Scotland (Petitions for a Referendum on Independence) Bill
From Democracywiki
Central Lobby
What the Bill does
The Bill proposes a mechanism whereby if 500,000 people who are eligible to vote in local elections in Scotland sign a petition in favour, the Secretary of State would have to present a Bill to Parliament to enable a referendum to take place. The referendum would be on whether Scotland should withdraw from the United Kingdom and acquire membership of the Commonwealth with a status similar to that of one of Her Majesty's dominions, with Her Majesty remaining the Head of State for Scotland.
Proposing the Bill, The Earl of Mar and Kellie argued that there had to be a democratic path for citizens to initiate a referendum on independence and not just politicians. However he did not believe that a petition should be used to directly trigger a referendum. Rather he felt that it was important that Parliament had to pass an Act to enable the referendum to take place as this would respect the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty.
The Bill received its second reading on the 14th July
