Report: Scottish Sec ‘should permit indyref ‘ if Yes takes the lead
October 4, 2024
Report: Scottish Sec ‘should permit indyref ‘ if Yes takes the lead
by SaltTyre
8 comments
It’s one of those ‘Ignore the headline, read the article’ situations.
A direct link to the academic report [here](https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_1113131_smxx.pdf). The TL;DR of it is: could the Northern Ireland border poll trigger mechanism be adapted and used in the case of Scotland? The UK and Scottish Governments agree the criteria of sustained public opinion in support of independence which, when met, would result in a referendum on the issue.
Means the whole constitutional debate shifts from process to actual policy outcomes.
The report also lays a central challenge to everyone: how will we best tackle the big issues of the day like child poverty in Scotland? We need a reassessment of existing and potentially required powers for the Scottish Parliament to achieve those types of goals. Some might be met under current arrangements, some with further devolution and powers – indy or otherwise.
Overall, I think it’s a good piece of work and one hopefully that leads to a compromise out of the current stalemate. Process has sucked up too much energy in the constitutional debate, this could be a way out.
Why should unionist parties agree?
Everything to lose and nothing to gain.
Another day another cope
Can’t see there being another referendum in our lifetimes to be honest.
Opinion polls are tricky. I’ve voted in every election, local, Scottish, UK, European, and every referendum, since I was 18. I’d need to count how many times that was. A couple dozen?
In contrast, I’ve been selected for an opinion poll once.
In addition, polls held at the same time but with differences in the wording of the question have quite different results.
Sustained support has to be better than the “51% when don’t knows are excluded” polls that people keep claiming as “overwhelming” or “decisive” evidence of something.
No means no guys.
This is too important for opinion polls. We shouldn’t allow polling companies that much power.
If Holyrood votes for it – that should be enough for a referendum to happen. That was the trigger for the first one. It is annoying that Westminster is now blocking it.
In opinion polls? While I respect chancing it, some of the people sound like unionist plants sometimes with the proposals they make around the already vague rules around these types of referendums. The most adventagous time to have argued around these rules was before the first indyref or when there was an argument put forward in court that holyrood has the right to call one with a majority vote in parliament here a few years ago, not now with this.
8 comments
It’s one of those ‘Ignore the headline, read the article’ situations.
A direct link to the academic report [here](https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_1113131_smxx.pdf). The TL;DR of it is: could the Northern Ireland border poll trigger mechanism be adapted and used in the case of Scotland? The UK and Scottish Governments agree the criteria of sustained public opinion in support of independence which, when met, would result in a referendum on the issue.
Means the whole constitutional debate shifts from process to actual policy outcomes.
The report also lays a central challenge to everyone: how will we best tackle the big issues of the day like child poverty in Scotland? We need a reassessment of existing and potentially required powers for the Scottish Parliament to achieve those types of goals. Some might be met under current arrangements, some with further devolution and powers – indy or otherwise.
Overall, I think it’s a good piece of work and one hopefully that leads to a compromise out of the current stalemate. Process has sucked up too much energy in the constitutional debate, this could be a way out.
Why should unionist parties agree?
Everything to lose and nothing to gain.
Another day another cope
Can’t see there being another referendum in our lifetimes to be honest.
Opinion polls are tricky. I’ve voted in every election, local, Scottish, UK, European, and every referendum, since I was 18. I’d need to count how many times that was. A couple dozen?
In contrast, I’ve been selected for an opinion poll once.
In addition, polls held at the same time but with differences in the wording of the question have quite different results.
Sustained support has to be better than the “51% when don’t knows are excluded” polls that people keep claiming as “overwhelming” or “decisive” evidence of something.
No means no guys.
This is too important for opinion polls.
We shouldn’t allow polling companies that much power.
If Holyrood votes for it – that should be enough for a referendum to happen. That was the trigger for the first one. It is annoying that Westminster is now blocking it.
In opinion polls? While I respect chancing it, some of the people sound like unionist plants sometimes with the proposals they make around the already vague rules around these types of referendums. The most adventagous time to have argued around these rules was before the first indyref or when there was an argument put forward in court that holyrood has the right to call one with a majority vote in parliament here a few years ago, not now with this.