May’s Brexit deal is bad for Scotland
Next Tuesday, we will have reached a decisive moment in the tortuous saga that is Brexit. Westminster MPs will vote that day on whether to accept or reject the EU withdrawal deal and political declaration that Theresa May now says is the only deal on the table.
Time will tell, but the omens are not good for Mrs May’s deal as it has come in for criticism from all sides, for varying reasons.
Last week, the Scottish Government published analysis which showed that the current proposal could cost the equivalent of £1,600 per person in Scotland by 2030, compared to EU membership. Under the proposed deal, it is not even certain that a free trade deal will be agreed, meaning the cost to Scotland could be a lot higher.
The UK Government then published its own analysis which shows that under any scenario of leaving the single market and the customs union, we will be poorer.
This deal is wrong for my Rutherglen and Cambuslang constituents, and it will be devastating for Scotland as a whole.
It takes Scotland out of the EU, despite a majority here voting to remain; it removes Scotland from the European Single Market of 500 million people, and it leaves future trading arrangements uncertain for both goods and services. Should the so-called Irish ‘backstop’ come into play, it puts Scotland at a potential competitive disadvantage to Northern Ireland. The guaranteed high standards and protections that come with EU membership would be eroded, including those related to the environment, food safety, animal welfare, health and safety, equality and working conditions. The deal also appears to contradict the UK Government’s previous position on fisheries: that there should be no link between access to UK waters and access to EU markets. It will not be the first time that the Tories have failed Scotland’s fishing communities. Whilst the Tories are all at sea with their Brexit positions, Labour are not offering anything that much better themselves. Jeremy Corbyn is not an advocate for Remain; he’s not an advocate for a People’s Vote; he’s not an advocate for an alternative single market and customs union compromise. The idea that this is a binary choice between a Tory hard Brexit and a Labour hard Brexit is grossly misleading.
Labour and the Tories only reflect the views of a limited proportion of the British public on this issue – and an even smaller proportion of the Scottish public, who voted overwhelmingly against Brexit – so the views of the SNP should not be ignored.
The SNP Scottish Government is clear: our bottom line – short of continued EU membership – is continued, permanent membership of the Single Market and Customs Union.
This deal is wrong for my Rutherglen and Cambuslang constituents, and it will be devastating for Scotland as a whole