Nicola Sturgeon says closing border should be up for ‘discussion’
With respect, First Minister, you DO have the power to close Scotland’s border. Or, to be more precise, you have the authority. The rightful authority. The authority which derives from democratic legitimacy. You have the only authority you need. The only authority that matters. The ultimate authority. The authority of the people. You hold a mandate from the sovereign people of Scotland, the only source of all legitimate political authority.
Possessing that mandate; being endowed with that authority, there can be only one reason that you might not have the power to close Scotland’s borders and that is that you have declined or failed to take that power. For power is never given, First Minister. Real power is only ever taken. Power that is given is but a pretence of power because the acts of granting and accepting necessarily imply a relationship of superior and inferior authority respectively. A relationship which denies power.
Permission is not power, First Minister. By seeking permission rather than taking power you disrespect and diminish the mandate afforded you by the people of Scotland. With respect, First Minister, I would strongly advise against that.
#DissolveTheUnion #ScottishUDI
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Peter A Bell 
Even if you where sat in a room with her she would listen, she has only taken her own advice and this is why where still in this union.
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I am somewhat pleasantly shocked that she even raised that as an option. After all the mud-slinging, apparently foot-dragging, subterfuge it as if there is still hope: “I know there’s still good in you, I can sense it.”
Yet at the same time there is, as you rightfully say, the “permission” issue. Clearly it’s not going to be given – that would the Oliver Twist moment that signaled that Scotland need to be punished. So the First Minister can be somewhat comforted that she is not really putting anything at risk by saying that.
We all know what Alex Salmond would have done and therein lies the problem.
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Huh?
Quite apart from your argument…
We have movement restrictions in place within Scotland, which she does have the power to vary at will. So even if one was to argue over the ‘legality’ of closing the border, de-facto she can achieve it.
Simply define such travel as “non essential”, and it falls within the powers granted by the UK Coronavirus Act.
We can stop people traveling south across the border by it being “non essential”, even if we can’t stop someone crossing northbound, as soon at they cross they’re subject to the what the Scottish Ministers have deemed to be “essential” or “not essential’.
So an equivalent power does exists.
The problematic case, where your argument would be necessary, is in closing the external borders/ports – e.g. refusing flights the ability to offload passengers.
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Can’t wait for scotland to begone. Jock on jockistan.. Give the rest of UK the vote and you’ll be gone today
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