What is the purpose of the referendum proposed in the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill? Is it, as s 1 (1) of the Bill itself says ‘to ascertain the views of the people of Scotland?’ Or is the aim – either directly or indirectly – the dissolution of the United Kingdom? If the purpose is only to ascertain the views of Scots, the Lord Advocate suggests, then it cannot impact reserved matters. Her suggestion is that the referendum cannot impact reserved matters because the referendum is merely advisory, and so it can have no legal effect if it has no legal impact. This post argues that it is right to construe the purpose of the Bill narrowly, as only ascertaining the views of Scots. Even the narrow purpose of ascertaining the views of Scots, however, still relates to reserved matters. To see why, it is necessary to distinguish between the
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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