Scotland didn’t vote for this shambles... we won’t accept it

THE deal stitched together by Theresa May is a desperate pitch from a desperate Prime Minister.

But suggesting that we must accept an agreement which will hit jobs, living standards and the NHS – because the alternative is the cliff edge of a no deal – is the worst of all possible worlds.

The choice cannot and must not be between the frying pan and the fire.

That means that if the UK Government cannot get this deal through the House of Commons – as seems increasingly likely – then they must go back to the negotiating table to get a better one.

Scotland voted decisively to remain in Europe, and the Scottish Government’s first preference, in line with the way the people of Scotland voted, is to remain in the EU.

Short of that, the only acceptable alternative for us would be continued membership of the customs union and single market, which is eight times the size of the UK market alone.

The PM’s proposed deal would leave Scotland, uniquely among the nations of the UK, high and dry with our democratic voice ignored.

That is because under the PM’s proposals, England and Wales, which both voted to leave the EU, will get what they voted for.

Northern Ireland, which voted remain, is guaranteed a special deal to stay close to the EU.

But Scotland – with by far the biggest remain vote of any nation of the UK – is to be forced out of Europe against our will.

That is democratically unacceptable, and exposes the utter contempt with which Westminster has treated Scotland ever since the result of the EU referendum more than two years ago.

Scotland must not be left at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to jobs and investment, which is what offering special status for Northern Ireland would do.

We support moves to protect the Good Friday Agreement in Ireland – but any differential deal for Northern Ireland simply proves that similar arrangements can and should also be made for Scotland.

A deal which takes us outside the single market and customs union could see each person in Scotland losing the equivalent of £2300 a year, with thousands of jobs losses, while ending freedom of movement will make it harder to attract and retain staff for our NHS.

This is a blindfold Brexit, with all the big decisions still to be fought over, apart from the disastrous commitment to leave the single market.

It would be a leap in the dark with Scotland at the mercy of a Tory Party in a permanent civil war over the UK’s future relationship with Europe.

Scotland didn’t vote for any of this shambles – and we aren’t prepared to accept it.