Scotland will not be "window dressing in a talking shop" when it comes to negotiating Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon has warned.
The First Minister insisted the Scottish Government should have a decision-making role as the UK prepares to leave the European Union, stating that it will use its influence to keep the country in the European single market.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon edges closer to referendum with blueprint for independence
Ms Sturgeon has previously suggested that she could bring forward a second independence referendum if Theresa May's administration opts out of the free trade zone.
And in a swipe at her opponents, who have called for her to take a repeat of the 2014 ballot off the table, she said giving up the option would be accepting that Scotland is "at the mercy of Westminster decisions no matter how damaging or destructive" they are.
Mrs May has refused to say whether she wants the UK to remain in the single market, telling MPs she will not reveal her Brexit negotiating hand "prematurely".
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon edges closer to referendum with blueprint for independence
But Ms Sturgeon said a lack of clarity on the UK Government's position was causing frustration, with a "meaningless tautological soundbite" in place of real policy.
In a statement at Holyrood, she said the Scottish Government was "committed to pursuing all possible options" to protect Scotland's interests.
"Of course our ability to fully assess the different options will be constrained until we start to get some clarity about what the UK Government is seeking to achieve," she said.
"We continue to press for urgent clarification on how the UK Government will deliver on the Prime Minister's commitment to full involvement for Scotland."
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon edges closer to referendum with blueprint for independence
She added: "Let me be crystal clear about this, and it is a point I have made directly to the UK Government, the Scottish Government will not be window dressing in a talking shop to allow the UK Government to simply tick a box.
"We expect to have, along with the other devolved nations, a role in decision-making, we expect our engagement to be meaningful."
Retaining single market membership would be the "least bad outcome" for the UK, Ms Sturgeon said.
"I accept that the Prime Minister has a mandate in England and Wales to leave the EU, but I do not accept that she has a mandate to take any part of the UK out of the single market," she added.
"I hope all parties in this chamber will back us as we make that case, and I hope also that we can make common cause with others across the UK."
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon edges closer to referendum with blueprint for independence
On the prospect of another independence referendum, she added: "To give up the right to consider that option would be to accept that we are at the mercy of Westminster decisions, no matter how damaging or destructive they are to our economy, our society and our place in the world.
"That is not a position anyone with Scotland's best interests at heart should ever be prepared to accept."
Ms Sturgeon said she was concerned by the Prime Minister's statement that she would not give a running commentary on the negotiations.
"I accept that while and when negotiations are under way there are aspects of that that have to be done behind closed doors, but I do not think it is acceptable to have a cloud of secrecy hanging over the UK Government's negotiating position.
"I don't think it's acceptable to have a Prime Minister who is unable or unwilling to answer the simple question, should we remain in the single market or not?
"The UK Government, I suspect, right now is using phraseology like that to mask the fact that it doesn't yet have a clue what it is seeking to achieve, let alone what its chances of achieving that are."
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon edges closer to referendum with blueprint for independence
Conservative MSP Jackson Carlaw described the First Minister's statement as being "belligerent and self-defeating".
He said: "Is she just, to paraphrase her own words earlier this afternoon and as her tone today suggest, destined to define herself as a window shopper in these negotiations?"
Ms Sturgeon responded: "The tone and the lack of any substance in that question really does expose just how little detail or substance there is in the Conservative position on this at all."
She added: "There's no detail from the UK Government on its Brexit negotiating strategy, there's no detail on the date of its Autumn Statement or what its fiscal position is likely to be after the Autumn Statement. In place of government policy at UK level right now ... all we have is meaningless soundbites.
"That's not good enough. It might have got the new Prime Minister through the summer, it ain't going to get her very much further."
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale suggested there had been a recent "shift" in Ms Sturgeon's approach, from a focus on retaining Scotland's EU membership to only seeking access to the single market.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon edges closer to referendum with blueprint for independence
Ms Sturgeon insisted there was no change in position, adding: "I've said all along that I will examine all options to protect Scotland's interests. There is no doubt that what I see as the best option is to retain our membership of the European Union and I will be working to seek to do that.
"But I'll also be working along the way to try to protect all the aspects of EU membership that we possibly can."
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie questioned whether Ms Sturgeon's offer to form a "coalition" with like-minded UK government ministers who want to remain in the European single market was nothing but "flim-flam" after she failed to explicitly mention it in her statement.
Ms Sturgeon responded: "What we will do as part of examining all options is, as one of those options, we'll try to see if we can use our influence to get the UK into the least-worst position.
"In my view, that is staying in the single market and I think I explicitly said in my statement we'll seek to make common cause with people of like mind across the UK. That remains the position."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel