’s framed as a numbers game, or asylum seekers are characterised as being an amorphous group of people. I have the privilege of meeting more than most and their individual stories never fail to move me.
On Friday, I met a gentleman separated from his family for several years now, who had worked to support the US operation in Afghanistan. He arrived in the UK too scared to tell his story, and it took years and a great deal of support to have his case accepted. After getting his own claim processed, he has been waiting a long time for a family reunion application. He has been left broken by his experiences.
As his MP, I’ll do all I can to help, but it’s clear the Home Office system is failing. The UK Government must cease their toxic rhetoric on immigration and put more efforts into supporting those who need to rebuild their lives.
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