The approach of the UK Government to relations with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Ulster (‘Northern Ireland’) and their correct constitutional position within the UK is intrinsically flawed and extremely toxic to the maintenance of the UK as a unitary (single) country, a nation. Successive UK Governments have bought into the separatist narrative, pushed by the SNP in Scotland particularly, that the UK is some loose confederation (or similar arrangement) of 4 sovereign independent countries-Scotland, England, Wales and Ulster. This separatist fallacy is just incorrect, under Constitutional Law as well as the facts of history.

The bottom-line fact of UK Constitutional Law is that under the legislative devolution ‘settlement’, a devolved Holyrood election CANNOT deliver a mandate to a party for separating Scotland from the rest of the UK. This is because the Constitution is a reserved matter (for Westminster’s consideration only), regardless of what is in a party’s manifesto (I.e. ‘independence’), or that separation is the reason for the party existing.

It can deliver a mandate for a party to form a devolved, sub-national administration at Holyrood. This administration will look after Scotland’s day-to-day matters ONLY (i.e. all matters that aren’t reserved for Westminster’s consideration), and that’s it.

A win at a devolved election will give a party a mandate to create an administration at the devolved legislature (Holyrood, the Welsh ‘parliament’ and Stormont) to look after that part of the UK’s day-to-day matters within their devolved remit, but no other mandate.

Westminster is the national Parliament of the UK and the Prime Minister of the day leads the elected Government. His or her Cabinet of Ministers represent the national Cabinet of the UK and the ministers are national UK Ministers. They have UK wide authority to speak and formulate policy on matters that are allocated to them as the responsible ministers.

Holyrood is a sub-national layer of devolved administration, not the national government of a sovereign independent country. Its has responsibility to look after all areas of concern not reserved to Westminster. All other matters of national importance are the concern of Westminster, not Holyrood (or the other devolved legislatures, Holyrood, the Welsh ‘parliament’ and Stormont).

The SNP controlled devolved executive at Holyrood in Scotland has spokespersons responsible for areas of policy that fall within their devolved remit. They are not “Ministers” of the sovereign national ‘Scottish ‘Government’. Their role is to meet and discuss policy (as long as it’s not reserved for Westminster) and make decisions on the content of that policy, but they are NOT a Cabinet of Ministers in the way that the national UK Government Cabinet of Ministers are.

The same is true of devolved administrations in Wales and Ulster. They are sub-national layers of administration with spokespersons to debate, decide and brief on areas of devolved responsibility, not the sovereign national governments of independent nations with ministers.

Besides, across the UK, the electorate holds ultimate democratic sovereignty, not any parliament, assembly, any other body or person.. They authorise their representatives (MPs) to carry out a programme of policies that they approve of (laid out in the MPs manifesto) by voting for them in an election. The party that wins the general election by getting the most seats then implements this mandated set of policies by passing legislation at Westminster.

Under UK Constitutional Law, the UK Parliament holds ultimate legislative (law making) sovereignty, on behalf of and authorised by the electorate in a UK General Election (i.e. it draws up and passes legislation to enact laws from their manifesto that the electorate have authorised them to pass).

Holyrood, the Senedd, and Stormont (or the London Assembly for that matter) are NOT independent parliaments. The UK is a single (or unitary) country with constituent parts that pool their resources for the common good, not a ‘union of independent nations’.

It is also important to note that, in a unitary state such as the UK, ultimate legislative sovereignty lies with the central political power, (Westminster, in the UK’s case) and remains there, even after powers have been devolved to parts of that country. Holyrood, the Welsh ‘parliament’ and Stormont are NOT sovereign national parliaments for their part of the UK.

SNP IGNORES ITS DEVOLVED REMIT

Somebody has forgotten to tell the SNP these facts of UK Constitutional Law. They ignore their devolved remit, getting involved in reserved matters like the Constitution (‘independence’) and Brexit (foreign relations/trade), both reserved matters, acting like Scotland is independent and they are her sovereign national government.

Their leader parades around like the Prime Minister of Scotland, strutting around the world stage with exaggerated importance, setting up the trappings of a sovereign national government with a ‘cabinet’ and ‘ministers’ (as does the First Ministers of Wales and Ulster occasionally).

The SNP have set up ‘offices’ or ‘hubs’ abroad that are clearly designed to be proto-Scottish embassies, in order to give the impression that their Holyrood administration is the sovereign national government of Scotland. They even try to negotiate trade deals with foreign countries. All of this is outside their devolved remit of responsibilities and contrary to the proper legal function of devolution. The leader of the elected party is the First Minister of the devolved administration at Holyrood, who’s function is look after purely those Scottish matters that aren’t reserved for Westminster’s attention. Nothing else. The First Ministers of Wales and Ulster’s job is similar. They should only look after purely Welsh and Ulster matters that aren’t reserved for Westminster and nothing else.

DON’T CALL THE SNP EXECUTIVE ‘A GOVERNMENT’ AS THEY AREN’T

Therein lies a very substantial problem. The SNP are greatly encouraged in these pretensions (thinking they are the sovereign national government of a sovereign independent country) when they are described by others, including very lamentably the UK Government, as the ‘Scottish Government’.

It buttresses their delusion that they are a government of a sovereign independent nation. When this is said for any extended period of time, it will stick in the minds of the public and eventually be accepted as true. When those that want to keep the UK together and non-separatists (those who don’t support separation, but wouldn’t call themselves pro-Union either) do this, it’s even worse, as it appears that they are accepting it as true and it greatly bolsters the case for separating Scotland from the rest of the UK.

When the UK Government or any of its members do it, then it creates the worst problem. This is because people reason that if the UK Government accepts the situation as true, then that must give these claims veracity, because they reason that Westminster must know what they’re doing and so the SNP must be right.

Added to that, describing Holyrood (and the devolved legislature at Cardiff), as ‘parliaments’ further buttresses the false impression that these bodies represent sovereign national independent governments. They don’t, they are both only sub-national devolved legislatures.

All this is creating forward motion for the SNP and aiding their push for separation greatly. If there is a ‘believable’ image (even though it’s not true in reality) or general public perception that Holyrood is the sovereign national parliament of a sovereign independent Scotland, then it will promote and eventually establish this falsehood as true.

Holyrood is a sub-national layer of devolved administration. John Swinney is the First Minister of that devolved administration which consists of spokespersons, not ‘ministers’ in a ‘cabinet’. He and the SNP need reminding of these facts of constitutional law at every opportunity.

Historically, after 1707, both Scotland and England stopped being independent sovereign countries and formed a composite country, Great Britain, in which legislative sovereignty and the resources of the two countries were pooled for the mutual benefit of both. The Scottish Parliament was abolished after a vote by its members and Westminster became the national parliament of Great Britain in which national legislative sovereignty resided solely (ultimate political sovereignty remained with the electorate across the entire U.K.) Scotland was now one of three constituent members of the U.K. Union (along with Wales (which had entered into political union with England In 1536 after enacting a measure which had incorporated Wales within the realm of England and was later strengthened by the Act of 1542/43) and Ireland after 1801 (Ulster after partition in 1922), not an independent sovereign nation) in which supreme national (UK) legislative sovereignty over all four constituent parts resided solely with Westminster (ultimate political sovereignty remained with the electorate across the entire UK) and the resources of all four parts were pooled for the mutual benefit of the entire UK.

So, the history of her formation shows the UK is a single nation (unitary in nature).

Let’s not give Swinney and the SNP any airs and graces that they don’t deserve. Always call them by what they really are, Holyrood, a sub-national layer of devolved administration and its spokespeople within a country called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ulster).

(Does not necessarily represent the view of Scotland Matters)