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Scotland can only separate from the UK if the Scottish people make that decision in a referendum. Any referendum must have an unchallengeable legal and moral basis.
The Scottish Parliament can legislate only on devolved matters, and the Union between Scotland and England is a reserved matter.
This is not just a legal technicality: quite the opposite. The present division of powers between the Scottish Parliament and the Parliament at Westminster was put clearly before the Scottish people in a referendum in 1997, and they decided by a large majority to devolve many important Scottish issues to Holyrood but to reserve constitutional issues to Westminster.
The overwhelming weight of evidence shows that the Scottish Parliament cannot presently legislate to hold a referendum on separation. The Scottish Government has argued that Holyrood is legally competent to set up a referendum; but it has provided no legal justification for this view.
It is also quite clear that any referendum would not simply be 'advisory'. The result of a referendum will decide Scotland's position in or out of the Union, and, as such, cannot simply be described as advisory. It will be a momentous decision for the future of our country.
Any attempt to conduct a referendum on a dubious legal basis would inevitably be challenged in the courts. This could take years to be resolved and would lead to even further and damaging uncertainty about Scotland's future. No-one should be allowed to use legal wrangles to put off a referendum even longer than is currently planned. It is vital both that any referendum must be conducted on a sound legal footing and that it takes place within an appropriate timescale.
The best way to ensure that there is a sound legal basis for the referendum is for the UK and Scottish Governments and Parliaments to agree the specific detail of an order under section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 to give the Scottish Parliament power to legislate for a referendum.
We believe it is appropriate for there to be scrutiny of any proposed section 30 Order by this Committee and by all of Scotland's MPs before being taken further in the whole House of Commons.
It is obviously highly desirable that both Governments and both Parliaments should agree the legislative and organisational form of any referendum, so as to reduce the scope for either side of the argument to claim afterwards that the process was in any way improper or unfair, but this should not be used to allow those who anticipate being defeated to stall or derail the process.
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