A View from Westminster – Brendan O’Hara
NOW THE UK parties have had their conferences, the Westminster parliament reconvenes next week.
Despite the monthlong hype and banner headlines, nothing has actually changed. Jeremy Corbyn, as predicted, is back in charge of a divided Labour Party and PM Theresa May, as she said she would, is still determined to drag Scotland out of the EU against the wishes of the majority of Scots.
Trigger
It is now clear that the UK government will trigger Article 50 before the end of March 2017, meaning the UK will be out of the EU by March 2019.
Although it wasn’t a revelation, the pound immediately plummeted to its lowest level against the US dollar since the referendum. This is the reality of a ‘hard Brexit’; essentially cutting the ties and heading off into the unknown on a wing and a prayer. The UK government itself knows how painful this will be, abandoning its long-held economic plan and acknowledging there will be ‘bumps in the road’. We’ve had our fair share of these bumps already.
And regardless of Mrs May’s bravado about a bright trading future for the UK outside the EU, the leaders of US, Japan, China and many EU countries have made it clear to her at last month’s G20 summit there will be no special deals done for the UK after Brexit. US President Barack Obama reiterated the UK will be at the back of the queue.
The economic reality of Brexit hasn’t even begun to kick in, which is why SNP representatives in Westminster will demand it respects Scotland’s vote to remain.
Jeopardy
Repeatedly, Scotland finds itself the subject of decisions made by others: a UK government it didn’t vote for; a UK leader that nobody voted for; the severing of ties to European friends and allies, which it didn’t vote for; and now our economy and international relations put in serious jeopardy.