Dugdale is refusing to back trigger for Brexit
SCOTTISH Labour is to vote against the triggering of Article 50 in a symbolic debate at Holyrood.
Leader Kezia Dugdale has confirmed that while her party accepts the UK is leaving the European Union, it opposes Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed terms.
MSPs will today vote on a Scottish Government motion arguing that the UK Government’s European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill currently making its way through the Commons should not proceed.
The move puts Ms Dugdale at odds with UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is facing a revolt by pro-Remain MPs – including the party’s only Scottish MP Ian Murray – who are defying his leadership to vote against the Bill at Westminster.
In an article for LabourList, Ms Dugdale said: “The UK is leaving the EU – that is not in doubt. What is in doubt is the terms on which we are leaving.
“Scottish Labour respects the result of the UK-wide referendum on the EU, but we also know the people of Scotland did not vote for Theresa May’s hard Brexit and that no-one voted to become poorer.
“While the Bill to leave the EU is still progressing through the House of Commons, Labour in Holyrood will send a clear message that we do not support a hard Brexit. The UK is leaving the European Union, but there is no reason why Scottish Labour and the Scottish Parliament should not give a voice to the wishes of the vast majority of Scottish people.”
The Holyrood debate is being held despite the Supreme Court ruling that the UK Government is not legally compelled to consult the devolved administrations before beginning EU divorce proceedings.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon pledged to give MSPs a vote on the issue, but the Scottish Government has put forward a motion for debate rather than a formal legislative consent memorandum.
The motion argues that UK ministers have “set out no provision for effective consultation with the devolved administra- tions on reaching an agreed UK approach to the negotiations on implementing Article 50”.
It adds the UK Government “has refused to give a guarantee on the position of EU nationals in the UK, has left unanswered a range of questions covering many policy areas regarding the full implications of withdrawal from the single market, and has provided no assurance that a future parliamentary vote on the outcome of the negotiations will be anything other than irrelevant”.