The Supreme Court case to determine whether the Scottish Parliament can legislate for a second referendum on Scottish independence is to be heard in October.
Oral arguments from both sides will be heard on October 11 and October 12 in London.
The UK government has argued that the case ought to be thrown out without a ruling, on the basis that matters relating to the constitution are under the jurisdiction of Westminster.
The UK government has now submitted its written argument ahead of the hearings, which has been put forward by the Advocate General.
Meanwhile, Holyrood’s argument is that the referendum it wishes to hold is “advisory” and will not legally impact the state of the union.
Scotland’s most senior legal officer, the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain QC, referred the Scottish government’s draft referendum bill to the Supreme Court in July.
Nicola Sturgeon’s government is aiming to establish whether Holyrood will be able to hold a vote without consent from Westminster, with the Scottish first minister wanting to hold indyref2 on October 19 next year.
For the first independence referendum in 2014, consent was granted by Westminster in the form of a Section 30 order, which temporarily transferred constitutional powers to Holyrood.
But outgoing UK prime minister Boris Johnson has refused to grant a Section 30 order this time, arguing that now is not the time to be talking about a second referendum. Both of those in the race to succeed him, foreign secretary Liz Truss and former chancellor Rishi Sunak, have also ruled out the prospect of holding one any time soon.
Supreme Court judges have said that they will hear both sides set out their respective cases before making a decision on the matter.
As well as the constitutional dilemma, part of the UK government’s argument is that the Scottish government is focusing too greatly on the issue of independence, taking attention away from the priorities of Scottish people such as dealing with the cost-of-living crisis.
A UK government spokesperson said: “People across Scotland want both their governments to be working together on the issues that matter to them and their families, not talking about another independence referendum.
“We have today submitted our written case to the Supreme Court, in accordance with its timetable.
“On the question of legislative competence, the UK government's clear view remains that a bill legislating for a referendum on independence would be outside the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.”
Elsewhere, the SNP has made an attempt to intervene in the October hearings, arguing that the rules of the court enable “any official any official body or non-governmental organisation seeking to make submissions in the public interest” to apply to intervene.
Photo by LornaMCampbell on Wikimedia Commons
