One small step for common sense

How one rural council has led the way for our politicians to treat Brexit questions seriously

The result of a vote by Scottish councillors in support of a so-called People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal between the UK and the EU may be entirely symbolic but others should pay close attention to it.

Aberdeenshire Council voted 33 to 26 in favour of another referendum on Brexit which would include the option for Britain to remain part of the European club. In supporting the move, Labour and SNP members have gone further than their own national leaders who remain frustratingly vague on the issue.

Of course, a vote in Aberdeenshire Council will have no impact whatsoever on the shape of Brexit but it does provide evidence that, when they are inclined to, members of different parties – particularly Labour and the SNP – can put aside their (often minuscule) differences.

The Scotsman was in favour of the UK remaining in the EU and, although we accept the result of the 2016 referendum, there was nothing in that result to prevent politicians returning to the question.

It quickly became apparent that the process of the leaving the EU and striking jackpot trade deals with new partners was not going to be as straightforward as the likes of Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson, and Jacob Rees-mogg had insisted throughout weeks of campaigning.

In fact, warnings about a negative impact on the economy have proved, already, to be more Project Reality than Project Fear.

Prime Minister Theresa May leads a Conservative Party bitterly split on how Brexit should look. While she and allies favour the retention of some links – the “Chequers Deal” – others would gladly pay whatever cost a No-deal Brexit might bring just to be free of the EU.

Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn continues to pay little more than lip service to the demands of a growing number of his own supporters who would very much like him to get fully behind demands for a second referendum including a Remain option.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon isn’t much more enthusiastic, saying she would not stand in the way of a People’s Vote but stopping short of campaigning for one.

Councillors in Aberdeenshire have done something MSPS and MPS have so far failed to do. They’ve worked together to, at the very least, ask that the crucial issue is examined as closely as possible.

Surely the SNP and Labour leaders can see the sense in this rare instance of co-operation?