IT was the nightmare before Christmas...
On Christmas Eve, Boris Johnson triumphantly raised his arms above his head as he declared victory for the UK in the Brexit negotiations and presented a deal which he claimed would “take back control”.
But as the agreement unravels day by day the ghost of past Tory promises will come to haunt the Prime Minister, with many Scottish sectors already describing the deal as a “massive sell-out” with red lines thrown out the window.
Ultimately, any deal sought out by the UK negotiating team could not have come close to the deal Scotland already had with the European Union – as full members with access to the Single Market and Customs Union. No quotas and no tariffs might be a first for a trade deal with the EU, but when you consider that we already had no quotas, no tariffs, no non-tariff barriers, freedom of movement, of services and of qualifications, it pales in comparison.
It is an incredible act of economic self-harm. Even the Tories’ own estimates show that 6.1% could be cut from Scotland’s GDP, costing the economy £9bn, or the equivalent of £1600 per person.
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This will be most felt by businesses which, from next week, will find themselves faced with immense uncertainty and mountains of red tape.
No agreement has been reached for our financial services sector which contributes 9% of our GDP and employs over 60,000 people.
Our fishing community, perhaps the only sector that might have expected to see a positive outcome, has been betrayed by Tory ministers who have promised lots and delivered little.
Our young people will suffer as the Erasmus+ scheme is swept from under their feet. Another broken Tory promise to add to the scrapheap as Boris Johnson assured us access would continue. Scotland benefited disproportionately from Erasmus +, now our young people will no longer be able to freely travel and study in 27 other countries. Those that do not travel will no longer benefit from those Erasmus + students who chose to come to Scotland.
The SNP has opposed Brexit every step of the way because the people of Scotland have opposed it every step of the way. This reckless path has never had Scotland’s consent in any form.
The arithmetic of Westminster means Scotland’s voice will always be drowned out. We have 59 members out of a total of 650. Our MPs could take a principled stand, but principles are not something the spineless six Scottish Tory MPs are familiar with, Douglas Ross and co will trudge behind their boss Boris Johnson into the Yes lobby regardless of the consequences for their constituents and Scotland.
Scottish Tories promised to oppose a deal that left Northern Ireland effectively in the single market, but Scotland on the outside. That’s what this deal does, but they’ll vote for it anyway.
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Scottish Tories promised to vote against any Brexit deal that linked fishing negotiations to our wider trading relationship with Europe. This deal does exactly that, fishing communities are calling this deal a betrayal, but the Tories will vote for it anyway.
If Labour choose to file in behind the Tories on Wednesday, then so be it. But in doing so they tie themselves to the responsibility for a hard Tory Brexit.
Sir Keir used to have six “key tests” which would allow Labour MPs to support a Tory Brexit deal. The sixth test asks: “Does it deliver for all regions and nations of the UK?”
I don’t know how any Labour MSP or Scottish MP could think for a second that this deal delivers for Scotland.
Brexit is an act of self-harm which is going to foist untold pain on our people, people who have tholed enough from a Tory Government they didn’t elect. Brexit makes the case for Scottish independence inevitable, but it also destroys any modicum of decency the Labour Party grasped onto in Scotland.
We will not be complicit in voting for a deal which harms our fishermen, farmers and the educational prospects of the next generation.
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