The Spectator

Nicola Sturgeon’s referendum stunt

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Nicola Sturgeon presents Scotland as a country outraged by Brexit and straining at the leash of the United Kingdom. She said she wants a second referendum on 19 October next year. But she has no powers to call one and has already referred herself to the Supreme Court, which is likely to confirm that only the UK parliament can bring into being a referendum on the future of the UK. So her call for a referendum date is, to all intents and purposes, a stunt.

The SNP and their Green allies stood on pro-referendum manifestos last year and between them captured a majority of Holyrood seats. Sturgeon feels that justifies another vote. But that logic has already been rejected by the UK government, which says that now is not the time. Sturgeon’s other option is to declare that the next general election will be treated as a referendum on independence – and if they win the majority of votes, they will demand secession. This is, of course, a constitutional absurdity.

Sturgeon has promised Scots a vote they don’t want in pursuit of an independence agenda they still oppose

As a nation, Scotland undoubtedly has the right to self-determination – a right which Scots have so far exercised by voting to stay in the Union. Opinion on this has barely changed since 2014. While that referendum was close – 45 for leaving to 55 per cent against – the balance of opinion still favours the Union, as almost every poll of the last few years has shown. It’s true that much has changed since 2014: Brexit, partygate, inflation. But there is no significant change in Scottish public opinion. Just look at last year’s Holyrood elections, where not a single party gained or lost more than a couple of seats.

Sturgeon’s plan for an independent Scotland to join the EU will alienate her from the one-in-three Scottish nationalists who voted for Brexit: the so-called ‘double outers’ who cannot see why one would take back control from Westminster only to hand it back to Brussels.

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