May: Split will help bring economic joy

THERESA May has vowed that Brexit will help her to ‘spread economic prosperity’ across the UK as she prepares to hold talks with Nicola Sturgeon today.

The Prime Minister promised a ‘brighter future for the whole UK’ ahead of meeting the SNP leader for the first time since last month’s Supreme Court battle over Brexit legislation.

She is due to visit Edinburgh today to sign off a £1.2billion funding deal for the capital and the surrounding area, and announce that Dundee and Glasgow will together benefit from more than £4million of science funding. But Miss Sturgeon is expected to raise concerns about the prospect of a ‘deeply damaging’ no deal Brexit.

Mrs May will meet Miss Sturgeon and representatives of Edinburgh’s council and universities to sign the full City Deal for Edinburgh and South-East Scotland.

Funds will go directly to scientific research on space, health sciences, agri-tech and food and drink at Heriot-Watt, Queen Margaret and Edinburgh universities. It will also lead to the creation of five innovation hubs, including in robotics and space technologies and help build a 1,000-seat Edinburgh concert hall.

The UK and Scottish governments will both invest £300million, which is set to be matched by private sector investment.

Ahead of the visit, Mrs May said: ‘As we leave the EU the UK Government is working with business, academia and devolved administrations to create more good jobs and spread economic prosperity across the country. By making the most of our assets and the talents of all of our people, we can build a brighter future for the whole UK.’

Miss Sturgeon said: ‘With the Chequers proposals falling flat there is a very real risk we end up with a blind Brexit which will see the UK step off the cliff edge next March.’

Seven justices will rule later this year on whether the Scottish parliament’s Continuity Bill, which asserts Holyrood’s control over disputed powers returning from Brussels after Brexit, is constitutional.