Scotland’s Nationalists Restart Debate Over Independence Vote

(Bloomberg) -- Scotland's nationalists are reviving their debate over how to push for another independence vote amid growing tension with the government in London over everything from the handling of the coronavirus pandemic to how to pay for the recovery.

Two prominent Scottish National Party members of the U.K. Parliament called on the semi-autonomous administration in Edinburgh to explore how to hold another referendum on creating a separate state. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to sanction a vote.

Writing in two Scottish newspapers, Joanna Cherry and Kenny MacAskill called on First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to develop a “Plan B” for a referendum that could be endorsed by the courts under existing laws. The last vote, in 2014, came after the government in London transferred the power to hold one. The result was 55% to 45% in favor of remaining in the U.K.

Scotland's pro-independence government has clashed with London over its handling of the pandemic as the U.K. recorded Europe's highest death toll. There's also tension over the money needed to spur an economic revival and Scotland's opposition to leaving the European Union.

Read More: U.K. Gets Into Another Domestic Row Over One of Its Borders

Sturgeon renewed her call for an independence referendum after the SNP won by the far the most Scottish districts in December's U.K. election, which propelled Johnson back into power to deliver Brexit because of a surge in support for his Conservatives in England.

The Scottish leader has said the SNP must build the case for independence with the electorate so the U.K. has no choice but to sanction a vote, while some in her party are keen to force one. Support for independence has risen to 54%, according to a Panelbase poll of 1,070 adults between June 15 and 19.

Court Route

Cherry, the SNP's spokesperson for judicial affairs in the Westminster parliament, argued that Scotland's government should be examining whether it already has the legal authority to hold a vote under the 1998 legislation that created the devolved Holyrood parliament in Edinburgh. That would mean Scotland doesn't need London's permission, she wrote in the pro-independence National newspaper.

A case has already been filed in Edinburgh's Court of Session to examine that question, she wrote. Led by lawyer Aidan O'Neill, who defeated Johnson over Article 50 and his plans to prorogue Westminster over Brexit, the case will ask the court to examine what powers the Scottish government has to hold a second vote.

“It is possible that the court may rule the question hypothetical in the absence of any bill currently before Holyrood,” Cherry wrote. However with the U.K. and Scottish government's most senior lawyers called as defenders, both administrations will be forced to provide responses.

“This means they will require to set out their position in writing to the court, so we should get a good idea of the respective positions of the British and Scottish governments before long,” Cherry wrote.

MacAskill, a former Scottish justice secretary, argued that Scotland should use the result of next year's Scottish parliamentary election, which polls suggest the SNP will win decisively, to force Johnson to allow a new vote.

“There's a chance that yet another SNP victory next year would see him fold,” MacAskill wrote in the Edinburgh-based Scotsman newspaper. “That would focus minds and allow legitimacy through an electoral mandate.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.