Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard:
“It’s not a matter of campaigning for or against Brexit. There has been a referendum in which people overall decided that we should leave the European Union and I have said repeatedly that I think the job of elected politicians is to look at the best way of extracting the best deal under those circumstances.
“Our policy on Brexit so far has been to try to secure the best deal. The manifesto of the Labour Party will be decided by the Labour Party and we’ve got a process for determining that.’’
READ MORE: Hundreds gather at London march to call for new general election
Westminster SNP leader Ian Blackford:
“I would relish a General Election and look forward to the SNP coming out of one in a strengthened position. The SNP are still the dominant voice, the dominant party in Scotland. I firmly believe that if we have to put ourselves in front of the electorate again, we’d get the overwhelming backing of the people of Scotland.”
Co-convener of the Scottish Greens Patrick Harvie:
“Don’t get me wrong – I’d love to see the back of the Tories tomorrow. But neither main party seems capable of uniting behind a manifesto which cuts through the Brexit shambles. It’s hard to see how an election would actually resolve this crisis.”
Tom Kibasi director of the Institute for Public Policy Research:
“A General Election would present a huge challenge for both Labour and the Tories. With a large majority of Tory MPs committed to leaving the EU, the party would be forced to embrace either a soft Brexit or even a no deal. Wary of antagonising leave supporters, Labour would likely promise to respect the 2016 referendum by negotiating a soft Brexit – but promise a referendum on the final deal with ‘Remain’ as an option on the ballot paper.”
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