BORIS Johnson’s insistence that Scots will benefit from any form of Brexit has provoked fury in the Scottish Government – and a warning the country faces “the worst of all worlds” in the coming weeks as the EU transition period ends.
Johnson made the remarks after coming under fire from the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday afternoon.
Blackford asked why Scotland could not get a similar deal to Northern Ireland – an arrangement Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove described “as the best of both worlds” and which allows it to stay closely aligned to the European single market. Nicola Sturgeon had repeatedly requested a similar arrangement for Scotland, but the UK refused to pursue it despite EU politicians being open to the proposal.
Her proposals were put forward as a “compromise” to the UK Government and to reflect that, like Northern Ireland, Scotland voted to remain in the EU back in 2016.
Speaking ahead of talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, the PM told the Commons: “I believe Scotland, along with the rest of the UK, will benefit from a very strong relationship with our friends and partners across the Channel, whatever the circumstances, whatever the terms we reach tonight.”
Later in the Commons, SNP MP Pete Wishart told Gove Scotland was facing was the “worst of all worlds”.
He said: “What Northern Ireland has got is great for it. ‘Best of both worlds’ is a phrase that we in Scotland are pretty much familiar with; it is what we were promised in 2014.
“Now, in 2020, we are faced with the worst of all worlds. We would give our right arm for access to the EU single market and unfettered access across the rest of the UK market, so can the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster explain to the Scottish people exactly why Scotland is the only part of the United Kingdom that will not get any part of what it voted for on Brexit?”
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A spokesman for the First Minister also attacked Johnson’s assertion, adding that Scotland is being treated with contempt.
“Boris Johnson’s bluster can’t hide the fact that any form of Brexit will be bad for Scotland, costing jobs and hitting living standards.
“And while Northern Ireland is getting special treatment, giving it what Michael Gove calls ‘the best of both worlds’, Scotland – which voted even more overwhelmingly to remain – is being treated with contempt.”
He added: “The need for independence has never been more urgent – and only becoming an independent country will protect Scotland from policies like Brexit and the Tories’ power grab on devolution.”
Talks between the UK and the EU on reaching a trade deal have been deadlocked, meaning Britain faces leaving the transition period in three weeks without yet knowing on what terms it will do business with the bloc. EU negotiators have been pessimistic, and amid uncertainty, London and Brussels agreed on Tuesday that Northern Ireland would get privileged access to the European single market and customs union from January 1.
During heated exchanges at PMQs yesterday, Blackford accused Johnson of getting “ready to sell out” Scotland with his Brexit deal ahead of his crunch-talks in Brussels.
The SNP Westminster leader called on Johnson to explain to businesses north of the Border why Scotland is being “shafted” and could not get an arrangement like Northern Ireland.
Blackford also asked if the PM expects to receive resignation letters from Tory group leader in Holyrood, Ruth Davidson, before or after he travels to Brussels after she and other Tory colleagues criticised his hardline Brexit position.
“Northern Ireland is getting ‘the best of both worlds’ – access to the EU’s single market and customs union. This is great news for businesses in Northern Ireland but leaves Scotland, who also voted Remain, dealing with the hardest of Brexits,” he said. “What is good for Northern Ireland is surely good enough for Scotland. When Boris Johnson makes his deal in Brussels, he’ll be selling out Scotland.
“Baroness Ruth Davidson has said such an act would ‘undermine the integrity of the UK’. The former Scottish Tory constitution spokesperson [Adam Tomkins] said it would be ‘the end of the Union’. They, along with the former Scottish secretary [David Mundell] said if this were to happen, they would all resign.”
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