A DISPUTE between Holyrood and Westminster over the UK Internal Market Bill could go to court after Michael Gove indicated that the Tory Government will push ahead with the legislation without the Scottish Government’s consent.
Cabinet Office Minister Gove insisted he wanted to secure the backing of MSPs for the Brexit bill, as he dismissed concerns about it as “mythmaking” and “stories to scare children at bedtime”.
But Scottish Constitution Secretary Michael Russell has already confirmed ministers at Holyrood will refuse consent, with the rest of parliament likely to follow suit when the issue comes before MSPs for a vote.
In that circumstance, Russell said that “the UK Government has to decide if it’s going to act in a dictatorial fashion and simply ignore the Scottish Parliament”.
If that happened, Russell told BBC Radio Scotland, there could be court action from Scottish ministers against the UK Government. He insisted: “I’ve said from the beginning we will take all options, up to and including legal action.”
Gove said he hoped that as the “bogus arguments against the bill are exploded” MSPs could be persuaded to back the new law. But he said if they did not it was “vitally important” that the UK Government act to ensure the continued smooth running of trade between the four nations. The plans have been criticised by farmers, education bodies, parliament committees and academics as a risk to devolution and food standards.
Gove was pressed on the issue when he appeared before Holyrood’s Finance and Constitution Committee, with Green co-leader Patrick Harvie telling the UK minister he looked like “someone who is required to ask for consent but who doesn’t ultimately care if consent is given”.
Gove said that under the Sewell convention, the UK Government would “not normally proceed with legislation if it touches on devolved competences without the consent of the devolved administration”.
But he insisted: “Leaving the European Union is not a normal occurrence, it is an exceptional one.
“I hope that we will secure a legislative consent motion but of course it is vitally important that we safeguard the UK internal market.”
Alex Rowley, Scottish Labour’s former deputy leader, said Gove is pushing Scotland towards independence more than ever by ignoring Holyrood’s concerns.
Rowley said the Brexit Internal Market Bill is not a power surge, as claimed by Tories, but is a power grab. He also repeated warnings about trade deals leading to an NHS sell-off.
“That’s why the people of Scotland are revolting on mass around these issues and it is why you will pave the way to independence in Scotland, not the SNP, but you and your friend the Prime Minister,” Rowley said.
READ MORE: Michael Gove's Brexit power grab comments 'pave the way for independence'
Gove said the claim is “irrational and absurd”, adding: “I haven’t seen any evidence of that.”
A series of opinion polls have put independence ahead of the pro-Union vote, with one recent survey putting support for independence at 55%, reversing the result of the 2014 referendum. The SNP are on course to dominate the Holyrood election next May and take a fourth term in office.
Gove added: “I don’t think this is the talk of the steamie, I don’t think it’s the case that people in Aberdeen and Auchtermuchty are looking at the UK Internal Market Bill and saying this is a Trojan horse to the privatisation of the NHS.”
On any potential NHS privatisation after Brexit, Gove said: “This is a totally confected political myth and the truth of course is what we’re doing is protecting the internal market and maintaining high standards.”
The Scottish Government has put forward a legislative consent memorandum at Holyrood criticising the bill, saying it “risks more uncertainty and confusion for businesses and consumers” and “encouraging harmful deregulation”.
Gove told MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s constitution committee that there would be no “race to the bottom” in regulations, saying the UK Government had been a “world leader” in environmental and animal standards.
He said: “The idea the UK Government would compromise our high animal welfare standards is for the birds. It may be a lurid fantasy for some that it’s the secret agenda of the UK Government to use this as a Trojan horse to privatise the NHS, but that’s one of the most absurd, ludicrous and irrational fantasies I’ve heard in my political lifetime.”
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