An act to provide clarity on the supremacy of the United Kingdom parliament on the question of the United Kingdom constitution, the Union of the various parts of the United Kingdom, and any referenda on any question thereto pertaining.
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: —
Preamble
WHEREAS there is no right, under international law or under the laws of the United Kingdom, for any devolved legislature, local authority or any other legally constituted level of government to effect the secession of any part of the United Kingdom unilaterally;
WHEREAS any proposal relating to the dissolution of a democratic state is a matter of the utmost gravity and is of fundamental importance to all of its citizens;
WHEREAS the devolved or local government of any part of the United Kingdom is entitled to request that the government of the United Kingdom authorise a referendum on a given constitutional matter and that the government of the United Kingdom is entitled to decline to authorise a referendum, or to require a suitable passage of time before the repetition of such votes, and to be sole authority on what the question shall be, what the franchise in the referendum shall be and where necessary what the terms of separation shall be;
WHEREAS the result of a referendum on the secession of a part of the United Kingdom must be free of ambiguity both in terms of the question asked and in terms of the support it achieves, and that the consequences of such a vote for separation must be established in law ahead of time, and be entirely clear to the voting public, if that result is to be taken as an expression of the democratic will that would give rise to an obligation to enter into negotiations that might lead to secession;
WHEREAS democracy means more than simple majority rule, that a clear majority in favour of secession would be required to create an obligation to negotiate secession, and that a qualitative evaluation is required to determine whether a clear majority in favour of secession exists in the circumstances. Namely, that no vote to leave would be valid unless two thirds or 75 percent of the voters on the electoral roll voted, and that of those voting, the result was no less than 75 percent in favour of separation;
WHEREAS the Union of the several parts of the United Kingdom, and all constitutional matters, are entirely and solely reserved to the United Kingdom parliament and government, for any vote for any part of the United Kingdom to leave the United Kingdom to be lawful, will require legislation to be passed by the parliament of the United Kingdom to authorise the separation, termed a Withdrawal Act;
WHEREAS it shall not it be lawful for the United Kingdom government or any minister of the crown personally to agree to a Withdrawal Act that shall include the right of the departing part of the United Kingdom to share the currency of the United Kingdom or to enjoy an open border or Common Travel Area with the United Kingdom;
WHEREAS it shall not it be lawful for the United Kingdom government or any minister of the crown personally to agree to a Withdrawal Act that permits the retention of UK citizenship on the part of the citizens of the departing area, or any agreement that permits dual citizenship between the United Kingdom and the departing area;
WHEREAS it shall not it be lawful for the United Kingdom government or any minister of the crown personally to agree to a Withdrawal Act that permits the departing member to retain any military assets of the United Kingdom, nor shall any Withdrawal Act be agreed that does not include the departing member taking a full share of national debt proportionate to its proportion of the UK population as well as explicitly ruling out the possibility of the United Kingdom government having any responsibility for the payment of any state or civil service pensions after the date of formal separation.
WHEREAS it shall not it be lawful for the United Kingdom government or any minister of the crown personally to agree any Withdrawal Act that permits the departing member to retain signatory status to any treaty signed, or membership of international organisation joined, by the United Kingdom, or that does not explicitly recognise the United Kingdom as the inheritor, post the date of separation, of the international legal personality of the United Kingdom prior to the date of separation.
WHEREAS it shall not it be lawful for the United Kingdom government or any minister of the crown personally to agree a Withdrawal Act that permits the departing part of the United Kingdom to have interim access to the UK Internal marker pending agreement of a future trade agreement;
WHEREAS in the event of a vote in favour of separation, the United Kingdom government shall not agree a trade deal with the department member until that member has been independent for 5 calendar years
WHEREAS the Hypothetical question on any referendum on the separation of any part of the United Kingdom shall have only 2 possible answers, namely “Leave” or “Remain” and that the exact wording shall be decided by the government of the United Kingdom.
WHEREAS the franchise for any referendum on the question of the separation of a part of the United Kingdom shall include any British citizen who has reached the age of 18 on the date of the vote, who was born in the relevant part of the United Kingdom even if they might live in any other part of the United Kingdom on the date of the referendum, and any member of the United Kingdom armed forces who ordinarily lives in the relevant part of the United Kingdom,
AND WHEREAS it shall be contrary to law for the Government of United Kingdom to agree a Withdrawal Act that might lead to the secession of a part of the United Kingdom that could consequently entail the termination of British citizenship and other rights that British citizens resident in the voting area enjoy as full participants in the United Kingdom, no areas within the voting area that vote to reject the question of separation shall be forced out of the United Kingdom against their will. Consequently any local government area in the area voting for separation that votes to remain in the United Kingdom shall be permitted to do so, and the United Kingdom government shall agree no Withdrawal Act that denies this right;
Part 1 The Union
1. The parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is supreme over the laws of the United Kingdom or any part thereof. The parliament of the United Kingdom has absolute and sole authority to legislate on any and all matters pertaining to the Union of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or any parts thereof.
2. Any request from any level of or form of government that shall be established in law in the United Kingdom or any part thereof by the date that this law becomes operative, or that shall be established in law hereafter, to effect a change in the constitutional or administrative status of the area over which the requesting legislature or government has responsibility, shall not take place without the explicit consent of the United Kingdom government. For the purposes of this bill, a change in the administrative or constitutional status of the requesting area shall be taken to mean;
(a) The withdrawal of the relevant area from the United Kingdom with the intent to establish an independent state or to unify with another state.
(b) A change of the internal borders of the relevant area within the United Kingdom.
3. Further to the purposes of this bill, any change in the administrative or constitutional status of any part of the United Kingdom whatsoever, must only be measured through a referendum. The Ministers of the Crown must give consent to such a vote taking place, but are under no obligation to give such consent. If consent is given, such a referendum must be authorised through legislation in the parliament of the United Kingdom.
4. Any attempt from any devolved or local government, or the governments or administrations thereto pertaining, in any part of the United Kingdom, to hold a referendum on the question of changing the Constitutional or Administrative status, or to effect said change in the absence of a referendum, of the relevant part, in both cases without the consent of the United Kingdom government, its ministers, and the United Kingdom parliament, shall be contrary to law and shall have no legal effect or legitimacy. In such circumstances, Ministers of the Crown shall be empowered to suspend any or all of the powers of the relevant legislature or level of government. Such individuals as vote for or publicly advocate for unlawful measures as describe in this law shall be acting contrary to law and shall be deemed to have committed a criminal offence, and shall be liable for the following punishments.
(a) A fine of no less than £15000 and no more than £100000, or;
(b) A custodial sentence of no less than 2 years and no more than 5 years
( c )Notwithstanding what punishment shall be applied as outlined in Part 1 sections 4 (a) and 4 (b) of this legislation, any individual acting contrary to the law as outlined in Part 1, Section 4 of this legislation shall receive an immediate and permanent disqualification from public office in the United Kingdom or any part thereof
It shall be the obligation of all local governments, law enforcement organisations, civil servants and private individuals to disregard any illegal attempts as described in this legislation, and specifically to offer the offending government, administration or body no assistance whatsoever in their attempts.
Part 2 Referenda
5. Any elected administration of any elected body in the United Kingdom or any part thereof has the right to request the government of the United Kingdom to approve a referendum on any change in the constitutional status of the area over which they are responsible. For the purposes of this legislated, Constitutional Status shall be taken to mean
(a) The question of if the relevant area should withdraw from the United Kingdom and be established as an independent state.
(b) The question of if the relevant area should withdraw from the United Kingdom and unite with an already established independent state.
( c ) The question of a change to the administrative boundaries of a given area within the United Kingdom short of withdrawal from the United Kingdom
6. The Ministers of the Crown of the United Kingdom government, hereafter in this legislation referred to as the `UK government ministers` possess the absolute right to decline any request outlined in Part 2, Section 5 (a), Section 5 (b) or Section 5 (c of this legislation.
7. No referendum of the type detailed in this legislation shall be repeated any sooner than 25 Calendar years after the last.
8. Within the constraints of Part 2, Section 7 of this legislation, it shall be for the UK government ministers to appoint the polling date of the proposed referendum.
9. (a). In any referendum as outlined in Part 2, Section 5 (a), the question shall be
“Should …. Remain a member of the United Kingdom or Leave the United Kingdom?”
For the purposes of this legislation, “….” shall be substituted during the appropriate referendum with the name of the area in which the referendum is taking place.
(b)For any other referenda on the Constitutional status of any part of the United Kingdom not outlined in Part 2, Section 5 (a), the decision on the wording of the question shall be a matter for UK government minister.
10. Any referendum outlined in Part 2, Section 5 that votes in favour of any change to the Constitutional or Administrative status of any part of the United Kingdom, shall be deemed invalid and shall be disregarded by the UK government ministers if it does not meet the following criteria.
(a) 75% of registered voters who meet the franchise provisions outlined in this legislation, in the relevant area shall have voted.
(b) 75% of votes vote in favour of the proposed Constitutional or Administrative Change.
Part 3 The Franchise
11. In any referendum held under the terms outlined in this legislation, the franchise shall be as follows..
(a) All British citizens and permanent residents registered on the electoral roll living in the area holding the referendum, who shall have reached the age of 18 by the day of polling, and who are not otherwise disqualified from voting by any other legislation of the United Kingdom or of the area in which the referendum is being held.
(b) Any members of any branch of the United Kingdom armed forces ordinarily resident and registered on the electoral roll in the area holding the referendum.
( c ) Any British citizens who shall have reached the age of 18 on the day of polling, registered on the electoral roll in any part of the United Kingdom, who was born in the area holding the referendum, and who is not otherwise disqualified from voting by any other legislation of the United Kingdom or of the area in which they are ordinarily resident at the time the referendum is being held.
12. No voting rights ordinarily applicable to non British citizens or permanent residents shall apply in case of referenda held under the terms of this legislation
Part 4 The Withdrawal Act
13. In the event that a referendum held on the terms outlined in Part 2, Section 5 (a) and Section 5 (b) returns an affirmative vote to change the Constitutional or Administrative status of any part of the United Kingdom, the UK government ministers shall be obliged to negotiate with the relevant devolved or local administration a Withdrawal Agreement, hereafter in this legislation termed a Withdrawal Act. In the event that the referendum is as covered in Section 5 (b), the UK government shall additionally be obliged by this legislation to negotiate a bilateral international treaty, with the maximum terms the UK can accept constrained by the terms of this legislation and any resultant Withdrawal Act.
14. It shall be contrary to law for the UK government ministers to commence negotiations for the Withdrawal Act until they have received a formal written notification from the administration in the area holding the referendum announcing the commencement of the negotiation period.
15. From the date of receipt of the formal written negotiation, a negotiation period of not more than 365 Calendar days shall commence. At the expiration of this time period, the formal separation shall occur automatically.
16. At any point within the time period outlined in Part 4, Section 15 of this legislation, the administration representing the area proposing the Constitutional or Administrative change may request the retraction of the formal written notification, or an extension to negotiation period of not more than 365 Calendar days. A request to retract the formal notification shall be within the powers of the UK government ministers to accept or reject, and if accepted no further formal written notification may be submitted for 25 Calendar years from the date of retraction. A request to extend the negotiation period shall require a majority vote of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, and the devolved legislatures of the united Kingdom, not including where applicable, the legislature of the area proposing the Constitutional or Administrative Change
17. In order for any agreed Withdrawal Act to be deemed valid, it shall be necessary for it to take the form of primary legislation approved by the parliament of the United Kingdom, approved by a two third majority vote by the legislative body of the area to which the constitutional change in applicable, a simple majority vote of the other devolved legislatures of the United Kingdom, and a referendum of 75% of the registered voters in the area to which the constitutional change is applicable, giving not less than 75% approval. If any of these provisions are not met, the Withdrawal Act shall be null and void, having no force of law, and the Constitutional or Administrative change shall not take effect.
18. It shall not it be lawful for the United Kingdom government or UK government minister personally to agree any Withdrawal Act that agrees to the following
(a) An agreement where the departing area of the United Kingdom is permitted to share the currency of the United Kingdom or make use of the Bank of England as a lender of last resort.
(b) An agreement which exempts citizens of the departing area of the United Kingdom from UK Immigration and Visa requirements for non EU/EEA nationals or which permits an open border or Common Travel Area between the departing area and the United Kingdom.
( c ) An agreement which allows the citizens of the departing area, which shall be deemed to include both those born and resident in the departing area as well as those born in the departing area but resident in the rest of the United Kingdom, the retention of UK citizenship or the possibility of dual citizenship between the United Kingdom and the departing area;
(d) An agreement that does not recognise the retention of the Faslane Naval Base as a Sovereign Base Area of the United Kingdom.
(e) An agreement that leaves the departing area in possession of any United Kingdom military assets, access to United Kingdom policing or security data
(f) An agreement that entitles the departing area to receive United Kingdom military procurement or construction contracts beyond any that might be ongoing at the time of the formal separation
(g) An agreement that does not include an obligation on the part of the departing area to immediately assume its proportion of United Kingdom government debts and liabilities that takes full account of the departing areas percentage of the United Kingdom population at the time of the separation.
(h) An explicit commitment from the departing area to assume full responsibility with no recourse to later dispute, for the payment of state pensions and any benefits that might be paid to the residents of the departing area at the moment of separation.
(i) An agreement that permits the departing member to retain signatory status to any treaty signed, or membership of international organisation joined, by the United Kingdom, or that does not explicitly recognise the United Kingdom as the inheritor, post the date of separation, of the international legal personality of the United Kingdom prior to the date of separation.
(j) An agreement that does not include a mechanism to permit any local government area, or council ward as applicable, that voted against the separation, to exercise this right of Self Determination and to decline to leave the United Kingdom at any time before or for 6 months after the date of formal separation.
(k) An agreement which grants the departing area a tariff or duty free transitional access to the United Kingdom internal market or which commits the United Kingdom to immediately upon the date of separation commence negotiations for a trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the newly separate state.
Part 5 Other
1. Any Minister of the Crown who shall agree a Withdrawal Act with terms contrary to those prohibited in the provisions of Part 4 of this legislation shall be guilty of a criminal offence and shall be liable for the following punishments.
(a) A fine of no less than £15000 and no more than £100000, or;
(b) A custodial sentence of no less than 2 years and no more than 5 years
( c )Notwithstanding what punishment shall be applied as outlined in Part 5 sections 1 (a) and 1 (b) of this legislation, any individual acting contrary to the law as outlined in the provisions of Part 4 of this legislation shall receive an immediate and permanent disqualification from public office in the United Kingdom or any part thereof
Any agreement agreed by a Minister of the Crown with terms contrary to the provisions of Part 4 of this legislation shall be deemed null and void and shall not be presented to the parliament of the United Kingdom for authorisation or approval.
2. In respect of Northern Ireland, any part of this legislation that shall conflict with the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 shall be deemed void of legal effect unless the relevant UK government minister declares otherwise.
