Tag: Scottish Referendum
-
Neil Walker: The Uncelebrated Union
Last week’s first televised debate of the referendum campaign revealed few surprises of tone or content, even if the outcome disappointed pro-independence hopes of a momentum-building surge in support. As expected, Alex Salmond concentrated on the core message of political self-determination, and the prospect of the new Scotland embracing a model of social and economic…
-
Katie Boyle: Scotland in Transition: the Scottish Government’s Proposed Interim Constitution and the Scottish Independence Bill
On Monday 16 June 2014 the Scottish Government launched the Scottish Independence Bill: A Consultation on an Interim Constitution for Scotland at the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law. The publication is first and foremost a consultation paper that proposes establishing an interim constitution under section 4 of the proposed Bill should a majority vote in…
-
Nick Barber: After the Vote: Regulating Future Independence Referendums
In a few months time Scotland will vote on independence. In my last post on the topic I discussed some of the consequences of a yes vote: the problems that would be raised around the currency, Scotland’s membership of the EU, and, more generally, the difficulties presented by the tight time-fame set by the Scottish…
-
Neil Walker on Scotland: Hijacking the Debate
Let me lay my cards on the table. I remain inclined to vote ‘no’ in September’s referendum. I put it no stronger than ‘inclined’ in part because I believe, in the spirit of democracy – even democracy referendum-style – that those of us who have not signed the party pledge should keep an open mind…
-
Aileen McHarg: A Tale of Two Constitutions?
Last week, I spent two days in London, accompanying a group of Constitutional Law students on a trip to the Westminster Parliament, the Supreme Court and the Scotland Office. The trip was part of a final year research project shadowing the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee’s Inquiry into The Constitutional Role of…
-
Stephen Tierney: The Scottish Constitution After Independence
According to the Scottish Government White Paper issued this week, Scotland’s Future, an independent Scotland will have a new written constitution (this repeats the commitment contained in the Scottish Government’s earlier White Paper of March). The intention is to replace Westminster parliamentary supremacy with the ‘sovereignty of the people of Scotland’ since, the Government claims,…
-
Neil Walker: The Receding Tape
And so the countdown begins. But the countdown to what? Twelve months from now we should know the result of the referendum, but just how significant a marker will that be on Scotland’s constitutional journey? One popular view – for many less a reasoned view than a deep-rooted assumption – maintains that the referendum will…
-
Stephen Tierney: Towards a Fair and Democratic Process? Regulating the Referendum on Scottish Independence
The referendum on independence is still a year away and already attention is focused on major substantive issues such as economic relations between an independent Scotland and the United Kingdom, and the ease or difficulty with which an independent Scotland would achieve membership of the European Union. What is often overlooked is that the credibility…
-
Paul Reid: Independence, the referendum, the franchise and prisoners: stormy waters ahead?
The Scottish Parliament has started giving legislative effect to the Edinburgh Agreement that was signed in October 2012. The first measure to be brought before the Parliament earlier this week was the Scottish Independence Referendum (Franchise) Bill. It is a fairly short Bill, both in length and time: once enacted it will be automatically repealed…
-
Jo Eric Khushal Murkens and Peter Jones: Salmond and Cameron order a dog’s dinner at the EU café
Countries that are used to referendums on constitutional matters use them sparingly. The UK has no such constitutional requirement, but faces the possibility of having to deal with two such referendums within the spate of a few years. The first referendum could see Scotland break away from the United Kingdom, the second could see the…