A PROTEST against the UK Internal Market Bill will be held outside the UK Government’s headquarters in Edinburgh today.
It will be the fourth demonstration in four weeks organised by the Yes For EU campaign group, who are sending the message to Westminster: "Stop the power grab, hands off Holyrood!"
The group aims to raise awareness around the threat to devolution the Internal Market Bill presents, after a recent poll showed 43% of Scots “don’t know” what impact it will have.
The protest will be held outside the UK Government’s new Queen Elizabeth House, which sits in the heart of Edinburgh.
“We are focusing on that geographical spot because that UK Government building is a symbol of what the UK Government are trying to do in undermining devolution,” a spokesperson for the group said.
READ MORE: Brexit Internal Market Bill pushing one-third of Scots towards Yes
“A lot of Edinburgh people don’t even know [the building] is there, and it’s a stone’s throw from Holyrood, so it is an important location.”
The number of participants at the protests has been limited to 20 in order not to overfill the space outside the UK Government offices and allow for adequate social distancing.
However, the group insists the low numbers shouldn’t impact on their message: “Numbers don’t actually matter anymore. That was always a key factor in how successful a protest was going to be - how many people turned up?
“But of course that is meaningless now, as we have to have socially-distanced events. It’s not the numbers that are important, it’s the fact there is a protest going on, it’s the arguments being made.
“Those arguments are of course very strong, because the Internal Market Bill breaks international law and overrules the powers of Holyrood, which is absolutely shocking.”
The protest will be held from midday to 1pm today and will be in line with all current coronavirus guidance from the Scottish Government.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “The UK Internal Market Bill is a vital piece of legislation which is clearly in the best interests of people across Scotland - protecting jobs, businesses and consumers.
“The UK Government has acted decisively to safeguard seamless trade between Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which 60 percent of Scotland's exports depend upon.
“Our proposals respect and strengthen devolution as at the end of the year vast powers returning from Brussels will go straight to Holyrood.
“We will continue to work with the devolved administration on this vital legislation.”
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