The Scottish Government has launched a fresh appeal to scrap the Internal Market Act, describing it as a direct threat to the powers of the Scottish Parliament.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has called on the UK Government to restore devolved powers in full and respect the will of the Scottish Parliament.
A new position paper published by the Scottish Government urges the UK to repeal the Act and replace it with a new system based on Common Frameworks agreed by all four UK nations.
Ms Forbes warned that the current legislation allows Westminster ministers to override laws passed in Holyrood without consent.
She described it as an unacceptable and undemocratic move imposed by the previous UK administration without the agreement of any devolved parliament.
According to the paper, the Act has created “radical uncertainty” about the status of Scottish legislation and undermines the basic principles of devolution.
It also states that the Act is “the single greatest impediment” to improving intergovernmental relationships across the UK.
Holyrood has already voted twice to demand the return of its full powers, once in October 2023 and again in February 2025.
On both occasions, those calls were ignored by Westminster.
The publication of this paper coincides with the end of the UK Government’s statutory review of the Internal Market Act.
Despite the consultation, the UK Government had already ruled out repealing the Act before the review even began.
Ms Forbes said the paper gives the UK Government a fresh chance to rethink its position and engage constructively with the devolved governments.
She said the Scottish Government’s message is clear and united behind the need to restore the Parliament’s democratic voice.
She reiterated that neither Holyrood, nor the Welsh or Northern Irish legislatures, gave consent to the legislation when it was introduced in 2020.
She warned that the Act hands sweeping powers to UK ministers to overrule devolved decisions with no accountability to the Scottish electorate.
Ms Forbes said the current state of affairs is incompatible with a respectful and modern union of nations.
She called on Westminster to use the review period to “listen, reflect, and act” to restore trust between governments.
The paper also highlights that Common Frameworks could offer a more balanced and cooperative approach to internal regulation across the UK.
It calls on the UK Government to abandon unilateralism and return to a model based on agreement and respect.
Holyrood is standing firm on its demands, with the Scottish Government signalling that the fight to defend devolution is far from over.
