Your Right to Decide

Conclusion

There is nothing unusual about a nation gaining its independence. Independence, if the people of Scotland choose it, would be a historic moment for both Scotland and for the UK, but in global terms Scotland would be only the latest in a long line of countries establishing their sovereignty in the modern world.

Some of the United Kingdom’s closest allies have claimed their independence from it. In the twentieth century, Ireland, which then represented around a quarter of the UK’s landmass, became an independent country and Northern Ireland established its right, in both international and domestic law, to a referendum on unification with Ireland in certain circumstances.

The Scottish Government believes that the precedent of 2011 demonstrates that it is for the people of Scotland to decide when a referendum is to be held, and that when they do it is for the governments of Scotland and the United Kingdom to take the steps required to facilitate that.

That precedent sets an expectation that the people of Scotland take with them into the ballot box when voting.

What is required is for the United Kingdom government to accept and re-state that the UK Government would not seek to prevent a clear majority of people in any part of the UK deciding to leave it through a fair and democratic process.

The Scottish Government therefore calls on the UK Government to make a clear commitment to respect the people of Scotland’s right to decide their future.