Truss would be ‘insane’ to block legally approved Indyref2, says ex-Tory MSP
The Prime Minister would be “completely insane” to block a referendum on Scottish independence if the Supreme Court finds Holyrood has the power to hold one, according to a former Tory MSP.
The UK Supreme Court this week heard arguments over a prospective independence referendum Bill, after being asked to consider if its passage would be in the powers of the Scottish Parliament.
If the court finds Holyrood can legislate for another vote, Nicola Sturgeon has said she wants to hold another vote in October next year.
During an event hosted by the Institute for Government (IfG) yesterday, 13 October, host Akash Paun asked if the UK Government could simply legislate against Scotland holding a referendum.
“Only if they were completely insane – which they might be,” responded Professor Adam Tomkins, who stood down from Holyrood last year.
“I think that would be a tactic or a strategy which would succeed only in accelerating Scotland’s divorce from the rest of the United Kingdom.”
Prof Tomkins, who has been a vocal critic of the Prime Minister’s performance since she took office, added: “I wouldn’t put it past Truss and her advisers to think that was a good idea, because I think Truss and her advisers are very badly mistaken about what unionist strategy should be.”
Dividing line
The former Scottish Tory frontbencher went on to say he was “just about still in the Conservative Party”.
Prof Tomkins warned the union had become the dividing line for most Scots, more so than individual parties or Brexit, adding: “The problem with that is all sorts of other things which needed to happen in Scotland are not happening because the tribally divided nature of our politics is somehow preventing them from happening.
“I want my kids to grow up in a Scotland that is more prosperous, with better schools, with better infrastructure, but Scottish prosperity is being held back – whatever you think of growth and Trussinomics and all the rest of it – because of our constitutional obsession.”
The constitutional law professor pointed to issues in education, infrastructure and the drug deaths crisis as issues the country struggled to deal with because of “tribal constitutional politics”.
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All but two words, ‘Truss’ and ‘insane’ are redundant in the headline
“would be”
IS
Truss is finished. The only question now is whether she digs her heels in and gets ‘knifed in the back’ by Christmas. Or she allows herself to become a lame duck Prime minister and then carries the can for an electoral defeat. It’s her choice and I think we all know which one she’ll choose. This would be funny if it wasn’t so serious 🙄😒
The Prof raises a vital point. What happens if the Scots win in Court? Answer, Scottish civil servants will be willing to run a legal Indyref. London can’t stop them legally. But I’d be surprised if the Court give Scotland a green light. Could be wrong, cofiwch. But, either way, Scotland will have to assert themselves to pass Indy. The Scots have the necessary backbone. Well, my fellow Welsh, do you?
I’ve said all along that the courts will not support Scotland, and that will kill off our chance of independence as well, 2 birds 1 stone,