Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Sturgeon bid for Indyref2 blocked
Westminster must have a say, court rules
HUMILIATED Nicola Sturgeon will make the 2024 election an independence battle after losing a landmark legal fight.
The Supreme Court yesterday denied her the power to hold a second referendum without Westminster’s permission.
She said Tories who refuse to allow a poll had shattered the claim Scotland is in a “voluntary partnership” with the UK.
The furious First Minister vowed she would not “give up on democracy”, saying: “Our voice cannot and will not be silenced.”
Ms Sturgeon urged Rishi Sunak to “accept democracy and reach agreement” on holding a referendum, nearly a decade after Scotland voted to stay part of the UK in 2014.
But the PM rebuffed her call, so she claimed the 2024 general election will be treated as a “de facto referendum” instead.
Ms Sturgeon added:
“Let’s be absolutely
AFTER SUPREME COURT’S RULING blunt. A so-called partnership in which one partner is denied the right to choose a different future, or even to ask itself the question, cannot be described as voluntary, or even a partnership at all.”
But Mr Sunak said: “The people of Scotland want us to be working on the challenges we collectively face... Now is the time for politicians to work together.”
Court President Lord Reed rejected arguments that, because Ms Sturgeon’s referendum would not have been legally binding, it would not “automatically” destroy the union and so should be allowed.dan.bloom
[This partnership] cannot be described as voluntary, or even a partnership at all NICOLA STURGEON