Theresa May will make it clear to Nicola Sturgeon tomorrow that she expects the First Minister to “respect the result” of the Brexit vote and not divide the country by trying to secure a special deal for Scotland.
Making a major speech on the UK’s departure from the EU, the Prime Minister is expected to call on everyone – whichever side they backed in the referendum – to come together behind the UK Government’s Brexit drive.
Ms Sturgeon has argued for Scotland to be given a separate deal which recognises the weight of the Remain vote north of the Border. Scots voted by 62 per cent to 38 to remain in the EU.
And the First Minister has warned that she will call a second independence referendum if Scotland’s interests are not looked after in the UK’s Brexit deal.
But Mrs May will use the opportunity of her Brexit speech tomorrow to stress the importance of all Remainers respecting the result of the June vote and the value of the UK being “one nation”.
She will say: “One of the reasons that Britain's democracy has been such a success for so many years is that the strength of our identity as one nation, the respect we show to one another as fellow citizens, and the importance we attach to our institutions means that when a vote has been held we all respect the result.”
And, in what will be seen in Westminster as a clear shot across the bows of the Scottish Government, Mrs May will add: “The victors have the responsibility to act magnanimously. The losers have the responsibility to respect the legitimacy of the result: and the country comes together.
“Now we need to put an end to the division and the language associated with it - Leaver and Remainer and all the accompanying insults - and unite to make a success of Brexit and build a truly global Britain.”
The Scottish Government wants the UK to remain a member of the European single market after Brexit but Mrs May is expected to use tomorrow’s speech to warn that the UK is likely to find itself outside the single market after Brexit.
The Prime Minister is expected to point out that it will be impossible to remain in the single market and restrict immigration so the UK will leave the market so it can regain power over its borders.
Mrs May is also expected to confirm that her plans for a ‘hard Brexit’ will also mean leaving the European customs union and ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.
Mike Russell, the Scottish Government’s Brexit minister, described the UK Government’s approach to Brexit as a “con” because of the damage leaving the single market will do to the economy.
Mr Russell said: said: “Forcing us out of the single market will hit tax revenues and increase borrowing costs - and consequently cut funding for public services.
“And it now seems clear we'll have to pay billions of pounds for access anyway - without enjoying the full benefits of membership.”
In an interview with the German Welt am Sonntag newspaper, the Chancellor Philip Hammond said while he was “optimistic” a reciprocal deal on market access could be struck, he was not going to “lie down” and accept it if it was “closed off”.
Alex Rowley, the deputy leader of Scottish Labour, said it would be “worrying” if Mrs May pursued a ‘hard Brexit’.
He said: “It’s in the best interests of the UK to have access to the European single market. Economic migration has been good for Scotland and looking forward we need to continue with economic migration to Scotland.
“We will work with the Scottish Government to get the best deal for Scotland within the UK.
“Our biggest market is the rest of the UK, and Scottish Labour is opposed to a second independence referendum.”
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