Nicola Sturgeon's plan to hold an independence referendum next year has suffered a major set-back after judges ruled the Scottish Parliament does not have the required legal powers.The Supreme Court in London issued its long-awaited ruling today after hearing arguments from lawyers representing Westminster and Holyrood last month.Nicola Sturgeon ordered Scotland's top law officer, the Lord Advocate, to refer the case to the top court in central London in a bid to break the constitutional log-jam.
But Lord Reed, the Supreme Court president, said today: "The Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence."Nicola Sturgeon is now expected to push ahead with her party's "plan B' and make make the next general election a "de facto" referendum on independence.In a statement read out in the Supreme Court, Lord Reed said: “A lawfully-held referendum would have important political consequences relation to the Union and the United Kingdom Parliament."Its outcome would possess the authority, in a constitution and political culture founded upon democracy, of a democratic expression of the view of the Scottish electorate."It would either strengthen or weaken the democratic legitimacy of the Union and of the United Kingdom Parliament’s sovereignty over Scotland, depending on which view prevailed, and would either support or undermine the democratic credentials of the independence movement."It is therefore clear that the proposed bill has more than a loose or consequential connection with the reserved matters of the Union of Scotland and England, and the sovereignty of the United Kingdom Parliament."In response to the court ruling, Nicola Sturgeon said: "While disappointed by it I
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