Theresa May hasn’t learned anything from her humiliating Brexit defeat
by It feels like Groundhog Day because tomorrow, Members of Parliament will be voting on Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Again.
The SNP’s position remains the same – we think now is the time, in the interests of Scotland and the whole of the UK’s future, for the Prime Minister to show political leadership by stopping the Brexit clock.
May needs to extend Article 50 and allow another referendum on EU membership to take place – with Remain as an option on the ballot paper.
SNP MPs will table an amendment to the Brexit legislation today, calling for these measures and for the wishes of people in Scotland to be respected.
So far, the Prime Minister has failed to recognise that if the UK is an equal partnership of nations, then Scotland should not be dragged out of the EU against its will.
May’s defeat in the Commons on her Brexit deal was humiliating, yet I fear she still hasn’t learned to start listening and thinking seriously about where compromise and accord can be found. In Scotland, at least, Brexit has not had the dividing effect that we’ve seen at Westminster.
In fact, over the past two-and-a-half years, Scotland has become more united than ever in support for our continuing place in Europe and against the damage that Brexit will inflict.
The UK Government remains immune to sense and reason. But it needs to face reality.
Last week at Prime Minister’s Questions, I criticised May for failing to publish analysis of the impact of her Brexit deal on the UK economy before putting it to MPs for a vote. I have since written to her, requesting that she publish economic analysis of her Brexit deal to prevent MPs voting “blind” tomorrow.
How can we vote in good faith if we don’t have all the facts?
Last November, the UK Government published an economic impact assessment on four Brexit scenarios. But crucially, none of these covered the deal that is currently on the table.
In order for MPs to vote on the Prime Minister’s deal, they must understand how it will impact economic security and the livelihoods of their constituents.
According to the paper published last November, Brexit will lead to the loss of up to nine per cent of GDP throughout the UK, which will cost people their jobs and economic opportunities.
The Tories think they can do anything they like to Scotland and get away with it but in this crucial week, the wishes of the people of Scotland must not be ignored.
May must stop putting the interests of the right wing of her party ahead of the interests of the people of Scotland.
And as a matter of urgency, she must publish full economic analysis of the deal she has negotiated with the EU.
It would be reckless of her not to do so.
This article originally appeared in the Daily Record.