London, Edinburgh downplay risk of court battle over Scottish independence
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
July 01, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, JULY 01, 2022
London, Edinburgh downplay risk of court battle over Scottish independence

World+Biz

Reuters
09 May, 2021, 07:55 pm
Last modified: 09 May, 2021, 08:00 pm

Related News

  • Queen Elizabeth meets Sturgeon after new push for independence vote
  • Scotland's Sturgeon says mandate for independence vote stronger than it was for Brexit vote
  • World’s largest whiskey bottle 86 gallons of Macallan auctioned for $1.4 million
  • UK's Johnson scraps Covid restrictions in England
  • England lifts Covid restrictions as omicron threat recedes

London, Edinburgh downplay risk of court battle over Scottish independence

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party, which is in opposition in Scotland, strongly oppose a referendum, saying the issue was settled in 2014 when Scots voted against independence by 55% to 45%

Reuters
09 May, 2021, 07:55 pm
Last modified: 09 May, 2021, 08:00 pm
Scottish First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) Nicola Sturgeon, SNP candidate Jim Fairlie and Deputy First Minister John Swinney visit Perth Farmers Market as Sturgeon campaigns in Perth, Scotland, Britain, May 1, 2021. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/Pool
Scottish First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) Nicola Sturgeon, SNP candidate Jim Fairlie and Deputy First Minister John Swinney visit Perth Farmers Market as Sturgeon campaigns in Perth, Scotland, Britain, May 1, 2021. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/Pool

British and Scottish politicians on Sunday played down the risk of a legal battle over whether Scotland can hold an independence referendum, but provided little clarity as to how London and Edinburgh would resolve their differences on the issue.

Pro-independence parties won a majority in the Scottish parliament in elections held on Thursday, and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said this gave her a mandate to push ahead with plans for a new vote on independence once the Covid-19 pandemic is over. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party, which is in opposition in Scotland, strongly oppose a referendum, saying the issue was settled in 2014 when Scots voted against independence by 55% to 45%.

With speculation mounting that the British government would go to court to stop a referendum, senior minister Michael Gove was repeatedly asked during TV interviews on Sunday how London would handle the Scottish issue.

He refused to give any details, arguing that the Scottish people want politicians to focus on issues such as recovery from the pandemic and how to fix problems such as poor education outcomes for Scottish pupils and high drug use.

However, Gove appeared to brush away the idea of a court battle. Asked on the BBC whether the government would take Sturgeon to court to stop her from holding a referendum, he said: "No, the first thing I should say is congratulations to Nicola (on her election victory)."

Asked to confirm whether he was definitely saying "no" to legal action, Gove said: "We're not going near there."

Political commentators differed on whether Gove's answers amounted to a commitment not to go to court or to dodging the question.

Sturgeon herself, appearing shortly after Gove on the same BBC programme, said that regardless of his exact intended meaning it would be "absurd and completely outrageous" for the British government to take legal action to stop a referendum.

"For this to end up in court, which is not something I ever want to see, it would mean that a Conservative government had refused to respect the democratic wishes of the Scottish people," she said.

Sturgeon argued that if the British government tried to use "force of law" to prevent a referendum, that would amount to saying that the 300-year-old union between England and Scotland was no longer based on consent.

"I don't think we will get there," she said.

Under the 1998 Scotland Act - which created the Scottish parliament and devolved some powers from London to Edinburgh - all matters relating to the "Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England" are reserved to the UK parliament.

Under the act, the UK parliament can grant the Scottish government the authority to hold a referendum, a process that was used to allow the 2014 plebiscite to go ahead and which Sturgeon said should unfold again for a new referendum.

scotland / England

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • EU’s REX system: Exporters now enjoy hassle-free certification of goods origin
    EU’s REX system: Exporters now enjoy hassle-free certification of goods origin
  • BB bids farewell to easy money policy to tame inflation
    BB bids farewell to easy money policy to tame inflation
  • Non-compliant tanners fear losing Eid business
    Non-compliant tanners fear losing Eid business

MOST VIEWED

  • Athletics - World Athletics Championships - Doha 2019 - Opening Ceremony - Corniche, Doha, Qatar - September 27, 2019 Prince Faisal bin Hussein watches on during the opening ceremony REUTERS/Ibraheem Al Omari
    Jordan's Prince Faisal sworn in as deputy to King Abdullah
  • A full moon is seen rising through electric poles near Virbalis, Lithuania February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
    Europe ready for Baltics emergency switch-off from Russian grid
  • Russian service members march during a parade on Victory Day, which marks the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo
    How Russia's war blindsided the world of ESG investing
  • Locals flee their homes after a Myanmar fighter jet entered Thailand's airspace, in Phop Phra district in Tak province, Thailand June 30, 2022. REUTERS/Stringer
    Thailand scrambles fighters after Myanmar jet airspace breach
  • Flags of China and Russia are displayed in this illustration picture taken March 24, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration
    Russia arrests scientist for alleged collaboration with Chinese secret services
  • BJP leader Nupur Sharma. Photo: Collected
    Nupur Sharma 'single-handedly responsible for what's happening' in country: Indian SC

Related News

  • Queen Elizabeth meets Sturgeon after new push for independence vote
  • Scotland's Sturgeon says mandate for independence vote stronger than it was for Brexit vote
  • World’s largest whiskey bottle 86 gallons of Macallan auctioned for $1.4 million
  • UK's Johnson scraps Covid restrictions in England
  • England lifts Covid restrictions as omicron threat recedes

Features

Photo: Collected

Sapiens – A Graphic History 

2h | Book Review
Black-naped Monarch male  Photo: Enam Ul Haque

Black-naped Monarch: A sovereign who never abandoned the Indian subcontinent

3h | Panorama
The 136-year-old company on its last legs

The 136-year-old company on its last legs

4h | Features
Agricultural worker walks between rows of vegetables at a farm in Eikenhof, south of Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo: Reuters

With vast arable lands, why is Africa dependent on imported grain?

1h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Dhaka University celebrating 102nd founding anniversary today

Dhaka University celebrating 102nd founding anniversary today

2h | Videos
Ctg Int'l Trade Fair returns after a 2-year hiatus without Covid restrictions

Ctg Int'l Trade Fair returns after a 2-year hiatus without Covid restrictions

3h | Videos
Bangladeshis among top 6 nationalities seeking asylum in Europe

Bangladeshis among top 6 nationalities seeking asylum in Europe

3h | Videos
RUET organises Robotronics 2.0

RUET organises Robotronics 2.0

3h | Videos

Most Read

1
Padma Bridge from satellite. Photo: Screengrab
Bangladesh

Padma Bridge from satellite 

2
Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'
Splash

Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'

3
Photo: TBS
Bangladesh

Motorcycles banned on Padma Bridge 

4
Photo: Collected
Economy

Tech startup ShopUp bags $65m in Series B4 funding

5
Photo: Courtesy
Corporates

Gree AC being used in all parts of Padma Bridge project

6
World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years
Economy

World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
Workers with minimum safety equipment are busy producing iron rods at a local re-rolling mill at Postogola in Old Dhaka. Reused metals from the adjacent shipyards in Keraniganj have played a major role in establishing several such mills in the area. PHOTO: Mumit M

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net