Russell study to reveal impact of Brexit on every area of life
Europe minister sets out task as PM discusses process to quit EU
MIKE Russell, the SNP’s new Europe minister, is to draw up a Brexit impact study examining the full extent of what leaving the EU will mean for every area of life in Scotland.
The project comes as the Scottish and UK governments set out their competing strategies for the aftermath of the In-Out referendum.
Mr Russell, in a stark early intervention after his appointment to the key post by Nicola Sturgeon, stated: “Our objective is clear, for Scotland to remain part of Europe. Our first big challenge is to understand and be able to articulate its effect on every part of the country.”
The SNP veteran’s remarks came as Theresa May is expected to ask her cabinet ministers to set out how their department is preparing for Brexit when they gather on Wednesday.
Her top ministerial team will meet at the Prime Minister’s country retreat Chequers to discuss the next steps in the process. The move comes amid speculation that Mrs May will implement Article 50 – the trigger that starts the two-year process of splitting from the Union – without holding a vote in the House of Commons.
However, Mr Russell said he would use his new position to clearly set out the implications of Brexit on Scottish jobs, funding for public services and other key sectors such as education – a brief the SNP politician was in charge of when he last served as a minister up until late 2014.
Mr Russell has been given the title Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe by the First Minister after spending nearly two years on the backbenches at Holyrood. He said: “We are still at the stage of understanding the challenges ahead. We are in the foothills of what it means for Scotland but the land will rise very steeply and quickly.
“Already I am finding out more about the scale and extent of the impact on key spheres in the country.
“For example, I was aware of the challenges for higher education but it has repercussions in further education too. It affects staff from EU countries, EU students who study here, on employability funding, on money from Europe to local authorities that directly funds colleges.”
Mr Russell, who is a former chief executive of the SNP and who is viewed as one of the party’s most experienced figures, refused to be drawn on what option he believes would be best for Scotland, short of full EU membership.
However, he said: “The Scottish Government will not diminish its ambitions. We know our objective and are looking at all the options and possibilities.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has said the Scottish Parliament should be handed extra powers in the aftermath of Brexit, including control over fisheries and agriculture.
Ms Dugdale claimed that, with powers being repatriated from Europe, there was a case for Holyrood to be handed control of key areas.
She said: “Once we know what that looks like, then there has to be a conversation about the powers that are repatriated from Europe back to the UK, and there has got to be a case for some of those powers coming to Scotland.
“Fishing and agriculture seem the most obvious ones.”