NICOLA Sturgeon has appealed for Scotland’s place in Europe to be protected following Theresa May’s “catastrophic” defeat in the Commons on her Brexit deal last night. The First Minister said the process of leaving the EU should be stopped “urgently” to prevent the UK crashing out of the EU on March 29 without an agreement.
“This is a defeat of historic proportions for the Prime Minister and her government. We have reached the point now where it would be unconscionable to kick the can any further down the road. After two and a half years of Westminster chaos, Scotland must not be ignored any longer. Our place in Europe must be protected,” she said.
“It has been crystal clear for months that the Prime Minister’s approach was heading for a crushing defeat. Instead of facing up to that fact, she wasted valuable time with her postponement of the meaningful vote in December. There is no more time to waste.”
Sturgeon said legislation should be put down in the Commons to allow a second EU referendum to take place.“What must happen now is clear. Firstly, and most urgently, the clock must be stopped on the Article 50 process. This is the only way to avoid any possibility of the UK crashing out of the EU on March 29 without a deal. Secondly, legislation must be brought forward to put this issue back to the electorate in another referendum. The government has had more than two and a half years to deliver a workable Brexit plan and it has completely failed to do so. The notion that it can do so now in a matter of weeks is farcical.”
The First Minister said SNP MPs will back a Labour motion of a no confidence motion in the government, which Jeremy Corbyn tabled last night and which will be debated in the Commons today. However, she added regardless of who leads the government the option of remaining in the EU is “the only credible option” which protects the economy.
Her call for a second EU referendum was backed by Labour’s Ian Murray who urged his party to get behind it. “This is a historic and humiliating defeat for the Prime Minister and her government is now in total disarray. Parliament has rejected her deal and in parliamentary terms it is dead.We also know that parliament will not countenance a catastrophic no-deal Brexit. We must now immediately test the house to establish if MPs still have confidence in this failed government. The Prime Minister must not come back and try to pass her deal again in an attempt to run down the clock.”
He said: “We know any deal can’t be as good as what we currently enjoy as a member of the EU, so she should put her deal to the public in a People’s Vote. The ballot paper should offer the option of remaining in the EU – and that’s something which Labour should get fully behind.”
Shadow Scottish Secretary Lesley Laird said May had “lost all authority” and an election was needed to break the deadlock. She said Labour’s Brexit plan “would protect jobs and workers’ rights, and bring the country together”.
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