Brown: Let Scotland strike own EU deals
● EX-PM says Scotland should have its own ties to Brussels ● Scottish Government complains of being ‘kept in the dark’
Scotland should be able to strike its own deals with the EU in devolved areas after Brexit, Gordon Brown has said, warning that UK ministers’ approach to devolution was putting the Union at risk.
The Labour ex-prime minister backed the Scottish Government and the SNP over claims of a post brexit ‘power grab’.
Scotland should be able to strike its own deals with the EU in devolved areas after Brexit, Gordon Brown has said, warning that UK ministers’ approach to devolution was putting the Union at risk.
The Labour ex-prime minister backed the Scottish Government and the SNP over claims of a post-brex- it “power grab”, saying powers in devolved areas returning from Brussels should have been automatically passed on to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
His intervention came as the Scottish Government demanded sight of any draft Brexit deal ahead of a meeting between ministers from the UK and devolved ministers in London today.
Hopes are fading that a special EU summit will be called this month to break the deadlock in Brexit talks, with no sign of an outline agreement emerging in Brussels ahead of a meeting of Theresa May’s today.
“The latest proposed Brexit deal must be shared with the Scottish Government as a matter of urgency, on the same basis as the access granted to UK ministers,” said Scotland’s constitutional relations secretary Michael Russell.
“Given what is at stake for jobs and living standards it is imperative devolved administrations are able to scrutinise the UK’S plans.
“People in Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU and we are seeking to protect Scotland’s interests as much as possible. Clearly that is harder to do if we are being kept in the dark.”
In a speech at the Institute for Government think tank in London, Mr Brown said MPS should be able to amend the final Brexit deal when it comes before the Commons, forcing the Prime Minister to go back to the negotiating table if her agreement isn’t good enough.
He also joined shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer in putting pressure on the current Labour leader, backing the idea of a second EU referendum despite Jeremy Corbyn saying at the weekend that Brexit could not be reversed.
“There is nothing wrong with saying the government has got to go back and renegotiate,” Mr Brown said. “I dealt with the EU for many years and the Irish used to come back and forth renegotiating on all sorts of things. I don’t think we should get into this mindset that the only choice is between the deal that’s offered – if there is a deal – and no deal. I think there are other options, and it’s the duty of Parliament to explore these options.”
He said there must be a proper debate and vote on any Brexit deal brought back to the Commons and it would be a “travesty of democracy” if that did not happen.
“I for one have always said that I think there will be a second referendum, I believe that in the end the situation will have been seen to have changed since 2016 and the people should in the end have the final say,” Mr Brown said.
The former prime minister claimed the “hard Brexiteers of the Conservative Party” were “the English nationalist tail wagging the British bull dog”, and suggested a royal commission to unite the two sides of the EU debate and the four nations of the UK. “I don’t see why the Scottish parliament shouldn’t be able to sign a treaty with the European matter on a devolved matter… I don’t see why even if we’re outside the EU that would be prevented,” he said.
And Mr Brown warned the UK government’s approach to post-brexit powers “raises the question of how serious this government is about devolution – and if they don’t believe in it then people will start to draw conclusions”.
A UK government spokesperson said: “The outcome of leaving the EU will see an increase in the decision making powers of each devolved administration, meaning power will sit closer to people in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland than at any point during our membership.”