Recommendation 3

The Committee also recognises that, where the UK Government agrees, there is a pathway for the people of Scotland to exercise their democratic right to determine Scotland’s constitutional future; but that in the absence of that agreement there is no such pathway for the people of Scotland to exercise this right. Within the UK constitution this right is dependent on the agreement of Westminster. Whether or not that agreement would be forthcoming is essentially a political decision and therefore theoretically dependent on the levels of political support as expressed in a variety of ways. For example, through elections, parliamentary votes and public debate. Unlike the position in Northern Ireland, there is no legal mechanism by which a Scottish independence referendum can be triggered if that is what the people of Scotland so choose .