IAN Blackford has accused Boris Johnson of playing “reckless games” with Scotland’s economy over botched Tory Brexit negotiations.
The SNP’s Westminster leader says the UK is now heading towards a “devastating low deal or no deal” outcome after discussions failed to conclude last week.
Michel Barnier of the European Commission has remained in London to continue attempts to thrash out an agreement before time runs out.
Yesterday, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told The Andrew Marr Show that the extended talks were “a very good sign”, stating: “We have got to make sure it is a deal that works, not just for our partners in Europe ... but one that works for the United Kingdom.”
But Johnson has already called for preparations for a No-Deal Brexit on December 31 and today Scottish Lords will present a major amendment to the Internal Market Bill aimed at breaking the “constitutional stand-off” between Westminster and devolved governments.
The LibDem peers have put forward a change which would suspend the bill’s implementation until agreement has been reached on the operation of internal market frameworks. It would require the UK Government to secure agreement in a memorandum of understanding on the operation internal market frameworks, dispute resolution mechanisms, exclusions from market access principals and proposals for oversight councils with representatives from all four nations.
Lord Malcolm Bruce, the former MP for Gordon, said: “The implementation of these proposals need to be put on ice until the UK Government and devolved administrations can come to agreement. The business community mustn’t suffer while these details are ironed out. Both of Scotland’s governments have a responsibility to ensure this relationship works smoothly in practice.”
READ MORE: Brexit trade talks extended as October 31 deadline draws near
Former MSP Lord Jeremy Purvis went on: “This prolonged constitutional stand-off will do nothing but damage businesses across the UK, adding extra uncertainty to internal UK trade at a time of real business pressure given Covid-19 and Brexit.
“We need to explore sensible pathways to ensure the internal market works competently in practice with the devolution settlement the Liberal Democrats helped deliver and where disputes can be resolved efficiently if they arise. “Australia and Canada reached agreement between its states before legislating nationally. Theirs is a model of consensus we should learn from. We can break the constitutional log jam with our approach to the bill.”
Yesterday David Wells, chief executive of Logistics UK, warned No-Deal Brexit would make the average weekly shop “much more expensive”, with import costs for everyday items going up by as much as a third.
Blackford, the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, said: “Boris Johnson must stop playing reckless games over the Tory government’s botched Brexit negotiations, which are threatening Scottish jobs, businesses and living standards at the worst possible time – in the middle of a global pandemic.
“Time is running out. As a result of Tory red lines, and the Prime Minister’s petulant threats to walk away from talks, it is now inevitable that the UK is heading towards a devastating low deal or no deal extreme Brexit – either of which would be a disaster for Scotland.”
He went on: “We know Tory plans to rip Scotland out of the EU, terminate our membership of the single market and customs union, and end our freedom of movement rights will leave Scotland poorer and worse off – it is now only a question of how much damage they will do.
“People in Scotland won’t be fooled by staged theatrics and Tory attempts to present the eventual outcome of these negotiations as anything to celebrate – particularly when we know the only options left are a very bad deal or catastrophic no deal. Scotland has been completely ignored by Westminster throughout the Brexit process and we now face the hardest of Brexits being imposed against our will by a Tory Government we didn’t vote for. The only way to protect our economy and our place in Europe now is to become an independent country.”
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