Holyrood vote rejects ‘false promise’ of Brexit deal

The Scottish Parliament has voted to reject Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal amid claims it will leave parts of the country “severely and permanently damaged”.

SNP, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens voted in favour of a motion calling for a “better alternative” to be found.

Brexit secretary Mike Russell described yesterday’s debate as an “historic opportunity” for the Scottish Parliament to come together with a unified voice in opposition to the EU withdrawal agreement and also the prospect of a nodeal.

While the vote is merely symbolic, it puts on record Holyrood’s opposition to the path set out by the Prime Minister.

Mr Russell said a reduction in EU migrants would “severely and permanently damage” parts of the Scottish economy and make it “considerably harder” for legal and financial sector firms to deal with Europe.

He said: “In every area of Scotland there are businesses, organisations, communities and individuals who will suffer, directly suffer, over a long period of time if this deal is approved.

“This deal is not even the end of uncertainty. That is just another false promise.

“In fact the uncertainty flowing from the Prime Minister’s deal would last until the end of the transition period, which will not be in December 2020, no-one believes that – more likely December 2022 or even later.

“That’s at least four years of uncertainty to add to the twoand-a-half we’ve already had.”

He added: “Scotland needs and deserves better than the Prime Minister’s blindfold Brexit.”

But Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins said the Prime Minister’s deal was the only credible proposal to have been tabled since the EU referendum.

He said: “Either we leave the EU on the basis of the orderly withdrawal agreement that the Prime Minister and her team have negotiated, or something very close to it, or we crash out of the EU on a nodeal basis that would be a disaster for the economy.”

He said the motion put forward by the other parties to oppose the withdrawal plans and a no-deal Brexit was “just noise” and rejected the withdrawal agreement made a nodeal Brexit more likely.

“We want a better alternative, says the motion, without any clue as to what that alternative would be and how it could possibly be delivered,” he said.

Mrtomkinsaccusedthesnp of trying to “weaponise” Brexit in the service of independence.

Labour’s Neil Findlay said the Prime Minister’s deal was “doomed” and called for a general election.

He said the overwhelming feeling was “uncertainty” and accused the Conservatives of bringing in “utter chaos” through the EU referendum.

“The Prime Minister should admit the game is up and let democracy prevail in a general election,” he said.

0 Mike Russell says yesterday’s vote is a ‘historic opportunity’ for Holyrood