BORIS Johnson will insist that leaving the EU will be a “historic opportunity” to “unleash this country’s full potential and level up the entire United Kingdom” when he delivers a Brexit day address tonight.
The Prime Minister is set to claim that his job “is to bring this country together and take us forward”.
He will add: “And the most important thing to say tonight is that this is not an end but a beginning.
“This is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain goes up on a new act.
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“It is a moment of real national renewal and change.
“This is the dawn of a new era in which we no longer accept that your life chances – your family’s life chances – should depend on which part of the country you grow up in.
“This is the moment when we begin to unite and level up.”
But the SNP’s Ian Blackford (above) cast doubt on the likelihood of the Prime Minister securing his trade deal objectives and levelling up.
Speaking to the PA news agency, he said: “As things stand the transition expires at the end of this year. I cannot believe that the UK is going to be able to complete a comprehensive trade arrangement with the EU by the end of this year.
“There is no evidence that suggests that that is a tenable target. There is no nation that has achieved a trade agreement with the UK in such a timeframe, it’s – I would almost say it’s impossible.
“So there are some real questions for the UK to answer as to whether or not there could still be an extension to the transition ... I just don’t think it’s a credible position, the one that he’s got.”
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Blackford met with EU ambassadors in London on Wednesday, describing it as “quite an emotional meeting”.
He said: “We are demonstrating that message to keep a light on for us, that we fully intend to see Scotland become an independent country and to be a member of the EU. We see that very much as our destiny.”
He also insisted that Westminster is “going to have to give way” over a second Scottish independence referendum.
Last night the Grand-Place in Brussels was lit up in red, white and blue ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU.
It was a part of a festival of Britishness laid on by the City of Brussels, that also included a black cab, a Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, and a replica red telephone box.
Banners around the square proclaimed: “Brussels Calling: Come together, right now.”
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The Manneken Pis, a very small statue of a young boy peeing into a fountain, which has long been a symbol of the city, was dressed up in a costume of John Bull.
The costume was first worn by the statue in 1972, when it was gifted to the city ahead of the UK’s entry into the common market.
Meanwhile, a number of leading Scottish “civil society figures” have signed up to an open statement on “Scotland and Europe, as the UK leaves the European Union”.
The sixty-six people who have signed up, including movie star Brian Cox, former chief medical officer Harry Burns, and stand up comic Jay Lafferty, say they “profoundly regret, and continue to oppose, the damaging UK process of leaving the EU”.
The statement adds: “We hope and believe that Scotland will both keep and strengthen its European networks, links and partnerships from today on – and will stay as close to the EU as possible. We look forward to the day when Scotland will once again be within the European Union; we hope that will be sooner rather than later.
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“We continue to support and welcome all those from the EU and beyond who have made Scotland their home. And we offer our solidarity to all Scottish citizens living across the EU 27 states. We look forward to continuing to enjoy and develop our friendships, partnerships and contacts with our fellow Europeans across the EU. And we will support the EU, in these challenging global times, as it endeavours to be a beacon of peace, stability and democracy.”
The letter was organised by Kirsty Hughes from the Scottish Centre on European Relations.
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