How would Whitehall respond to wildcat nats?

The SNP wants a second independence referendum. Boris Johnson has ruled one out. So what happens if the Scottish nationalists get a majority at Thursday’s Holyrood elections? Nicola Sturgeon has indicated that she will hold a vote — with or without Westminster’s legal consent.

So Mr S decided to ask the Cabinet Office and the Scotland Office how they would respond to an unsanctioned Catalan-style referendum. In response to a Freedom of Information request, both departments said that they did not hold any contingency documents outlining the UK government’s response to an unauthorised vote. (It’s worth noting too that if such plans did exist, the departments would have to say so even if they decided such documents were exempt from disclosure). The Cabinet Office explained:

The Cabinet Office does not hold information, created since 1 January 2020, on the UK Government’s response to an unsanctioned independence referendum… The UK Government believes a divisive referendum on Scotland’s separation from the UK at this time would be an irresponsible distraction from the necessary work of recovery.