SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford says his party will seek to derail the Great Repeal Bill in the Commons.
In an amendment to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, he will ask MPs to “decline” to pass it on to the next parliamentary stage until it gives a commitment to pass powers from the EU back to the devolved governments.
“The Bill does nothing to protect the interests of Scotland and the other devolved administrations – and is final confirmation of a Westminster power grab,” Blackford said.
READ MORE: The repeal bill is an attack on devolution
He added: “Once again, David Mundell has shown himself to be the Cabinet’s man in Scotland, rather than Scotland’s man in the Cabinet.
“Mr Mundell’s description of the Bill as a powers ‘bonanza’ is quite frankly ludicrous – this is a Westminster power grab laid bare, and his attempts to defend the indefensible do him no credit.”
Labour and the LibDems have also indicated they will seek to amend the Bill, with Tim Farron saying the Prime Minister should expect “hell” when MPs come to vote next autumn.
Scottish LibDem MP Alistair Carmichael said the Bill “already has all the hallmarks of another Theresa May disaster”.
“This government’s executive power grab and support for the most extreme interpretation of Brexit throws in our faces any pretence of being her being constructive and collaborative.”
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said her party would seek “a clear and binding commitment to repatriate powers in devolved areas to the Scottish Parliament. We will insist this must be done in a short, but achievable timeframe.
“If there is not a clear presumption of devolution, as well as the other demands set out by Keir Starmer, Labour has been clear that our MPs will not support this Bill in the Commons.”
Dugdale added: “The SNP has absolutely no interest in a Brexit deal that works for the entire UK, and it’s now fundamentally clear that Labour is the only party committed to an alternative to Theresa May’s Brexit that will deliver for the many, not the few.”
Green MSP Ross Greer said the Bill represents a “significant threat to the devolved parliaments in Wales and Scotland, attempting to impose UK-wide arrangements on what are devolved powers rather than negotiate for agreed frameworks”.
He added: “It is telling that one of the only areas of EU law the Government has decided not to transpose domestically is the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights.
“The Tories clearly do not want to be restrained by guarantees on our basic rights.”
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