Now is the time for Scotland to leave
Boris’Brexit Britain will be a disaster
After another week of Westminster chaos the only thing that’s really any clearer is why Scotland so badly needs a way out.
Boris Johnson’s attempt to bounce MPs into backing his rotten deal without scrutiny has failed.
If his Withdrawal Agreement Bill does still manage to progress, it must be heavily amended to guarantee hard-won social and environmental protections, to rule out No Deal after any transitional period, and to require a People’s Vote to let the public have the final say.
Whatever the outcome – and I still firmly hope it is that we stop Brexit and kick out this Conservative Government – the level of contempt shown for Scotland’s interests, and for our constitutional status, has been breathtaking.
The people of Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU in 2016 and now, under Boris Johnson’s deal, Scotland will be the only part of the UK with no mechanism for giving its consent.
It’s clear that a growing majority of Scots want absolutely nothing to do with Boris Johnson’s Brexit Britain.
The people must now be given a say over the future direction of our country; do they want Scotland to be an independent country in Europe, or do they want us to remain shackled to Boris Johnson’s Little England.
Anyone who was in any doubt about what the direction is for the UK under this Government only need look to the chilling omens in its farcical Queen’s speech.
It included doubling-down on hostile immigration policies and bringing in voter suppression techniques designed to exclude people from our democracy.
Sooner or later, we’re heading for an election; indeed, it may well have been called by the time this column goes to print.
When that does happen, it’s vital that we expose the reality of what lies behind vacuous phrases like “get Brexit done”.
This is really just a licence for the Tories to strip away people’s rights, to do down our vital public services and to run the economy in the interests of their old Etonian, hedge fundmanaging pals.
Instead, Greens will campaign to stop Brexit and set out a bold vision for a Scottish Green New Deal.
But we’ll also be clear that the days of Scotland watching helplessly on while the UK unravels must finally come to an end.