Kenneth Campbell QC: Sand in the Gearbox: Devolution and Brexit – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘In the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum result, political comment from a number of quarters suggested that the Scottish Parliament could vote to block Brexit. For the comprehensive reasons given by Mark Elliott on his blog, that was a triumph of hope over the constitutional competence of the institution. However, that is not to say that the structures of devolution do not have a significant role in the working out of Brexit, and may yet act as a trigger for wider constitutional change. This post will suggest that the place of the devolved institutions has been underplayed in the debate thus far, and seeks to identify some of the issues which will require to be addressed. These include: the operation of the Sewel convention and other steps to take account of the interests of devolved areas, discussions around the place of Scotland in the EU, and some effects on structures in Northern Ireland.’
Constitutional Law Association, 5th September 2016
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
