good afternoon. welcome to bbc news that one. judges at the supreme court have ruled that the scottish parliament cannot organise a second independence refendum, unless the uk government agrees. in 2014, voters in scotland rejected independence, but the first minister nicola sturgeon wants another referendum next october. she says she s disappointed by today s ruling. the prime minister, rishi sunak, says it s clear and definitive . here s our scotland correspondent lorna gordon. in edinburgh this afternoon. one door close this morning but scotland s first minister nicola sturgeon is still seeking other routes to a referendum. a preferred order would be a section 30 order,
immediate crisis, which would have come had the ruling gone the other way. to be honest, the strategy of the uk government for the past few months is to sort of hope that support for independence wanes and that the calls for another referendum start to fall away. rishi sunak is hoping that a more constructive tone up when it comes to working with the scottish government and the other devolved governments helps. you heard him talk a lot at prime minister s questions today about working together on some of the big challenges the country is facing. but that doesn t mean that this is going to go away because there is a fundamental problem for the uk government, which is that the scottish parliament has a pretty comfortable majority of msps who want another vote to happen. that means that they are going to continue to call for one. it means that you are going to keep hearing the question asked, as it was at
government at westminster. tue: scottish parliament government at westminster. tte: scottish parliament does not have the power to legislate for a referendum on scottish independence. scotland s first minister says she respects and accepts the judgment. she will continue to look for westminster authority to proceed with a vote and wants of this if it is not forthcoming. with a vote and wants of this if it is not forthcoming. what i will not do, is not forthcoming. what i will not do. however. is not forthcoming. what i will not do, however, is is not forthcoming. what i will not do, however, is go is not forthcoming. what i will not do, however, is go cap is not forthcoming. what i will not do, however, is go cap in - is not forthcoming. what i will not do, however, is go cap in hand. i is not forthcoming. what i will not | do, however, is go cap in hand. my expectation in the short term, at least, is that the uk will maintain its position of outright democracy denial. that po
permission from westminster for the parliament to hold a referendum, but successive prime ministers have refused to grant that. she is reframing the argument, saying this is no longerjust about independence, but this is also now a debate about democracy. and the democratic mandate. and she s going to convene a special snp conference in the new year to debate the details of an approach to frame the next general election, as a de facto referendum. there might have been legal clarity today, but the political arguments are far from over. speedy and unequivocal, after complex arguments from the uk and scottish governments, a clear legal ruling. scottish governments, a clear legal rulina. . ., , scottish governments, a clear legal rulina. , ., ., , ruling. the court is unanimous, which considerably ruling. the court is unanimous, which considerably shortens - ruling. the court is unanimous, | which considerably shortens the ruling. the court is unanimous, - which considerably shortens the