MSPs have overwhelmingly backed a call for Article 50 to be revoked. Only the Tories voted against the motion, tabled by the Greens, at Holyrood yesterday, although SNP Brexiteer Alex Neil abstained.
The motion called on the UK Government to effectively cancel Brexit if no time is made for People’s Vote, and if the UK finds itself on the brink of crashing out of Europe without a deal.
MSPs also backed a Scottish Government amendment calling on UK Ministers “to stop ignoring the views of this Parliament and the overwhelming majority of people in Scotland who wish to remain in the EU”.
Patrick Harvie was furious after a Tory spokesman described yesterday’s debate as “typical, self-indulgent posturing from the Greens”.
The party’s co-convenor said: “In the media today, the Conservatives are calling this debate ‘self-indulgent’.
“Apparently, creating this mess purely to address the Conservative Party’s internal ideological divide is not self-indulgent; prolonging the mess by refusing to reach out and seek consensus for staying inside the single market is not self-indulgent; and throwing a billion-pound bung to the misogynistic, homophobic, climate-change-denying, sectarian marchers of the Democratic Unionist Party in order to keep its own hopeless Prime Minister in office is not self-indulgent.
“However, apparently, anyone who tries to stop the chaos and end the crisis that the Tory Party has forced on the country is being self-indulgent.”
A petition on the UK Parliament’s website calling for Article 50 to be revoked has now been signed by nearly six million people.
Everyone who has put their name to it has been sent the same blunt response by the Department for Exiting the EU, saying the government “will not revoke Article 50”.
“We will honour the result of the 2016 referendum and work with Parliament to deliver a deal that ensures we leave the European Union,” the statement went on.
MPs are due to debate the petition on Monday.
Fiona Hyslop said it was unacceptable for the UK Government to continue to ignore the clear wishes of the Scottish Parliament
Speaking in Holyrood yesterday, Tory MSP Adam Tomkins said his party believed “that referendum results must be respected and delivered, not ignored and overlooked”.
“When a parliament legislates to hand a question to the people directly, that means that parliament is not looking for an opinion, but asking for a decision.
“Whether we like it or not, the British people voted in June 2016 that the United Kingdom should leave the European Union.”
The SNP’s Bruce Crawford said he wanted to see “Brexit derailed” because “of the social and economic damage” it would inflict on Scotland.
He said it was also about democracy and “the sovereignty of the people of Scotland”. Crawford said: “I know that, in the rest of UK, the UK Parliament has traditionally and historically been seen as sovereign, although that notion has taken a significant blow this week as a result of the actions of the Tory Government, which has signalled that it is prepared to ignore the will of Parliament.
“However, the position in Scotland, which is given strength by the claim of right, is that the people of Scotland are sovereign. The choice is therefore a very clear one for members of the Scottish Parliament: either we believe in the right of the people of Scotland to choose their own future or wedo not.”
Speaking after the debate, the Scottish Government’s External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop said the result had been decisive: “People in Scotland should not be taken out of the EU against their will and it is unacceptable for the UK Government to continually ignore the clear wishes of the Scottish Parliament.”
She added: “In line with the people of Scotland, the Scottish Government’s position has always been to remain in the EU and that can be done by holding a referendum with Remain on the ballot paper or by revoking Article 50.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here