UK Government must immediately rule out ‘no deal’ Brexit, says Sturgeon

The UK Government must immediately rule out ‘no deal’ in order to provide much-needed reassurances for communities and businesses across Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday.

Speaking after meetings of the Scottish Government Cabinet and Resilience Committee – in which the Scottish Government discussed its preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal – the First Minister said:

“Scotland’s interests are being continually ignored by the UK Government – which even at this late stage refuses to rule out the disaster of a ‘no deal’ Brexit outcome. Indeed – in the face of their reckless approach, this increasingly appears to be the most likely outcome.

“Today’s meeting of the Cabinet and the Scottish Government Resilience Committee (SGoRR) highlighted the immediate risk of a ‘no deal’ and the damage it will do to jobs and living standards.

“There will be severe impacts on Scotland – on food supply, on medicines, on transport, on jobs, for our rural communities, all of which are completely unnecessary if the UK Government acts now.

“It is expected that the availability and the price of food and drink are likely to be significantly affected – with a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable in our society.

“Of course, the Prime Minister’s deal will also take Scotland out of the EU against our will and remove Scotland from the European Single Market – which is eight times the size of the UK alone, hitting our economy hard. With less than 50 days to go until Brexit, there is still no clarity whatsoever about the future relationship with the EU.

“We will continue to call on the UK Government to immediately rule out the possibility of a ‘no deal’ Brexit and extend the Article 50 process. However, as a responsible government we will also continue – and indeed intensify – our work to prepare for all outcomes as best we can.”

MPs are to debate and vote on the next steps in the Brexit process later today, as Prime Minister Theresa May continues to try to get soem form of a deal through Westminster.

A number of amendments – designed to change the direction of Brexit – will be considered during the debate. The way ahead is as confused as it’s ever been, with splits  among both Conservative and Labour MPs. Hard Brexiteers won’t back the tabled deal, and Mrs May won’t drop the No Deal option. Impasse? Further government defeats would not come as a major surprise.