Irish Times editorial blasts Boris Johnson's approach to indyref2

The UK Government’s strategy of ignoring demands for a second referendum defies logic and is “not suitable”, according to an editorial in the Irish Times.

Instead, Tory ministers are urged to “engage constructively and imaginatively” with Holyrood on Scotland’s place in the Union.

The SNP have published an 11-point roadmap to a second plebiscite. It states another vote could be held if a pro-Yes majority is returned to Holyrood in May, regardless of whether a Section 30 order is agreed by Westminster. The document explains it would then be for the UK Government to decide if it wanted to try and block indyref2 through the courts.

Confronted with this plan earlier this week, the Prime Minister refused to say if he would indeed launch a legal challenge.

Instead, the Conservative leader sought to highlight the "strengths and advantages" of the United Kingdom, citing the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine as an example.

READ MORE: PM refuses to say if he would take Scots to court on indyref2

The Irish Times editorial begins by pointing out that Northern Ireland is entitled to a border poll if it “appears likely” that a majority of voters “would express a wish for a united Ireland”.

“But that is not an acceptable logic to London in the case of Scotland,” the article reads. “Boris Johnson insists that another generation must pass before the Scots may vote again on independence.”

It is acknowledged that since the 2014 vote, there has been a material change in circumstances. The Brexit vote has led to Scotland being removed from the EU, with the country now at a disadvantage to Northern Ireland since it retains single market membership.

The pandemic has also seen Holyrood “inspire greater confidence than London” and has been reflected in 20 consecutive polls recording a pro-independence majority.

Nicola Sturgeon, having launched the SNP’s plan for indyref2, is considered to have “pushed the ball back into the UK court”.

The article adds: “… although she has not said she will defy any eventual court order. She would also have the option of an advisory vote.”

The editorial then recognises the legal avenues open to the Scottish Government. Professor Marc Weller of Cambridge University, formerly a senior legal adviser to the UN, detailed in an article for the Scotsman earlier this week how Holyrood could potentially use “principle of self-determination in international law” if it has to make its case for another referendum in court.

READ MORE: Holyrood could use 'principle of self-determination' to override indyref2 veto

The Irish Times article concludes: “International law on the right to self-determination is evolving. It recognises the entitlement of substantial national entities to secede and requires central governments to negotiate in good faith when such aspirations are clearly manifest.

“Whatever the merits of that, however, the issue will not go away and Westminster would be better advised to engage constructively and imaginatively on the nature of Scotland’s place within the UK. Avoidance is not a sustainable strategy.”

The SNP said the editorial showed the international consensus is against the Tories.

The party's deputy Westminster leader, Kirsten Oswald,  told The National: "After 20 straight polls supporting independence it is clear that this is the becoming the settled will of the Scottish people, and the Irish Times’s view that Boris Johnson’s bid to deny democracy can’t stand indefinitely shows how international opinion is sliding away from the UK Government.

“The UK government has shown time and again it cannot be trusted to act in Scotland’s interests – we are an afterthought at best. They have dragged us out of the the EU against our will in the middle of a pandemic and economic recession,  attempted to grab powers from the Scottish Parliament, forced a harsh immigration system upon us that will be a disaster for our care, agriculture and service sectors, and repeatedly denied democracy in a Trump-like fashion   

 “The Westminster parties' undemocratic attempt to deny the people of Scotland the right to choose their own future in a fresh referendum is now utterly unsustainable. Scotland's future must be in Scotland's hands."

The Prime Minister is expected to response to the SNP’s plan for indyref2 in more detail during a visit to Scotland this week.

Protesters in Orkney during Boris Johnson's last visit to Scotland

READ MORE: Angry MPs tell Boris Johnson to cancel his jaunt to Scotland

According to The Guardian, Johnson is set to announce “that he considers the UK’s existing constitutional architecture is not working”.

He will reportedly unveil a “third way” approach, somewhere between the status quo and independence.

This will be “based on the principle of the UK adding value to the devolved settlement, as well as launching an all-UK strategy that could involve new and wider devolution and a more federal structure to the UK’s constitutional arrangements, potentially extending to reform of the House of Lords”.