Leah asks: “Is Scotland’s complicity in this evil down to the fact that Holyrood is a colonial setup created by and ultimately controlled by Westminster?” Yes, indeed: the so-called UK Constitution is a masterpiece of fudging that enables those in power at Westminster to do as they please. The table of powers reserved to the UK Gov shows it controls (inter alia) International Relations, Defence, Money Laundering, Firearms, National Security, Emergency Powers, Business Associations, Import & Export Control, Marine & Air Transport. With that range of powers, they’ll be able to find a means to bar Scottish Gov legislation. If anyone challenges them on a matter of law, they can always refer it to the Supreme Court, which can be relied upon to find in their favour, as they did in 2018 with the Scottish Gov’s UK Withdrawal from European Union Bill.
In that case it did so by ruling that the Bill exceeded the powers of the Scottish Gov, but the third stage of its judgement (on Scotland’s right to secede from the UK) was a political judgement, not based on legal grounds. At the time I wrote “As far as I can see there is nothing in Statute that defines how a devolved nation may legally leave the UK, nor, more tellingly, is it stated anywhere in Statute that it is forbidden for a devolved nation to leave the UK. That being so, the judgement is clearly not based on legal grounds but on political views. As such have Lord Reed and his panel of judges acted ultra vires? I’m not a lawyer and would welcome an opinion from someone better qualified in law than me, bearing in mind that both English and Scots Law are involved.”
Basically they can always find a way of thwarting anything they view as damaging to UK’s interests, no matter whether the actual topic (be it seceding from the UK or banning the selling of weapons made in Scotland to any nation seen to be in breach of international law) actually lies within devolved powers. We are indeed a colony by most definitions.
Leah asks: “Is Scotland’s complicity in this evil down to the fact that Holyrood is a colonial setup created by and ultimately controlled by Westminster?” Yes, indeed: the so-called UK Constitution is a masterpiece of fudging that enables those in power at Westminster to do as they please. The table of powers reserved to the UK Gov shows it controls (inter alia) International Relations, Defence, Money Laundering, Firearms, National Security, Emergency Powers, Business Associations, Import & Export Control, Marine & Air Transport. With that range of powers, they’ll be able to find a means to bar Scottish Gov legislation. If anyone challenges them on a matter of law, they can always refer it to the Supreme Court, which can be relied upon to find in their favour, as they did in 2018 with the Scottish Gov’s UK Withdrawal from European Union Bill.
In that case it did so by ruling that the Bill exceeded the powers of the Scottish Gov, but the third stage of its judgement (on Scotland’s right to secede from the UK) was a political judgement, not based on legal grounds. At the time I wrote “As far as I can see there is nothing in Statute that defines how a devolved nation may legally leave the UK, nor, more tellingly, is it stated anywhere in Statute that it is forbidden for a devolved nation to leave the UK. That being so, the judgement is clearly not based on legal grounds but on political views. As such have Lord Reed and his panel of judges acted ultra vires? I’m not a lawyer and would welcome an opinion from someone better qualified in law than me, bearing in mind that both English and Scots Law are involved.”
Basically they can always find a way of thwarting anything they view as damaging to UK’s interests, no matter whether the actual topic (be it seceding from the UK or banning the selling of weapons made in Scotland to any nation seen to be in breach of international law) actually lies within devolved powers. We are indeed a colony by most definitions.
I couldn’t agree more with you, Ken. Question is, how can we escape from the UK? A popular movement takes time to build and time is not on our side.