WHAT’S THE STORY?
TODAY, the UK Supreme Court will start hearing two days of evidence in one of the most crucial constitutional cases in recent Scottish history, and possibly since the 1707 Act of Union itself. For, make no mistake, Scotland’s constitutional future and possibly the Union itself are at stake.
The UK Government’s law officers have referred Holyrood’s UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill to the court for a ruling on whether this legislation is within devolved legislative powers.
Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh said it wasn’t but MSPs said it was by 94 votes to 30.
For sake of convenience we’ll call the two sides Scotland and Westminster. In simple terms, the latter wants the right to grab powers that should be coming back to Scotland when the UK exits the European Union.
WHO WILL BE THE KEY PLAYERS?
IN football terms, for Scotland, the Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC will be the team captain and main defender. Westminster’s case will most likely be put by an English QC acting for the Attorney General, the Rt Hon Geoffrey Cox QC, who may take the case himself. Its main striker is set to be the Advocate General for Scotland, Lord Keen of Elie QC, who as Richard Keen was chairman of the Scottish Conservatives.
HOW WILL IT PLAY OUT?
WESTMINSTER goes first, then the Lord Advocate will set out his response, as we reported in The National yesterday. Law officers for the Welsh Assembly and the Attorney General for Northern Ireland both back Scotland and will have a say.
WHEN CAN WE EXPECT A DECISION?
AS the National revealed yesterday, Wolffe will argue that the Scottish bill is not subject to review at common law. If that is accepted, the case will collapse overnight. It probably won’t so a judgment is likely in October.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN THEN?
IF Scotland wins, the Tory Government faces yet more chaos – does it accept Scotland’s right to retain devolution rights or does it pass a law thwarting the Scottish Parliament’s wishes, which they know would provoke a massive reaction across Scotland. Presiding Officer Macintosh would face calls for his resignation for getting it wrong.
If Westminster wins, expect more Tory sneers and jeers. You know how those play in Scotland.
The National will bring you extensive coverage over the next two days as we believe our readers can grasp the complex issues and decide on matters for themselves. We expect other newspapers not to do so.
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We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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