The Scots want to vote again on their independence. However, the British government rejects another referendum. Now the Supreme Court has to decide. Prime Minister Sturgeon hopes to be reinstated in the EU if Britain breaks away.
In the struggle for an independence referendum in Scotland, the highest British court wants to make a decision next week. The Supreme Court in London will announce its verdict on November 23, the court said. Scotland's Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants her compatriots to vote again in October 2023 - if the court gives the green light - whether their part of the country should become independent of the United Kingdom or not.
So far it has been assumed that the central government in London has to agree to such a referendum. Sturgeon is now asking the Supreme Court whether she has the authority to schedule the vote without that approval. In October, the Scottish and central governments presented their arguments before the Supreme Court. Court President Robert John Reed then announced that the decision would take "a few months". Now the court seems to have come to a verdict faster than expected.
However, observers do not rule out the possibility that the Supreme Court will not declare itself competent. The court's decision is considered an important milestone for Scottish independence supporters. In the first referendum in 2014, a majority of Scots voted to remain in the union with Great Britain. For London, the question is thus decided in the long term. But Sturgeon argues that Brexit, which the Scots clearly rejected in 2016, has changed the situation. She wants to lead an independent Scotland back into the EU.
