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Hello and welcome to the Saturday edition of Coffee House Shots.

I'm Isabel Hardman and I'm joined by James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson.

Well Fraser is in Inverness. I'm speaking from West Lothian.

James is our London correspondent for the day and we're going to be talking about something

that Nicola Sturgeon very rarely talks about which is Scottish Independence.

She's brought it back up the agenda if it ever slid down this week by

announcing her root map to a second referendum. James, just talk us through what she announced

and how credible it is. So she announced a plan to hold a referendum in October 2023

and she has requested a section 30 order from the UK government which is what she would need

to do so. I think we're not giving away any state secrets when we say that she has got about

as much chance of getting a section 30 order from the UK government as I have of getting a

call up to the Scottish rugby team. So she has also asked the Supreme Court to rule

on the question of whether an advisory referendum on independence without the permission of the UK

government would be legal. There the answer is less certain. I think it is highly unlikely

if the Supreme Court would say it was legal. I mean there's a chance the Supreme Court might say

well we won't rule on our hypothetical. We'd have to have seen that the bill would have to be

enacted first before we take a decision. But I think again it is the most likely out

is that the Supreme Court will say no you can't do that. The Constitution is quite clearly a

reserved matter to the Westminster Parliament and so that is without your competence.

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