SCOTLAND’S Brexit minister has said there are no circumstances in which SNP MPs would back invoking Article 50 which would start the two-year negotiation process of leaving the European Union.
Michael Russell made his position clear after it emerged last week Jeremy Corbyn was expected to impose a three-line whip on his MPs to back any legislation in the Commons to begin the formal exit.
A Supreme Court ruling on whether Parliament should have a say is to be published tomorrow following a legal battle between campaigners and the UK Government, which did not want the the matter to go to a Commons vote.
Russell set out the stance when asked yesterday if SNP representatives in the House of Commons were certain to oppose Article 50.
“Absolutely,” he told the BBC Sunday Politics Scotland.
“I can’t conceive of circumstances in which we would support the triggering of Article 50.”
MSPs will be in Brussels today in a bid to gauge support for Scotland keeping some form of connection with both the European Union and the single market.
Members of Holyrood’s European Committee will speak to key figures there, with talks centred on what can be done to mitigate the impact of Brexit on Scotland’s economy and wider society.
Research by the respected Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University has forecast 80,000 jobs would be lost in Scotland and wages fall by £2,000 if the country’s leaves the single market.
Theresa May indicated that UK will leave the single market as “one union” and will not hold onto “bits of membership” when it quits the following the Leave result in the referendum last June. But the Scottish Government has been pressing for a separate deal which may allow Scotland to remain in the single market.
May’s speech suggested she would not accept such a plan, but has yet to formally respond to the First Minister’s proposals set out in the Scotland in Europe paper published last month.
Joan McAlpine, the convener of the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee, said: “The Prime Minister last week indicated that the UK is heading for a ‘hard Brexit’.
“Evidence taken by the committee shows there is a great deal of concern in Scotland about what that will mean for people, organisations and sectors right across the country.
“As Brexit gets closer – Article 50 is expected to be invoked in the next two months – it is vital that we explore all the ramifications of this as well as every possible avenue that helps Scotland retain as close a relationship with the EU and its single market as possible.”
MSPs will meet senior German MEP David McAllister, who is vice president of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament, and Danuta Hubner, the chairman of the Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee.
McAlpine said: “Sixty-two per cent of people in Scotland voted to stay in the EU, so our visit to Brussels is an important opportunity to gauge the level of support amongst key European figures, like David McAllister and the European Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee for Scotland retaining some form of connection to the EU and the single market.”
Deputy convener Lewis Macdonald said: “We’re moving into a crucial phase in the run up to Article 50 being triggered, and these meetings will help us understand the implications of Brexit for Scotland on major issues such as citizenship, the economy and trade.”
Corbyn was last week accused of “capitulating” to the Tories as he ramped up his support for Brexit insisting Scotland and the UK as a whole could benefit from leaving the European Union.
In a speech in Glasgow on Friday he argued that exiting the bloc would pave the way for an opportunity for greater devolution as well as provide a chance to redistribute wealth.
“Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were all empowered by Labour’s devolution,” he said. “Now Brexit presents a further opportunity.”
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