Thornberry is open to Brexit talks with SNP

Labour’s shadow foreign secretary has said she would hold talks with the SNP in a bid to keep the UK in the single market – although she ruled out the possibility of Scotland striking a separate Brexit deal from the rest of the country.

Emily Thornberry also made clear that while Labour could have discussions with Nicola Sturgeon’s party to see if the UK could avoid a “hard Brexit” and stay part of the single market, it would not enter into a pact with the SNP.

The Scottish First Minister has said membership of the single market, which protects the free movement of goods and people, “seems to be the obvious consensus position we should try to work towards”.

But in a speech at the Institute of Directors conference in London on Tuesday, she also made clear the Scottish Government is “looking to see if there are ways in which – for example – the benefits of single market membership could be retained by Scotland even if they are discarded by the rest of the UK”.

Ms Thornberry said she would be “more than happy” to talk to the SNP about how the UK could stay in the single market following the vote to leave the EU. But she stressed there must be one deal for the whole of the UK.