Tag: Scottish Referendum
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Stephen Tierney: The Scottish Parliamentary Elections and the “Second Referendum” Debate
The Scottish National Party emerged as the largest party in the Scottish parliamentary elections held on 6 May. It fell short of an overall majority but still won an impressive 64 of 129 seats. Nicola Sturgeon, who will be reappointed as First Minister within the new devolved administration, has reiterated the SNP’s quest for independence,…
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Ewan Smith and Alison Young: “That’s how it worked in 2014, and how it would have to work again”
On the 9th of March, writing for the BBC, Laura Kuenssberg, the political editor of the BBC said “it’s up to the Westminster government to permit another [Scottish] referendum.” Six days earlier, Sarah Smith, the Scotland editor of the BBC said: “The Prime Minister knows she could easily prevent another referendum by simply refusing to…
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Stephen Tierney: A Second Independence Referendum in Scotland: The Legal Issues
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today announced the Scottish Government’s intention to hold a second referendum on independence between the autumn of 2018 and the spring of 2019. The move comes in the week when it is widely anticipated that the United Kingdom Government will serve notice under Article 50 of the Treaty of European…
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Graeme Cowie: Scotland and a Second Independence Referendum – The Obstacles and Challenges and the Comparative Solutions
In light of the divergent conclusions the Scottish electorate reached from those of England and Wales in the EU referendum, the spectre of a second Scottish independence referendum looms. Though insisting it is not her “starting point” in discussions with the European institutions and other national governments, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has indicated that she…
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Leah Trueblood: Referendums, Compromise, and Ratification
Resolving any political question requires compromise. This is as true for constitutional questions as it is for questions of policy. This can be seen now in the European Union’s reminders to the United Kingdom that access to the single market is not ‘à la carte.’ While some have argued that the latest referendum outcome is illegitimate, and…
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Roger Masterman and Colin Murray: A House of Cards?
The ability of the constitution of the United Kingdom to respond to the ebb and flow of political and societal change has long been presented as a strength, and as one of the defining features of a system whose fundamental features have otherwise remained relatively stable. Significant renovation has occurred, but for the most part…
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Graeme Cowie: Prisoners to Devolved Fortune? The Right to Vote and the Scotland Act 2016
The Hirst (No 2) v United Kingdom judgment has proven to be one of the most contentious of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. Its subject matter, prisoner voting, has also served both to illustrate and to some extent to define the relationship between that Court and our domestic legal and constitutional order.…
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Nick barber: The Brexiteers: Right Answer, Wrong Question
Cross-posted from I-CONnect blog. Towards the end of the 1990s I was invited to a workshop just outside of Berlin at which a group of young academics gathered to discuss the future of the European Union. The workshop was funded by a German think-tank that had generously, if perhaps misguidedly, provided significant amounts of food…
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Manifesto Watch: Aileen McHarg: The Constitutional Implications of the Rise of the SNP
Editors’ note: The blog has asked constitutional lawyers to review the main party manifestos ahead of the May elections, drawing out key constitutional proposals. You can read the other contributions in this series here. The phenomenal rise of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the wake of last year’s independence referendum has been the story…
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Mark Elliott: A “Permanent” Scottish Parliament and the Sovereignty of the UK Parliament: Four Perspectives
The Report of the Smith Commission for Further Devolution of Powers to the Scottish Parliament has been published. It contains an array of significant proposals concerning the devolution of further authority to the Scottish Parliament. Stepping back from the detail, however, it also contains two — related — proposals that are potentially of constitution significance in bigger-picture…