Mundell: Increased powers for Scotland post-Brexit
SCOTTISH Secretary David Mundell has offered an “absolute guarantee” that the country will be handed more powers after the UK leaves the European Union.
The country’s only Tory MP said that Holyrood would be given greater control over Scottish affairs after Brexit, amid concern that key areas of agriculture and fishing policy could be returned to Westminster when the UK is handed back powers from Brussels.
It comes after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned during a speech in Edinburgh this week that the UK Government would try to use Brexit as an excuse to “rein in” the devolved administration.
Speaking during Scotland Questions in the Commons, Mr Mundell said: “This Government’s plan is to engage with the Scottish Government and with the other devolved administrations to discuss these very serious issues.
“It’s not to go out and tell the people of Scotland that the devolved settlement is being undermined by Brexit – a Brexit that will lead to more powers being exercised by the Scottish Parliament.
“I can give you an absolute guarantee that after the United Kingdom leaves the EU, the Scottish Parliament and Scottish ministers will have more powers than they have today.”
SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson pressed the minister on promises over agriculture and fisheries policy, which he said were vital to Scotland’s rural communities.
He said: “During the Brexit referendum campaign, people were told decisions taken in Brussels on agriculture and fisheries would revert to the Scottish Parliament.
“You have not given a clear answer on this question and it matters to our rural industries, to our rural economy and Scotland as a trading nation.”
However, Mr Mundell said the Government had guaranteed that all existing powers exercised by the Scottish Parliament would remain the same.
Mr Robertson raised a similar question about devolved powers at Prime Minister’s Questions, to which Theresa May replied that discussions were ongoing with the devolved administrations about future powers.
She added: “The overriding aim, I think, for everything we do when we make those decisions is making sure that we don’t damage the very important single market of the United Kingdom – a market which I might remind him is more important to Scotland than the European Union is.”
Meanwhile, the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee has said that EU fishermen should have guaranteed access to UK waters as part of post-Brexit trade deals, .
In a draft text, MEPs said free access to waters and ports was “inseparable” from free access of fish products to the European market and the two issues should “be treated as a single block” in Brexit negotiations.
“It would be unacceptable to grant British fishery products free access to the Union, if the European vessels no longer had access to British waters,” it said.
Scottish Tory MEP Ian Duncan said the plan was “flawed”.