The United Kingdom’s top court has ruled the Scottish government cannot hold a second referendum on independence next year without approval from the British parliament, dealing a blow to nationalists’ hopes of holding a vote in 2023.
In 2014, Scots rejected ending the more than 300-year-old union with England by 55 percent to 45 percent, but independence campaigners have argued the vote two years later for Britain to leave the European Union, which the majority of Scottish voters opposed, has materially changed the circumstances.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), announced earlier this year that she intended to hold an advisory independence vote on October 19, 2023, but that it had to be lawful and internationally recognised.
However, the British government in London has said it would not grant permission for another plebiscite, saying it should be a once-in-a-generation event.
Polls suggest voters remain evenly split over whether or not they support independence and a vote would be too close to call.
Credit: Aljazeera.com
