May will tell First Minister to respect result of Brexit vote
Leaders expected to clash over Scotland’s future in EU and UK
THERESA May will make it clear to Nicola Sturgeon tomorrow that she expects the First Minister to “respect the result” of the Brexit vote and not divide the country by trying to secure a special deal for Scotland.
Making a major speech on the UK’s departure from the EU, the Prime Minister is expected to call on everyone – whichever side they backed in the referendum – to come together behind the UK Government’s Brexit drive.
Ms Sturgeon has argued for Scotland to be given a separate deal which recognises the weight of the Remain vote north of the Border.
Scots voted by 62 per cent to 38 per cent to remain in the EU when the referendum took place last summer.
And the First Minister has warned that she will call a second independence referendum if Scotland’s interests are not looked after in the UK’s Brexit deal.
But Mrs May will use the opportunity of tomorrow’s Brexit speech to stress the importance of all Remainers respecting the result of theJunevoteandthevalueofthe UK being “one nation”.
She will say: “One of the reasons that Britain’s democracy has been such a success for so many years is that the strength of our identity as one nation, the respect we show to one another as fellow citizens, and the importance we attach to our institutions means that when a vote has been held we all respect the result.”
And, in what will be seen in Westminster as a clear shot across the bows of the Scottish Government, Mrs May will add: “The victors have the responsibility to act magnanimously. The losers have the responsibility to respect the legitimacy of the result: and the country comes together. Now we needtoputanendtothedivision and the language associated with it – Leaver and Remainer and all the accompanying insults – and unite to make a success of Brexit and build a truly global Britain.”
The Scottish Government wants the UK to remain a member of the European single market, but Mrs May is expected to use tomorrow’s speech to warn that the UK is likely to find itself outside the single market after Brexit takes place.
The Prime Minister is expected to point out that it will be impossible to remain in the single market and restrict immigration, so the UK will leave the market in order to regain power over its borders.
Mrs May is also expected to confirm that her plans for a hard Brexit will mean leaving the European customs union and ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.
Mike Russell, the Scottish Government’s Brexit minister, described the UK Government’s approach to Brexit as a “con” because of the damage leaving the single market will do to the economy.
He added: “Forcing us out of the single market will hit tax revenues and increase borrowing costs – and consequently cut funding for public services.
“And it now seems clear we’ll have to pay billions of pounds for access anyway – without enjoying the full benefits of membership.”