Brexit bill remains a ‘blatant power grab’
SNP MINISTERS have continued to insist Brexit legislation is a “blatant power grab” from Westminster – despite a senior UK Government minister claiming he was “cautiously optimistic” talks could end the deadlock between the two administrations.
First Secretary of State Damian Green and Scottish Deputy First Minister John Swinney held talks in London, in a bid to resolve the impasse over the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.
The Scottish Government has made clear that as it stands it can not give its formal approval to the “unworkable” legislation, which would transpose EU law into British law but would see responsibilities in devolved areas initially transferred to Westminster.
But after talks at the Cabinet Office, Mr Green said: “We had a positive and constructive meeting and we are now starting to get into the nitty gritty of the detail of how we make sure Brexit works for all parts of the UK.
“We are in agreement that we do not want to damage the UK internal market that is so important to Scottish businesses and their customers.”
Scottish and Welsh ministers have jointly put forward a series of changes they want to see the EU Withdrawal Bill – saying if these are not made they can not recommend legislative consent.
Mr Swinney said the talks, which also involved Scottish Secretary David Mundell and Scottish Brexit Minister Mike Russell, had been a “useful opportunity for an exchange of views”.
The Deputy First Minister said: “The discussions were con- structive but we remain absolutely clear that, as things stand, we will not recommend to the Scottish Parliament that it gives its consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill. We made clear, we are not opposed in principle to UK-wide frameworks in certain areas – but this must be on the basis of agreement among equals, not imposed by Westminster.
“The Bill as currently drafted is impractical and unworkable. It is a blatant power grab which would take existing competence over a wide range of devolved policy areas, including aspects of topics like agriculture and fishing, away from Holyrood, giving them instead to Westminster and Whitehall. That means that unless there are serious and significant changes to the proposed legislation, we will not recommend that the Scottish Parliament give consent to the Bill.”