THE Tories in Scotland were left reeling by events at Westminster yesterday. Just 24 hours earlier they had welcomed the Brexit deal supposedly agreed by the Cabinet at Chequers and attacked SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon for suggesting it was unravelling.
In a statement on Sunday, Jackson Carlaw, the Scottish Tory deputy leader said: “Having said Theresa May could never get her Cabinet to agree a position to deliver a pragmatic Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon now finds herself outflanked by a united UK Government negotiating position and she just can’t stand it.”
Yesterday, as the Conservative Party outflanked itself, Ruth Davidson said it was right that Boris Johnson and David Davis had resigned.
The Scottish Tory leader, who has been touted as a possible replacement for May, said MPs should put their “shoulders to the wheel” in support of the Prime Minister. Davidson said: “At this vital time for our country’s future, people across Britain want – above all – a UK Government negotiating with one voice on the Brexit deal it seeks to achieve.
“I support Theresa May in leading such efforts in the days ahead.
“The Prime Minister made clear this weekend that collective Cabinet responsibility must be observed on Brexit. If individual ministers can’t sign up to that, then it is only right they are no longer part of the Government.”
Davidson described the Chequers plan as “a sensible compromise approach which respects the referendum result to leave the EU while offering pragmatism on trade, skills and regulation”.
She added: “For Scotland, those proposals will provide business with frictionless access to the EU, ensure we leave the Common Fisheries Policy and make clear there will not be a border in the Irish Sea.
“This all helps to bolster Scotland’s biggest and most important market, the UK internal market.
“I believe, therefore, that the Prime Minister deserves our support as she prepares for the upcoming tough negotiations with the European Union.
“I would urge colleagues to put their shoulders to the wheel in supporting the Prime Minister in that job.”
Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: “The Prime Minister has set out the Cabinet’s agreed UK position as we go into our negotiations with the EU.
“These are proposals which will bring significant benefits to Scotland and the whole of the UK, and I urge everyone to get behind them.”
However, Brexiteer Scottish Tory MP Ross Thomson, who campaigned for a Leave vote, said he was concerned about the plan and said he was “proud”of Davis and Johnson for “standing by their principles”.
Writing on Twitter, Thomson said: “I’ve been deeply concerned by the #ChequersPlan but reserved judgement until I could see detail. I’ve just left the Downing Street briefing and I still have concerns. The #Brexit plan opening offer appears so diluted that we would be a vassal state. I now await the White Paper.”
He later added: “The decisions we take now will shape Britain’s relationship with the EU and the rest of the world for a generation. It’s imperative we do Brexit right no half measures!”
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