Nationalists get warning ahead of crunch talks
THERESA May’s deputy has urged the SNP to stop making ‘political noise’ and keep working with the UK Government.
David Lidington pleaded with the SNP to continue constructive dialogue ahead of the first face-to-face talks since the UK Government pressed ahead with the EU Withdrawal Bill without the consent of Holyrood.
He is set to meet Holyrood Brexit Minister Michael Russell tonight in Guernsey as the two-day British-Irish Council gets under way.
They will be joined by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones, Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley, Brexit Minister Robin Walker and representatives of the Channel Islands at a dinner event tonight, ahead of the main meeting tomorrow.
It comes after the SNP was accused of a ‘self-indulgent stunt’ last week when Nationalists walked out of Prime Minister’s Questions in a row over an obscure procedural point, following the party’s anger at the way in which devolution aspects of the EU Withdrawal Bill had been treated.
But SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford yesterday said the walkout was ‘most certainly’ not a one-off.
Writing in today’s Scottish Daily Mail, Mr Lidington, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and de facto deputy prime minister, urged the SNP to stop the protests in the interests of Scottish people.
He said: ‘Whatever the inevitable political noise as we unpick the complexities of our membership of the EU, I will ensure that we maintain the depth of our ongoing engagement with the Scottish Government, including this week at the British-Irish Council in Guernsey.
‘I hope that the Scottish Government will maintain their own side of that relationship, in the interests of the Scottish people that both they and the UK Government work for.
‘By working together, we will help secure a deal that sees us leave the European Union as a more modern country where all four nations have their voices heard, but also as one United Kingdom, as the people of Scotland voted for in 2014.’
The British-Irish Council’s two-day meeting is due to discuss the marine environment and ‘current political events’ at its main meeting tomorrow morning.
UK ministers are aware that they will need to seek further legislative consent from Holyrood for legislation including the Trade Bill, as well as Bills
‘In interests of Scottish people’
which deal with agriculture and fisheries after Brexit.
Mr Lidington said: ‘Working together is exactly what people all across the UK want to see their respective governments doing.
‘They want to see their lives being improved through joint endeavour.
‘They don’t expect different governments – with politicians from different parties – to agree on everything. But they do expect us to keep talking – and listening – to each other, and to co-operate on the big issues that affect us all.’
Yesterday, Mr Blackford indicated that his MPs would seek to cause more disruption at Westminster, saying it would ‘not be business as usual’.
He added: ‘What we did last week, is that a one-off and is that the end of it? It most certainly isn’t and what we do want to signal to the Government in London (is) that this will not be business as usual, our relationship with the Government, which will remain courteous, will be very different and we will seek to hold the Government to account as and when we can.
‘Now of course we’re not going to signal to the Government exactly how and when we will do that, we are looking at a number of things that we can do.
‘This will be procedural, this will be what we can do around legislation, but we’ll do it on the basis that we’re discharging our duty to stand up for Scotland, but it will be done in a way which is dignified, which does show respect – we will not show discourtesy.
‘But it will be absolutely crystal clear that there is a real determination that we have – and if I may say so as well that our colleagues that we work closely with in the Scottish Government have – that Westminster has to understand that we cannot accept what is taking place.’