Referendum is ever closer says Sturgeon
NICOLA Sturgeon said the devolution settlement is now “worthless” as she warned the Supreme Court Brexit decision made it clear Scotland must decide again on independence.
The First Minister welcomed the ruling that said the UK Parliament must have a say on the negotiations to leave the European Union.
However she said the decision that the devolved administrations, including the Scottish Government, do not need to give consent meant that Scotland was not an equal partner.
She said it was “becoming ever clearer” that Scotland must decide on being ruled by Tories from Westminster or taking its own decisions.
The Supreme Court ruled that Article 50 for the UK to apply to leave the EU cannot be triggered without an act of parliament at Westminster.
It is a defeat for Theresa May’s government which wanted to by-pass MPs and press ahead on its own.
The ruling however, also said there was no legal obligation for the UK government to consult with Holyrood or the Welsh or Northern Irish assemblies on the triggering of Article 50.
Ms Sturgeon said the issue was now wider than Brexit and went to the heart of the devolution settlement.
The First Minister said she would bring a Legislative Consent Motion to Holyrood for MSPs to vote on whether or not it would consent to leaving the EU, although the UK Government can ignore it.
She said claims of equal status are “empty rhetoric” and she added: “The very foundations of the devolution settlement that are supposed to protect our interests are being shown to be worthless.
“Is Scotland content for our future to be dictated by an increasingly right-wing Westminster Government with just one MP here – or is it better that we take our future into our own hands? It is becoming ever clearer that this is a choice that Scotland must make.”
The Greens, whose support the SNP could need to pass a bill for a second independence referen- dum said it was the only choice.
Patrick Harvie, Scottish Greens leader, said: “It is hard to see any other option than putting the choice back in the hands of voters in Scotland.”
Labour hover said independence was not the solution to Brexit.
Kezia Dugdale, Scottish leader, said: “We are divided enough already. That’s why there will be no support from Scottish Labour for any SNP plan for a second independence referendum.”