header-logo header-logo

Party politics

08 March 2013 / Bob Watt
Issue: 7551 / Categories: Opinion , Public , Constitutional law
printer mail-detail

Does the SNP’s suggestion of an independence treat flout the law, asks Bob Watt

Independence Day; the hauling down of the Union Flag and the raising of the Saltire, and, of course, a party; perhaps the biggest for 309 years. If, as the SNP government intends, Scotland becomes A Nation Once Again in March 2016 one might very well expect a party.

Party promise

Would and, more importantly, should it be lawful for the Scottish Nationalists to promise any public celebration which would be contingent upon the electorate, which may be expanded to include 16 and 17 year olds, delivering a “Yes” vote in 2014? Many people would instinctively feel that if a valuable, non-political reward was predicated upon a certain result being obtained that the ballot was less than free and fair. People, not exclusively the young and inexperienced, may be swayed by the promise of a celebration, and any such promise would be held over the referendum result by the Unionist press threatening to deprive it of its validity.

Is

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll