MICHAEL Gove has been accused of treating Scotland with ”breathtaking” contempt after he admitted that Northern Ireland could have a competitive advantage because of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is responsible for overseeing the UK government’s preparations for leaving the EU, confirmed to MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s finance and constitution committee, that Scotland would not have the same consent and access powers as Northern Ireland does.
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The current proposal, agreed by London and Brussels last week, would see Northern Ireland remain in the UK’s customs territory but stay in the EU’s single market.
Goods coming from Great Britain into Northern Ireland would then enforce the EU’s customs code.
Four years after the end of the transition period, the Northern Ireland assembly at Stormont would then have to give their consent on maintaining the arrangements.
Though welcomed by the Irish government and Sinn Féin, it has been utterly rejected by unionists.
Gove told MSPs: “This liberal agreement will be in Scotland’s interests and the interests of the wider United Kingdom.
“It allows us to leave in a smooth and orderly fashion.
“It ensures we can move quickly to concluding a free trade agreement with no quotas, tariffs or quantitative restrictions on the access of our goods to European markets, but it also ensures that we can take decisions about things like financial services in in London and in Edinburgh, to take advantage of a greater degree of regulatory flexibility.”
Asked by SNP MSP if businesses in Northern Ireland would be better able to access the EU single market than Scottish businesses, Gove said “yes”.
When asked by Arthur if this would put Scottish businesses at a “competitive disadvantage”, Gove said: “It need not."
He added: “If we secure the free trade agreement we are looking to secure, then it should be the case that there will be no quotas, no tariffs, no quantitative restriction, no extra friction and that would allow businesses in Scotland, Wales and England to access the EU market.”
During the meeting, Tory MSP Adam Tomkins, suggested the SNP were quietly supporting No-Deal.
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Gove said: “I certainly don’t want a No-Deal outcome. The best means of avoiding a No-Deal outcome is to vote for this deal.
Speaking after the meeting, Green MSP Patrick Harvie, who sits on the committee, was scathing: “Michael Gove has talked about the importance of a consent mechanism for Northern Ireland, but he has confirmed that the UK is utterly unwilling to accept any similar principle for Scotland.
“The UK Government has already shown itself willing to legislate in defiance of Scotland’s devolution arrangements, and is clearly willing to do so again. The level of contempt for Scotland’s interests, and for our constitutional status, is breathtaking.”
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