TORY Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg has sparked a furious backlash after saying that Scotland should not have another independence referendum for at least 20 years.
The backbencher said that any future referendum should be ruled out for a generation. Rees-Mogg also said he was not in favour of increased powers for Holyrood post Brexit, in areas such as immigration and trade.
The SNP hit back saying that the Tory’s comments show exactly why decisions about Scotland should be taken in the Scottish Parliament and not at Westminster.
READ MORE: Scotish Twitter responds to Rees-Mogg's 'no indyref2 for 20 years' call
Scottish Brexit Secretary Mike Russell added that Scotland had lost trust in politicians like Rees-Mogg.
Speaking during a short speaking tour of Scotland, Rees-Mogg – MP for North East Somerset – said that Scotland held the right to hold a second referendum on independence, they just had to wait a while to do so.
“Of course Scotland is entitled to have another referendum at some point in the future, but I think the SNP’s position of a generation is a reasonable one,” he said.
“It should be a generational decision, and a generational decision is not made over two or three years. A generation is somewhere beyond 20 years.”
On the issue of increased powers for Holyrood after the UK exited the European Union, Rees-Mogg said that areas like immigration and trade should remain reserved.
“There are some powers held by the European Union that will inevitably flow down to the devolved parliaments or assemblies,” he said.
“Whether it’s possible to do it on trade is a more complex issue because those are international treaties that affect the whole of the United Kingdom market and it would be difficult to do on a devolved basis.
“The principle that powers that come from Brussels should, as far as possible, go to the constituent parts of the United Kingdom is a good one but that won’t be possible for everything.
“To do it for immigration would be really difficult because once people had come into Scotland, how would you limit their ability to go around the rest of the country?
“We certainly don’t want to be the sort of country that has internal controls or identify cards. I think that would undermine some of our most ancient freedoms,” he added.
Russell hit back, saying that comments like these explain why Scotland has lost trust in politicians like Rees-Mogg.
He told BBC Scotland: “Trust in politics and trust in Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson evaporated a long time ago, given the way that the [Brexit] referendum was run and given their antics since then.
“The way to restore trust in politics is to listen to the people and in Scotland that means to represent the people in Scotland who said ‘we don’t want to leave’.
“I think what we’re heading for is a continued stalemate.
READ MORE: Tory Brexit game is designed to sell us short and asset strip the country
“It’s difficult to see how the prime minister can move from the Chequers position without alienating even more of her party but she can’t get a deal if she sticks to the Chequers position. And that will be the big issue of the autumn.”
A spokeswoman for the SNP added: “The fact that right-wing extreme Brexiteer Tories like Jacob Rees-Mogg are seeking to dictate to the people of Scotland shows exactly why decisions about Scotland should be taken in Scotland and not at Westminster.
“Not only does Jacob Rees-Mogg back Brexit, he is also against allowing Scotland to chart our own”
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