THE SNP will today challenge the UK Government to rule out a Brexit power grab on the Scottish Parliament – as MPs debate an SNP motion calling for an extension to the transition period.
Leading an opposition day debate, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford will say Tory plans to roll back devolution in areas including state aid, agriculture, food and environmental standards represent the biggest threat to devolution settlement since the Scottish Parliament was reconvened 21 years ago.
Blackford will also call on Boris Johnson to accept the extension to the transition period on offer from the EU – warning that crashing out with a bad deal or no deal in the middle of a pandemic and global economic crisis will damage the economy and hinder the recovery.
Scottish Government analysis has revealed ending the transition period in 2020 could remove £3 billion
from the Scottish economy in two years – on top of the impact of the coronavirus. A Focaldata poll showed the majority of people in both Scotland and the UK as a whole support an extension to the transition period.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon blasts Boris Johnson's all-out ‘assault on devolution’
Blackford said ahead of the debate: “Tory plans for a Brexit power grab on Scotland represent the biggest threat to devolution since the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999.
"The threat to our NHS, agriculture, environment and economy is growing by the day as Boris Johnson tramples over Scotland’s interests to satisfy Donald Trump’s trade deal demands.
"The Tory Government must rule out any attempt to roll back devolution, which the SNP will resist every step of the way, and put the economy first by extending the Brexit transition period.
“There is just six months left until the transition period ends – but little progress has been made and there is no good deal in sight. All of the options being considered would inflict lasting damage to the economy and leave the UK poorer and worse off.
“With businesses struggling to survive and thousands of jobs being cut, we cannot afford a Tory Brexit crisis piled on top of the coronavirus emergency. Crashing out of the EU would be damaging at any time but it is extremely reckless in the middle of a global pandemic.”
READ MORE: UK warned to 'keep its hands off' Scotland's devolved powers
Blackford added: “Scotland has been completely ignored throughout the Brexit process and we have been shut out of the trade talks. It is clearer than ever that the only way to properly protect Scotland’s economy and our place at the heart of Europe is to become an independent country.”
Scotland’s Constitution Secretary said yesterday that the UK Government should “keep its hands off devolved powers” in the row over state aid regulations. Michael Russell said the best way to ensure Scotland has sufficient autonomy is for it to be an independent member of the EU.
His comments came after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused the UK Government of a “full-scale assault on devolution”.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland, Russell accused the UK Government of being involved in a regulatory “race to the bottom” to secure post-Brexit trade deals. He said: “The best way to solve this is for Scotland to be an independent member of the EU.
“In the meantime, the best way to solve this is for the UK to get its hands off devolved powers and stop trying to undermine devolution.”
Russell represents Scotland on the Joint Ministerial Committee on European Negotiations, supposedly set up to allow the devolved administrations to be involved in determining the UK’s approach to Brexit.
He said: “Having been a member of the committee for the last four years, I can tell you this is now the end of the road and there is no possibility of us accepting these changes.”
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