David Mundell under fire for failing to rule out Brexit power grab

The Scottish Secretary was pressed on the power grab and whether he would use Section 12 of the European Union Withdrawal Act which allows Westminster to introduce rules north of the Border post-Brexit which have not been agreed by the Scottish Government or Holyrood.

Members of the Scottish and UK governments have been meeting through the Joint Ministerial Committee to develop frameworks in areas of policy coming back to the UK from Brussels such as farm subsidies, animal welfare and food standards that can work across the UK post-Brexit.

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Sheppard said that with five months to go before Brexit, just four of the 24 areas’ frameworks have been agreed.

Pressing Mundell, he said: “Can he update the House by saying in how many areas frameworks have been agreed, which they are and by which date he expects the remainder to be completed?”

Mundell said that a report on the subject would be brought forward “in the very near future”.

Sheppard responded: “It sounds as if the Secretary of State does not know. The truth is that in only four of the 24 areas have frameworks been agreed, and it is now practically impossible for the exercise to be completed by 29 March.

“He has threatened to resign. This is something he should resign over but, if he does not resign, will he give an assurance today to rule out the use of Section 12 orders to impose frameworks against the consent of a devolved administration?”

Mundell did not rule out he would use the order, and said: “I am seeking to be helpful to the Honourable Gentleman and respectful to Parliament.

“The Government are obliged to bring forward a report to Parliament – that is what it wishes – in which both his first and second questions will be answered.”

Later, Sheppard said: “It is clearer by the day that David Mundell has failed to lift a finger to prevent an all-out Tory power grab on the Scottish Parliament.

“If he is unable or unwilling to do his job standing up for Scotland then he must resign.

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“Time is now running out. The UK Government’s preparations on the common frameworks have been woefully inadequate, and as a result talks are not moving anywhere near fast enough to secure agreement with the devolved administrations before the UK crashes out of the EU exit door in March.

“The Scottish Secretary must provide firm guarantees that the UK Government will not use Section 12 orders to rip up the devolution settlement and impose Westminster rule against the consent of the Scottish Parliament if agreement cannot be reached in time.

“Imposing UK-wide frameworks on Scotland without agreement would be an affront to Scottish democracy and it would seriously constrain the operation of devolved powers in a completely unacceptable and unworkable way.”

Last week a senior EU spokesman said the model of farming subsidies being planned for the UK post-Brexit would cause severe damage to the Highlands and lead to depopulation of communities there. The official pointed to the dust bowls in the US – which caused mass evacuation in the 1930s – when describing what could happen in Scotland.

“The obvious implication I suppose is that farming stops producing, which has its own consequences in terms of food security,” he added.

“The consequences are possibly calamitous for the environment because it’s one thing for farmers to stop producing.

“If you look at what’s happened in the US, where farmers have essentially abandoned land and left it with dust bowls and so on.”

In March, the UK Government published a list of the areas normally devolved to Scotland that it wants to retain power over after Brexit for up to seven years.

The 24 areas also include those over fisheries, environmental protections and public procurement. UK ministers argue they need to be kept at Westminster until a UK-wide regulatory approach is in place.