SCOTLAND’S 13 Tory MP are coming under pressure to vote for their constituencies rather than their party in today’s Commons debate on the EU Withdrawal bill.
Labour have appealed to Scottish Secretary David Mundell and his colleagues not to allow the government to threaten devolution by backing the EU Withdrawal Bill, which will effectively take the UK out of Europe and start the process of converting all EU law into domestic British law.
The bill’s controversial clause 11, which sees powers repatriated from Brussels going straight to Westminster rather than to Holyrood, even if they are in devolved areas, has been described as a “naked power grab” by Nicola Sturgeon and her Welsh Labour counterpart Carwyn Jones.
Despite promises from Mundell and the Tory government, the clause remains unamended, with the government saying it ran out of time. It has instead promised to work on it in the House of Lords.
Shadow Scottish secretary Lesley Laird and shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer have called on the Scots Tories to back a Labour amendment ”to protect the principles of devolution.”
“The Bill can still be changed before it goes to the House of Lords – Labour’s amendment today can fix these problems.
“That’s why Labour has written to Scottish Tory MPs urging them to back our amendment – and protect the devolution settlement.”
When the repeal bill last went through the Commons there were concerns from Scottish Tory MPs about the impact of clause 11 on the devolution settlement in Scotland, though they chose at that point not to amend.
A UK Government spokesperson said they were hopeful of further progress: "We want the whole of the UK to come together in support of this legislation, which is crucial to delivering the outcome of the referendum. Every part of the United Kingdom needs a functioning statute book, and that applies as much to Scotland as elsewhere.
"We have made good progress in our discussions with the Scottish Government on common frameworks and we look forward to making significant further progress over the coming months."
Meanwhile, the SNP has also challenged Jeremy Corbyn to “get off the fence” and back membership of the single market and customs union – warning Labour would be “guilty of destroying jobs, and slashing the incomes, livelihoods, and living standards of millions of people” by continuing to back Tory hard Brexit plans.
SNP Foreign Affairs spokesman Stephen Gethins said: “Time is running out to prevent the economic catastrophe of an extreme Tory Brexit. Jeremy Corbyn must now get off the fence, show some leadership, and get behind efforts to protect our vital membership of the single market and customs union”.
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