Scottish Parliament refuses legal consent for UK trade deal with EU
The Scottish Parliament voted to refuse consent for Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade bill with the EU after it was passed by the House of Commons yesterday.
After a fierce debate in Holyrood on whether to pass a Legislative Consent Motion (LCM) for the European Union (Future Relationship) Bill, MSPS voted not to, by 92 to 30 with one abstention.
An LCM has to be passed to show a devolved administration is content for the UK Parliament to pass a law on a devolved matter. However, the refusal by Holyrood to grant one will not have any impact on the bill becoming law.
During the debate First Minister Nicola Sturgeon declared the SNP would “vote against a rotten Brexit that Scotland has rejected all along, and we will say no to a hard Brexit deal that damages our economy, our society and the opportunities of this and future generations”.
She also challenged the Conser vatives to lay out “in clear and simple terms what the benefits of it [the deal] to Scotland actually are”.
Ms Sturgeon added: “My prediction – the Tories will do none of that. Because, quite simply, they can’t. Far from respecting Scotland’s democratic wishes, this deal rides roughshod over them.
“They’ll say we have to back this deal not because it’s any good, but because the alternative is worse. That, frankly, is an insult to Scotland’s intelligence.
“I t ’s l e g a l l y s u s p e c t f o r a star t. But more to the point, the deal will pass, regardless of how S cotland’s MPS vote, because that’s what the Westmi n s te r e s t a b l i s h ment h a s decided.”
Ms Sturgeon said the “disastrous” deal proved the argument for S cottish independence, as S cottish opinion on Brexit had been “disregarded”.
However, Scottish Conservative leader at Holyrood, Ruth Davidson, accused the First Minister of adopting a hypocritical stance after months of warning against a no-deal outcome.
Sp eaking after the debate, M s D av i d s o n s a i d : “T h e s e c o n to r t i o n s a n d c o n t r a d i ctions from Nicola Sturgeon are a masterclass in hypocrisy and inconsistency. By ordering her MPS to vote for no deal, she reveals the ugly truth – she never wanted a deal in the first place despite years of doomsday warnings.”