A SENIOR MSP has urged the UK Government to give Holyrood new powers over immigration as an “olive branch” on the second anniversary of the EU referendum result announcement.

The call from Patrick Harvie, co-convener of the Scottish Greens, comes after MSPs last week backed a Green proposal to let refugees living in Scotland vote in elections.

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He said the immigration powers were needed to attract people from the EU and beyond to Scotland, after a report by the Centre on Constitutional Change revealed the scale of the post-Brexit challenge.

The centre’s Dr Sarah Kyambi said barriers to entry would put people off coming to the UK. “We found that increased restrictions and barriers to entry would prompt European Economic Area (EEA) nationals to consider their options elsewhere, within other EEA countries, but also in other English-language destinations such as Canada and the USA” she said.

“It is vital that considerations of the UK’s future immigration regime look at the impacts of proposed rules on migrants’ decisions, an aspect often neglected. As immigration policy in the UK and Scotland diverges, we need to give serious thought to the options for a differentiated system that lets regions pursue different goals.

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“Despite many calls for greater regionalisation in this area, the Migration Advisory Committee interim report appears to indicate that it is unlikely to support it, as it cannot find sufficient variation in regional labour markets.

“However, this fails to take into account the strong desire in Scottish politics to do things differently on immigration, and the reasons and goals underpinning it. A system that cannot accommodate a fuller consideration of immigration goals, and how best to meet them, will chafe.”

Glasgow MSP Harvie said Scotland would be at a “severe disadvantage” without immigration powers.

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“Until the Scottish Parliament has full control of immigration policy, Scotland will always be at a severe disadvantage in attracting those people wishing to make a contribution to our society and economy,” he said.

“We now know from an academic report published last week that Scotland will face a difficult task in attracting people from the EU and beyond post-Brexit, especially those families with young children looking for a new long-term home.

“This will cause huge damage to our economy and to essential services such as the NHS and care system which rely heavily on workers from elsewhere in Europe.

“Relations between the Scottish and Westminster governments are, understandably, at an all-time low and one way UK ministers could win back some trust is to acknowledge that Scotland’s immigration needs are distinct from the UK’s and devolve new powers. That’s two years of Scotland’s voice being consistently ignored, and now is the time for Westminster to listen.

“The Scottish Parliament has made a wonderful gesture in backing the principle that refugees living in Scotland should be given the right to vote.

“For the most part, asylum policy reserved to Westminster has been premised on racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric where the Tories have treated migrants and asylum seekers not as people, but as some abstract number to be reduced without care or regard for the suffering caused to those lives. With new powers, we can chart a different course.”