MPs SHOULDN’T BE RAILROADED INTO BAD DEAL
Sturgeon demands Brexit delay
NICOLA Sturgeon yesterday demanded a Brexit delay to allow more time for a “compromise” deal that would keep the UK in the EU single market.
The First Minister called for an extension of the proposed 21-month transition period to give the UK Government more time to negotiate a “common-sense” future relationship with the EU.
The First Minister insisted MPs should not be “railroaded” into accepting a bad Brexit deal by fears that no deal would be “a catastrophe”.
She accused the UK Government of “threatening us with fire, to make us choose the frying pan”.
Sturgeon told an audience at the Royal Society of Arts if MPs vote down Theresa May’s proposal, it could open the door for the SNP’s preference of keeping the UK in the customs union and single market to be considered instead.
But Tory MSP Adam Tomkins said: “If the SNP don’t back a deal, they are automatically supporting a no-deal scenario – something the Nationalists have admitted would be bad for Scotland.”
Sturgeon’s speech coincided with the publication of a new Scottish Government paper – Scotland’s Place in Europe: Our Way Forward.
In the foreword, Sturgeon said it’s time for MPs “to come together in a common-sense coalition to minimise the Brexit damage”.
Last night, May suffered a battering from all sides in the Commons as she updated MPs on Brexit.
The final stage of the negotiations are stuck on how to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Tory Brexiteers fear the border issue will keep the UK in a customs union indefinitely.
May insisted any Irish “backstop” would be temporary but repeatedly stopped short of naming an end date.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urged the Prime Minister to stand up to the “reckless voices” on her benches. He insisted the UK and EU should negotiate a “permanent customs union” to protect jobs and manufacturing.