SNP MP Dr Philippa Whitford has been praised as "a force of nature" for slamming Boris Johnson's Brexit deal on Question Time.
Speaking on the BBC's flagship political show, the MP for Central Ayrshire compared the Brexit deal to a married couple divorcing and one of them sleeping in the spare room.
She said: "I think the slogan 'get Brexit done' and then we do other things is nonsense. I mean, this isn't even the divorce. This is actually the bloke sleeping in the spare room. So this is the beginning of the beginning. So in actual fact, Brexit will be hanging over the UK for the next decade."
Whitford, who was elected to Westminster in 2015, said there is nothing in the PM's new deal that will be "remotely like what we have now".
She added: "And two words that are missing from it, one is frictionless and the other one is Scotland. Scotland doesn't get a mention anywhere. And I'm sorry, you talk about fishing opportunities, well my constituency is a fishing constituency where we catch langoustine, 85% of which goes to Europe.
"The Northern Ireland fishing boats are just off our coast, they will be able to land through Northern Ireland. I'm from Northern Ireland, I don't bregrudge that. But fishing on the west coast of Scotland will be absolutely hammered by this."
Whitford appeared on the panel alongside Tory Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Barnado's CEO Javed Khan, the Brexit Party's Martin Daubney and Labour's Anneliese Dodds.
She continued: "As someone who spent 33 years in the NHS, everyone's NHS will be hammered by this. How many Europeans have looked after you as doctors and nurses? These are the people who look after us, these are the people who work in our universities doing research. We are losing so many health benefits by coming out of Europe. Including the wee plastic card, that if you're sensible you have it in your wallet.
"We talk about avoid No Deal because we'll have medicine shortages. The end place is a Canada-style free trade agreement. That means we are a long way from Europe, that means there is lots of friction and we lose a lot of options."
The #BrexitShambles will just drag on and on - there is no just 'get it done' #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/qFOInqZIBa
— Dr Philippa Whitford (@Dr_PhilippaW) October 17, 2019
🏴 Scotland was not mentioned once in Boris Johnson's #BrexitDeal.
— The SNP (@theSNP) October 17, 2019
🔥 @Dr_PhilippaW eviscerates Boris Johnson and his shoddy Brexit, exposing it for the damaging and unacceptable proposal that it is. #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/jpjebnXFQR
The MP has previously said her passion for independence stems largely from working as a consultant breast surgeon for nearly two decades – she wants to protect the NHS against privatisation.
She spoke about how Scotland has been ignored in the Brexit process, adding: "My constituents, my country, every single local authority in Scotland voted Remain – 62% of us voted Remain and we've been ignore.
"So I'm sorry, this is worse than Theresa May's deal, hard as I would have thought that was possible to imagine. And also being from Northern Ireland ... there are lots of things about Northern Ireland that are actually a fudge and we actually have no idea whether that's going to work or not.
She continued: "We've heard so much about consent about Northen Ireland but what about Scotland's consent? We didn't consent to this ... we're told, you know, Northern Ireland might get to vote every four years, but Scotland can't have another vote on its future for 25 years. Where is the democracy in that?"
My job is to stand up for my constituents - simples #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/WdU2gyN27G
— Dr Philippa Whitford (@Dr_PhilippaW) October 17, 2019
Whitford was praised across the political spectrum for her comments.
Former SNP MP Michelle Thomson said Whitford is "a force of nature".
My friend @Dr_PhilippaW is a force of nature! Brave, principled and one of the most hard-working MPs I know.
— Michelle Thomson (@MichelleThomson) October 18, 2019
Here are the best reactions:
1.
#bbcqt ...as a Labour supporter I was quite impressed by the SNP Phillipa Whitford MP’s take on Brexit negotiations.
— Bill Cunningham (@NaeNumpty) October 17, 2019
2.
Dr Phillipa Whitford sitting there quietly looking like she is thinking "why the hell did i agree to appear on this madhouse" #bbcqt
— DeepFriedPenguin 🏴 (@Darkblue1965) October 17, 2019
3.
Well said Phillipa Whitford! Common-sense, sober, instructive, fair and knowledgeable. Please have her on again #FionaBruce#BBCQuestionTime @theSNP
— Jeni du Sart-Murray (@JeniDSM) October 17, 2019
4.
The more that Phillipa Whitford says, the wiser she shows herself to be.#bbcqt
— Snarkulus (@snarkulus) October 17, 2019
5.
I love that as well as watching me take my life back and become a strong woman, my daughter grows up in the era of Joanna Cherry, Dr Phillipa Whitford and Nicola Sturgeon! pic.twitter.com/VMun5mjt0X
— WeeHalfPintofBlood🕸🎃💀🧙🏻♀️ (@weehalfpintt) October 18, 2019
6.
Dr Phillipa Whitford is a stand out on tonight’s question time. Honest, straight talking, intelligent and eloquent.
— Brian Hepburn (@BrianHepburn14) October 17, 2019
7.
Two words missing from this deal... “one is frictionless and the other is Scotland”. Dr P on fire 🔥 tonight on #bbcqt standing up for Scotland 🏴 because Boris has seemingly forgotten.. @Dr_PhilippaW pic.twitter.com/dRzdLSUKRZ
— Kirsty MacAulay (@kirstycrocket1) October 17, 2019
8.
Spot on @Dr_PhilippaW, “In Scotland we can’t afford to lose freedom of movement, it’s been a benefit to all of us and especially our young people.” #bbcqt ❤️🏴 🇪🇺
— Hannah Bardell 🏴🏳️🌈 (@HannahB4LiviMP) October 17, 2019
9.
I’ll wait for the Twitter soundbites. @Dr_PhilippaW speaks for everyone but especially us who have family with medical needs that the UK gov think are nothing more than collateral damage https://t.co/TLXPt2EOVE
— WeeHalfPintofBlood🕸🎃💀🧙🏻♀️ (@weehalfpintt) October 17, 2019
10.
I’ll wait for the Twitter soundbites. @Dr_PhilippaW speaks for everyone but especially us who have family with medical needs that the UK gov think are nothing more than collateral damage https://t.co/TLXPt2EOVE
— WeeHalfPintofBlood🕸🎃💀🧙🏻♀️ (@weehalfpintt) October 17, 2019
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