Order of the day

WITH the election of a new UK government, and continuing talk of a second independence referendum, this would be a good time to review and, if necessary, amend the statutory process that enabled the previous one.

The referendum last year required an amendment to the primary statute, the Scotland Act 1998. The amendment was delivered by subordinate legislation in the form of an order made under section 30 of that Act. Allegedly, this conferred legal competence on the Scottish Parliament to proceed with the referendum.

A referendum rerun on the same basis would, therefore, require another such order, either to amend the existing order which was specific to the previous referendum, and is now defunct, or to replace it with a fresh order. But is the procedure judge-proof and fit for purpose? It strikes me that it is not.