Why Scotland’s democratic right is unassailable

When Andy Burnham recently declared that there must be a “clear” sign from Scots before another independence referendum can take place, he unwittingly exposed the shifting goalposts of Westminster’s democratic standards.

In 2011, the SNP won a majority with 69 MSPs on a explicit platform to hold an independence referendum. That threshold was universally accepted across the political spectrum as a clear, binding democratic mandate, leading directly to the 2014 referendum.

Fast forward to the pro-independence parliamentary majority at Holyrood, which now stands at 73 MSPs – a clear four seats higher than the benchmark set in 2011.

Demanding a “clearer” signal when the hurdle achieved in 2011 has already been cleared at a higher level is like moving the goalposts, lowering the crossbar, and then pretending the pitch doesn’t exist. To deny such a mandate is fundamentally undemocratic.

Westminster’s sudden obsession with arbitrarily high democratic bars is particularly ironic when compared to its own history of calling referendums on flimsy mandates.

The 1974-1979 Labour government called a referendum on European Community membership after winning an election with just 39% of the vote. They then went on to hold two referendums on Scottish and Welsh devolution that didn’t even feature in their election manifesto!

In 2010 the Liberal Democrats secured a UK-wide referendum on proportional representation despite securing a meagre 23% of the vote and, again, without a specific referendum pledge in their own manifesto.

Then there is David Cameron’s 2016 Brexit referendum. As Prime Minister he initiated the referendum that altered the UK’s and Scotland’s trajectory for generations after winning the 2015 general election on 37% of the popular vote.

For Westminster parties to suddenly insist that Scotland requires an unprecedented, supernatural consensus before exercising its democratic choice is hypocrisy of the highest order.

It also breaks the promises made by those Westminster parties in the 2014 independence referendum.

In the months before the 2014 vote, the leaders of all the main Westminster parties in Scotland and the UK signed a pledge promising that a ‘No’ vote meant power lies with the Scottish people and that it was for the Scottish people to decide how they are governed.

That pledge was signed with the 2011 election result as the established precedent for holding a vote. Refusing to respect a subsequent larger parliamentary majority is a direct breach of that very pledge and a total disrespect of the spirit of 2014.

This principle was further codified in paragraph 18 of the cross-party Smith Commission Report, which explicitly stated:

“It is agreed that nothing in this report prevents Scotland becoming an independent country in the future should the people of Scotland so choose.”

This statement was not an act of charity; it reflected a longstanding UK constitutional convention maintained by Westminster parties for decades: that the UK is a voluntary union based on the consent of its constituent nations. Denying Scotland the right to choose is against that very constitutional convention entirely.

Beyond those constitutional pledges there also lies a staggering catalogue of broken promises made by the Westminster parties and their anti-independence campaign – a trail that aged as well as a carton of milk in the Sahara desert.

• EU Membership: We were warned that voting ‘No’ was the only way to remain in the European Union. Instead, Scotland was dragged out of the EU against its express democratic will in 2020.
• Equal Partnership: We were promised that Scotland would be an equal partner in the UK. In reality, Westminster has systematically bypassed Holyrood and engaged in a brazen power grab.
• Affordable Food: The No campaign promised affordable food prices, yet supermarket bills have soared to unprecedented levels.
• Lower Energy Bills: We were told staying in the UK meant lower energy bills. Instead, household energy costs have skyrocketed, leaving Scots paying extortionate tariffs despite producing of cheap, renewable power.
• Low Mortgages: The anti-independence campaign assured homeowners of low mortgage rates. In the following years interest rates exploded, pushing hundreds of thousands of adults into poverty.
• A £1,400 Dividend: The Westminster government famously boasted that every Scot would be £1,400 better off each year retaining Westminster control. Instead, households are now thousands of pounds worse off.

A Westminster system built on broken promises, shifting rules, and denied mandates is not a partnership. When the entire premise of the 2014 ‘No’ vote has been systematically dismantled by successive Westminster governments, the democratic defence for denying a vote crumbles away.

Scotland has delivered the mandate, cleared the hurdle, and suffered the consequences of Westminster’s broken vows. 

The right to decide belongs to the people of Scotland, and it is time for that fundamental right to be respected.