‘LOONY LEFT’ IN THREAT TO BREXIT
Cabal of Scots politicians planning legal bid to keep Britain in the EU
A LEFT-wing cabal of Scottish politicians is plotting a legal attempt to reverse Brexit.
The group of pro-Remain MSPs and MEPs from the SNP, Labour and the Greens is preparing a move to defy last year’s referendum and block Britain’s exit from the European Union.
But they were last night accused of being part of a ‘loony Left’ cohort which wants to ‘overturn the democratic will of the people’. The group is made up of Nationalist MEP Alyn Smith, Labour MEP David Martin and Scottish Greens’ MSPs Andy Wightman and Ross Greer.
They want to raise £50,000 in an effort to push for a ‘judicial review’ of the UK Government’s position on Brexit. They believe the Court of Justice of the EU would support their claim that ‘Article 50’ – the mechanism which will result in Britain leaving the EU – can be revoked without the consent of other member states.
Conservative MSP Oliver Mundell, who campaigned for Leave, said: ‘This is another attempt by the loony Left to overturn the democratic will of the British people. It is a complete distraction from securing the best deal for Scotland and rest of the UK.
‘Rather than carping from the sidelines at this critical juncture they should recognise that the vast majority of those who both voted Leave and Remain want to see politicians working in their best interests.’
In a joint statement issued by the four politicians last night, they said they had given the UK Government a fortnight to formally respond to them with its position on the ‘revocability’ of Article 50.
They then intend to submit a judimission;
‘Carping from the sidelines’
cial review to the Court of Session, with a view to referring the question to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
An online funding initiative was also launched by the group under the name Good Law Project Limited. If their legal case proved successful, they would try to secure support from the House of Commons and the devolved parliaments for revoking Article 50.
The campaign’s Crowdfunding page says: ‘We know it is possible to stay in the EU, if the other member states give us permission.
‘But the destiny of the UK should rest in the hands of our Parliament. It must be our elected MPs who decide what road to take. Politicians from Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland – not elsewhere – must control our future.
‘Many experts believe we can choose to stay in the EU without per- that, if we want, we can just withdraw our notice. But there is only one way to be sure: a court has to decide what Article 50 means. This is the only way to give our parliament the best negotiating hand. To maximise its power if the right choice is to stick with what we have.’
Scottish Conservative MP Ross Thomson said: ‘Lets be absolutely clear that UK voted in a democratic and open referendum to leave the European Union.
‘That result should be respected and delivered on and the UK Government will work to ensure the best Brexit deal for Scotland.
‘Sadly it is of no surprise that the Greens and the SNP and Labour want to subvert the will of the people in the same way as Greens and SNP try to do with a second independence referendum.’