The route to Brexit Britain is a road to ruin for Scotland

by Ian Blackford
Posted on
5 years ago
3 min read

“Please do not waste this time.”

That was the advice from Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, after the European Union came to the UK’s aid and extended the Brexit deadline to this October.

Instead of taking that advice on board and taking steps to break the Brexit deadlock, the Tories are indulging in a petty and bitter leadership battle that is looking increasingly likely to deliver a Boris Johnson premiership.

It’s a lurch to the extremes in an attempt to pander to Nigel Farage.

That is a terrifying prospect and a nightmare we cannot risk.

The message from Brussels to ­Westminster may have fallen on deaf ears but the message from Westminster to Holyrood is clear – Scotland’s voice and interests are disposable.

As MPs return to Westminster this week, once again there will be no ­meaningful Parliamentary Brexit ­business or votes. Nothing to find an escape route from this Brexit madness.

Instead, we will be passengers in the next round of the toxic Tory leadership contest. Westminster has not just come to a standstill, it is fundamentally broken and not working for communities across the UK.

EU leaders may have their heads in their hands watching the Tory ­Government bury its head deeper in the sand but Scotland can still choose a different path.

There will be those who talk down Scotland, who are willing for ­Scotland to be dragged into the Brexit abyss. Rest assured that SNP MPs will fight tooth and nail to prevent that outcome.

While Scottish Tory MPs vote to keep the threat of a no-deal disaster on the table, SNP MPs will fight that tooth and nail.

While David Mundell – the ­Secretary of State for the defunct Scotland Office – displays his willingness to abandon any remaining principles at the door in order to hang on to his ministerial car and privileges by refusing to rule out serving in a possible Johnson ­government, SNP MPs will fight any hardline Tory prime minister willing to gamble with Scotland’s interests.

While Jeremy Corbyn and Labour continue to try to shamefully face both ways on Brexit in an attempt to deceive voters, SNP MPs will continue to ­highlight the danger leaving the EU will poses to our future opportunities.

Scotland must not be held hostage by a failed Labour opposition and a Tory Party consumed by chaos and occupied by careerists.

Scotland must have a choice over the direction of its future.

We must have the option of getting off at the next junction, if we choose to, and instead be in a ­position to shape a future that puts the interests of Scotland at the forefront of our policies.

The road to Brexit Britain is a road to economic and social harm. It’s a road that will cost jobs in Scotland, it will hit people’s pockets and will rip away ­opportunities from future generations.

Support for independence is on the rise and at public meetings and in constituencies across Scotland, the mood is changing. There is a better way.

It is becoming clearer with each day that passes that the only sure way to safeguard our interests and rights is through independence.

This article originally appeared in the Daily Record.