What is Scotland’s future in Europe after Brexit?
STEPHEN GETHINS, SNP CANDIDATE IN FIFE NORTH EAST
NOW, more than ever, it is absolutely vital that Scotland has strong SNP voices standing up for our interests against a hard-right Tory government intent on trading away Scotland’s jobs and industries.
Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in Europe – and the Scottish Government has sought to engage with the Tory government in good faith since.
We put forward substantial compromise proposals which would have allowed Scotland to retain its place in the single market – but they were rejected out of hand by a Tory government determined to drag Scotland out of the world’s largest marketplace.
However, this vote is now an opportunity for people across Scotland to have their say on those proposals and if the SNP win the election in Scotland it will give us a mandate to have a place at the Brexit negotiating table.
The Tories have long promised a UK-wide approach and whether you voted Leave or Remain it is clear that Scotland’s voice should be heard. But it is also only fair that Scotland should have a choice on its future at the end of the process of leaving the EU. The Scottish Parliament has voted for this, endorsing plans for an independence referendum – not now, but when the terms of leaving the EU are clear. And polling shows that most people in Scotland believe that the UK Government would be wrong to try to block Scotland hav- ing that choice when the time is right. The dangers from the Tories’ hard Brexit plans are all too clear. Research shows that it threatens to cost up to 80,000 jobs over a decade, while also costing Scotland’s economy up to £11 billion a year by 2030.
Meanwhile, the Tories’ disgraceful refusal to guarantee residency rights to EU nationals living here directly threatens our economy and our public services, with doctors’ leaders warning it risks stripping the NHS of medical staff.
Scotland didn’t vote to leave the EU but we now face being dragged out of Europe against our will, with potentially disastrous consequences for jobs, investment and livelihoods. A vote for the SNP will be a vote to protect Scotland’s interests and our place in the single market – and our ability to continue to trade and travel across Europe.
SCOTTISH LABOUR’S EUROPE SPOKESMAN LEWIS MACDONALD
LABOUR stands for what the majority of Scots want. We want a strong Scottish Parliament in the United Kingdom with a close relationship with Europe. We want to see a deal that prioritises jobs and living standards, builds a close new relationship with the EU, protects workers’ rights, environmental standards, membership of cross-border security agencies like Eurojust and Europol and provides certainty to EU nationals living here. Leaving the EU with “no deal” would do damage to our economy and trade. We will reject “no deal” as a viable option and, if needs be, negotiate transitional arrangements to avoid a cliff edge for the economy. Scottish Labour recognises the benefits that Scotland and the UK have enjoyed from membership of the European single market, but it is equally clear that the single market within the UK itself is even more important to Scottish trade and the Scottish economy.
Other parties trying to insinuate that the EU single market is more important to the Scottish economy and Scottish jobs simply are not telling the truth. Labour’s manifesto contains a “presumption of devolution” – that all the powers coming back from Brussels be devolved to Holyrood unless there is a clear reason not to devolve them.
That’s a better future for Scotland than a divisive second independence referendum Scots don’t want. Instead, we can have a Brexit deal that protects jobs and increases the powers of the Scottish Parliament.
SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVE CONSTITUTION SPOKESMAN ADAM TOMKINS
WE ARE leaving the EU, not leaving Europe, and we now have an opportunity to build a new relationship with our partners. The Scottish Conservatives are clear that this should be built on close trading links. That will offer the best possible access for Scottish businesses to trade with and operate within the European sin- gle market, but also allow a fresh start with our European neighbours in crucial sectors like fishing. We seek a bold and ambitious free trade agreement with Europe – but because we’re leaving the EU that will also leave us free to forge new trade agreements across the world. These deals will be better designed for our needs and offer progress in growing markets.
In this process workers’ rights, quality assurance and the UK’s leading role in science and innovation will all be protected and advanced – and no power currently devolved will be returned to Westminster. We also want to maintain close co-operation with our European partners on defence, security and intelligence, and the EU recognises our clout in these areas.
Contrast this clarity from Ruth Davidson and Theresa May with the chaos of the SNP’s position. Depending on who they are speaking to, the SNP have advocated for full EU membership, no EU membership and, most recently, a halfway house between the two. The best way to get a good deal from Europe is a Team UK approach. Now is the time for us to unite and focus on getting the best possible deal – not on further division.
ROSS GREER, SCOTTISH GREENS’ EXTERNAL AFFAIRS AND EDUCATION SPOKESMAN
THE Greens campaigned to remain in the EU. Despite Scotland’s Remain vote we face being wrenched out of the EU by a hardright, hard-Brexit Tory government in Westminster, one which we did not and will not choose. This comes after most voters here were persuaded to vote No, at least in part on the “promise” that it was the only way to keep us within the EU.
The votes of 2014 and 2016 are not compatible and the UK Government has rejected the Scottish Government’s compromise proposals. It is clear that the Scottish people must be given the opportunity to decide our future once again. A government we did not elect has no right to do that for us.
The choice is stark and simple; Scotland can be a modern, progressive European nation in the EU or we can stick with an isolated, hard-Brexit UK lurching ever further to the right and tilting towards Trump in search of an ally.
The Green vision for the EU is for a people’s Europe, protecting workers’ rights, the environment, welcoming refugees and reining in the banks and major corporations. Europe has its flaws but progress is being made, driven significantly by the Greens, and Scotland can be a leader for that progress. We want to be at the heart of the EU, working to end the economics of
inequality, corporate power, and unsustainable growth. These are problems that do not respect borders and it is through co-operation that we can tackle them.
SCOTTISH LIBERAL DEMOCRAT LEADER WILLIE RENNIE
LIBERAL Democrats are strong internationalists. That’s why, from security to the environment and jobs, Scottish Liberal Democrats recognise that it is in our interests to keep Scotland in the UK and the UK at the heart of Europe.
We are the only party campaigning to stay in both the UK and EU single markets, each of which supports business and jobs in Scotland. Simply put, the more LibDem MPs the better the deal on Europe.
Independent research from the Fraser of Allander Institute shows the Conservatives’ extreme Brexit puts at risk up to 80,000 Scottish jobs. This isn’t good enough. We want a brighter future for our children, not Theresa May and Nigel Farage’s bad Brexit deal that will hurt you, your family, your schools and hospitals.
We will fight a hard Brexit and give the people the final say on the Brexit deal.
The other parties are all over the place on Europe. Labour voted with Ukip at Westminster to support hard Brexit, while the SNP want to claim it as a mandate for another independence referendum even though the First Minister will not even commit to taking Scotland back in again.
This election is the chance to change the direction of the whole UK.
DAVID COBURN MEP AND LEADER OF UKIP SCOTLAND
DUE to Brexit, more and more people are referring to “Europe” and not to the “European Union”. The distinction is clear between the European Union as a supranational and sclerotic political system in terminal decline, while Europe is a continent with a diverse and fascinating cultural heritage.
Through Brexit, the UK will be able to create its own economic trade deals, regain jurisdictional powers and control the migrant influx which has been stressing our healthcare system, social housing and employment.
Our future relationship with the other nations in Europe will be based on friendship and free international co-operation.
The United Kingdom, of which Scotland is an integral part, will be far better off independent from the EU, no longer forced to contribute billions to unrealistic EU projects from which we do not benefit.
The slogan of the EU is “united in diversity”. Ironically, in a supranational federalist EU there is no diversity because everything ends up in a bland cultural porridge.
Due to Brexit we will be “united in diversity”. The UK will co-operate economically with other countries. Brexit will prove that the people of Europe do not need an alienating and unelected bureaucratic system in order to flourish.