SNP and the Act of Settlement II - from Scotia 12/12/00
[text from another Scotia list member] In my view it would be possible and desireable for there to be a short and simple bit of legislation at Westminster (so long as we defer to it) amending all previous legislation which penalises members of the Royal Family who marry Roman Catholics or which penalises Roman Catholics because of their religion. Of course we are going to be treated to time-wasting ludicrous debate about it, but it could be done quickly and simply without that if there is a clear demand and will.
Do you honestly believe that a Prime Minister who is married to an RC and is raising his children as RCs would not do this in a shot if it were as easy as you are making out? The Queen is head of the CoE. To give royal assent to something that changed the status of the CoE would involve breaking her Coronation Oath wouldn't it? The legislation has to be synchronized with other Commonwealth realms where it also applies in many cases. There is no way this could all magically be done overnight. The time to do it IMO would be just before the next Coronation.
[text from another Scotia list member] The devolved parliament has no official power over this, but could, if it had the guts & unity, pass a measure stating that when Scottish sovereignty is resumed all measures penalising Catholics, or those who marry Catholics will be anulled.
The Act of Settlement was a piece of pre-Union English legislation. After independence it would automatically cease to apply where Scotland is concerned so such a measure would simply be a case of stating the obvious. I'm surprised that you would not be aware of that. Quite why the SNP would be so interested in the English legal system in the first place when it is supposed to want to dissolve the Treaty of Union in a time frame of months is beyond me unless it is simply playing a very cynical opportunistic game here.
[text from another Scotia list member] Yes, Land reform, housing, education and health should all get more attention and action. All should be more important than whether Will Windsor can safely find a Catholic girlfriend. But he should be able to do so if he wishes, and given the will to do so it should be possible within half a day of parliamentary time. But I am afraid we are still going to get the time-wasting and ludicrous debate.....
Do you honestly believe that if the need arose it would not be changed and that the Act od Settlement would ever be actively applied in the 21st century? The government has said that just because the change is not being made right now should not be taken to mean that it will never be made. Why is that not enough for people? What gets me about this whole issue is the way that people seem to overlook the fact that if all the archaic legislation which techically if not in practise makes the UK a Protestant state is repealed or amended then what possible justification will there still be for a separate state funded RC schooling system in a legally completely secular state? Alex Salmond makes a big song and dance about the Act of Settlement but at the same time at the last Scottish election went out of his way to reiterate his support the retention of RC schooling system while at the same time opposing a similar system for other religious minority groups such as Muslims on the basis that you can't change the long standing status quo arrangement based on the 1918 Education Act. The United Nations have ruled that in the analogous case of Ontario that this represents discrimination against people from other religious groups who would like their own system of state funded schools. The SNP is playing a very unpleasant grubby little sectarian game with this stuff IMO by refusing to take this to its logical conclusion which would be a complete US style separation of church and state. This could be extremely divisive in a west of Scotland context IMO and it may wind up actually costing the SNP significant electoral support.