On 23rd November, the UK Supreme Court delivered the unanimous verdict that the SNP/Green Government at Holyrood does not have the legal authority to hold an independence referendum.
The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon’s plan was for a second referendum on Scottish independence to take place on 19th October 2023.
Draft legislation for a referendum was formulated by the SNP/Green Government and the Lord Advocate referred the matter to the Supreme Court to determine if it was within Holyrood’s competence to legislate for such a vote.
The decisive verdict from judges made clear that it is not within the gift of the Scottish Parliament to call a referendum unilaterally and without the consent of the UK Parliament, even if set out on an advisory basis.
The legislation that re-established the Scottish Parliament at the tail end of the 20th century means that the institution does not have authority to rule on the UK constitution including the 315-year-old union between Scotland and England.
The court ruling should have drawn a line under the issue of a second independence referendum during the current session of the Scottish Parliament.
However, Nicola Sturgeon is intent on keeping the matter in the spotlight and has confirmed that the SNP’s campaign for the next General Election will all be about breaking up the UK.
To the detriment of everything else, the SNP are determined to keep us locked in perpetual constitutional conflict.
As we have always done, Scottish Conservatives will continue to challenge the SNP for prioritising separation over all other issues and strongly defend Scotland’s rightful place as part of the UK.
One such issue that will be troubling people in Eastwood and across Scotland is the widespread problems that our NHS is continuing to experience.
The NHS is in a state of crisis and the situation has only deteriorated in the period since the SNP produced a flimsy recovery plan document last year.
Scottish Conservatives have recently set out a range of measures that the Scottish Government should put in place to alleviate some of the huge pressures on our NHS and immediately deliver some relief.
As part of our plan, we have said that there should now be new crisis maximum waiting times with sanctions for health boards who do not meet the targets.
We have proposed the introduction of “Super Saturdays” where health boards would pick a particular type of treatment or surgery to be the exclusive focus on that day.
Two other proposals that are part of our recovery plan include the introduction of a full Electronic Repeat Prescription system and a “Prehab” for people waiting on treatment to ensure they are fit enough to receive the appropriate medical intervention when called.
Quite clearly, the NHS is going through it’s worst ever winter and a proper recovery plan must be put in place.
I urge the SNP to adopt the comprehensive measures outlined by the Scottish Conservatives to help our NHS through this incredibly challenging period.