THE SNP has published its written submission to the UK Supreme Court for the independence referendum case.

The submission details the party's contention that the Scottish Parliament does indeed have the legislative competence to pass a bill authorising another independence referendum even without the consent of the ruling party at Westminster. The submission argues that the people of Scotland constitute a nation and as such have an inalienable right to national self-determination and are therefore entitled as a matter of law to protection of their right to determine "their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”.

This means that no Westminster government has the right to abrogate the absolute right of the people of Scotland to decide their future for themselves. The people of Scotland have already made their views clear on another referendum via the only recognised democratic means available to them - by electing a Scottish Parliament with a clear and unequivocal mandate for another referendum.

If the right to the self-determination of Scotland is to have any meaning at all, and it is a right that has been recognised by successive British Governments and is a foundation stone of Scottish understanding of the nature of the United Kingdom, then this mandate must be respected.

While the Scottish constitutional question remains in legal limbo, waiting for a ruling from the Supreme Court, the British Government is continuing to self-destruct, which would not be a bad thing were it not for the fact that it is taking everyone and everything down with it.

Far from giving the Conservatives a boost in the polls which the party could have used as the springboard to a snap General Election and a fresh Conservative victory, a YouGov poll out today has shown that by a very large margin even Conservative voters disapprove of Kwasi Kwarteng's mini budget, which disproportionately benefits the wealthy.

The mini budget crashed the pound leading the Bank of England to announce that it has not ruled out a substantial hike in interest rates in order to stabilise the currency. This would cause large rises in mortgage and rent costs for millions of households already reeling under the impact of soaring food and energy bills. 

The YouGov poll gives Labour a massive lead of 17%, the highest ever recorded by YouGov and the kind of polling lead that Labour has not enjoyed since the early days of the Tony Blair era.

If replicated in a General Election this would give Labour a crushing Commons majority which would obviate any need for a deal with the SNP, and which would see the Conservatives lose some 223 of their existing seats. We can forget about the Conservatives pressing for an early General Election. Far from enjoying a honeymoon period as a new Prime Minister, and a boost in the polls, all that Truss has managed is a dead cat splat. 

Truss did say during the Conservative leadership contest that she didn't mind being unpopular – and she has certainly managed that.

Meanwhile the arguments in favour of Scottish independence continue to mount up. The "what currency are you going to use" question so beloved of British nationalists loses all bite when the pound is crashing through the floor and is to all intents and purposes on a par with the Euro and the US dollar. 

Scotland is seeing that the only economic “benefit” of remaining a part of the UK is a mountain of public debt which we are being encumbered with in order to funnel yet more money into the bank accounts of those who need it least, and the British Government ensures that we all pay for it in increased energy bills and rising mortgage and rent payments.

If the UK Supreme Court does indeed rule that the British state does not recognise Scotland's right to self-determination, it will be the final death knell for this so-called Union and we will be in for a de facto referendum at the next General Election, which on current polling figures the Conservatives will try to delay as long as possible. By that time who knows what damage Truss will have done. She has only been Prime Minister for a couple of weeks and has already tanked the economy.

The havoc that she could wreak over the next two years doesn't bear thinking about.

This piece is an extract from today’s REAL Scottish Politics newsletter, which is emailed out at 7pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Wee Ginger Dug.

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