POLITICS

Sturgeon heads to Downing Street for Brexit showdown with May

Bill, being debated in the Commons. SNP, Labour, LibDem and rebel Tory MPs are expected to work together to amend it.

The last time the two leaders met was in Glasgow in March, shortly after Ms Sturgeon had set out plans for a second independence referendum.

It was also on the eve of Mrs May triggering Article 50, the withdrawal process from the EU.

At the time, Ms Sturgeon said the talks had been cordial but she was “frustrated by a process that appears not to be listening” about Brexit.

Three weeks later, Mrs May called the snap general election that proved a setback for both leaders, with Mrs May squandering her majority and Ms Sturgeon losing a third of her MPs.

Ms Sturgeon has described the Bill as drafted as a naked “power grab”, as it would repatriate 111 devolved competencies to Westminster rather than Holyrood at Brexit. This is in spite of a basic principle of Scottish devolution being that powers not explicitly reserved to Westminster should lie in Edinburgh by default.

The UK Government has promised most of the powers will ultimately be forwarded to Holyrood, while some will be exercised through UK-wide “shared frameworks”.

The Scottish and UK governments are now debating which powers are devolved and when. In an effort to help broker a peace and avoid a constitutional crisis in the New Year, the Scottish Conservatives have conceded most powers ought to be devolved quickly.

The UK Government has also said Clause 11, the most problematic part of the Bill for the SNP, could be amended.

Ms Sturgeon is expected to reaffirm the Scottish Government’s opposition to the Bill as drafted and warn Holyrood would refuse to give it legislative consent.