Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent (affiliation)), on Wednesday, 29 November 2023, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 4 members in total. The primary sponsor has subsequently withdrawn this motion.

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Scottish independence and the role of the Scottish Government

That this House notes that 30 November is St Andrew's Day, the patron saint of Scotland; further notes that the UK government continues to refuse to grant a Section 30 order to test Scottish opinion, post-Brexit, on independence; notes that in November 2022 the UK Supreme Court ruled against the Scottish Parliament from legislating on a lawful referendum due to its consequences stemming from authority of the ballot box, noting that referendums usually have no immediate legal consequences but that the outcome, as Holyrood is a devolved Parliament of Westminster and not a sovereign parliament of a nation or a people, could force the Parliament at Westminster through the political culture of democracy to alter the constitution of the United Kingdom; and further notes that the Scottish Parliament can call an unscheduled election at any time by three means: a resignation by a First Minister with no new First Minister appointed within 28 days, a two-thirds majority of MSPs voting for an election or a change to Section 3 (1)(A) of the Scotland Act 1998, where a majority of MSPs amend the two-thirds rule to a simple majority for holding the unscheduled Holyrood election, and therefore the route to hold such a ballot box event and to put a question on independence to the Scottish people therefore at present lies with the Scottish Government at Holyrood.

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Secondary information

Type

Early day motion

Reference

124 

Session

2023-24

Other sponsors

Jonathan Edwards

Neale Hanvey

Kenny MacAskill

Subjects

Devolution Scottish Parliament

Link

View this Early day motion on edm.parliament.uk