Keir Starmer’s Labour backs Boris Johnson’s hard Brexit

by Olaf Stando
Posted on
4 years ago
3 min read

Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the European Union in 2016 – by the highest margin of all UK nations, with all of the 32 council areas rejecting Brexit.

Throughout the Brexit process, Scotland have been ignored by the Tories and the UK government – and now Labour have signed up to be the midwives of Brexit, dragging Scotland out of Europe against our will.

By voting for Boris Johnson’s extreme Brexit deal in the UK Parliament, Labour have just sold out Scotland by standing shoulder to shoulder with Boris Johnson against the democratically expressed wishes of Scotland.

Here’s what you need to know.

Labour is voting directly against Scotland’s will

Keir Starmer and the vast majority of his Labour MPs backed Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal – despite the clear evidence of its disastrous consequences for Scotland’s economy, jobs and communities.

Scottish Labour’s only MP, Ian Murray, marched through the Westminster lobbies, with the Tories, to impose this extreme Brexit on Scotland and his Edinburgh constituents – despite Edinburgh being the most pro-Remain city in the whole of Scotland and the UK, voting to stay in the EU by 74.4%.

Starmer is even betraying the wishes of Scottish Labour voters

While Westminster just voted to impose the disastrous Brexit deal on Scotland, the Scottish Parliament – as it repeatedly has – is set to refuse consent to the Brexit bill, with all parties (including Scottish Labour) voting against it, apart from the Scottish Tories.

Yet, despite Scottish Labour voting against the Brexit deal in the Scottish Parliament, Keir Starmer has ordered the Scottish branch office to support UK Labour’s position of backing Brexit – exposing just how out of touch Keir Starmer really is with Scotland.

And even voting for a deal that explicitly goes against Starmer’s own ‘Brexit tests’

Keir Starmer has set out his ‘six tests’ for backing any Brexit deal.

It’s now clear that Boris Johnson’s disastrous deal does not meet any of these tests – particularly “exact same benefits as single market and customs union membership”, “defend rights and protections”, and “deliver for all regions and nations of the UK”.

But despite all that, Labour is enabling this Tory Brexit at any cost, against the clearly express will of Scotland, against the will of Scottish Labour voters, and even against the will of the Welsh Labour government.

Even the former long-serving Labour MEP, David Martin, said that Keir Starmer’s position is allowing Labour to be “held hostage by Johnson’s fibs, fabrications and cunning plans”.

Labour will own the Brexit disaster by rubber-stamping it

Labour have been relentlessly peddling the Tory spin that by rejecting Boris Johnson’s extreme Brexit, the SNP is backing a no deal Brexit. This is blatantly untrue.

SNP MPs have consistently led the efforts at Westminster to prevent a no deal and propose compromise arrangements set out by the Scottish Government – only for them to have been completely ignored by the Westminster parties.

Boris Johnson’s government has an 80-seat majority and regardless of what Labour does, this Tory Brexit would go through – and by voting for it, Labour will be taking joint ownership of it and all the disastrous consequences for Scotland and the UK.

The SNP rejects this extreme Tory Brexit and will always stand up for Scotland’s place in Europe.

As an independent country, we can rejoin the family of European nations and gain a seat at the top table as an equal partner.