NICOLA Sturgeon and the Scottish Government are being urged to “come together and pull in the same direction” alongside the UK Government as Theresa May focuses on preparations for a no-deal Brexit.
Today, Whitehall releases another tranche of no-deal technical papers with suggestions they will point to how crashing out of the EU without agreement would mean the return of mobile phone roaming charges on the continent, which the anti-Brexit Best for Britain campaign calculated would cost business people almost £800 a month.
The topics, which the technical papers will cover, include not only roaming charges but also environmental and vehicle standards.
The publication of the papers will be preceded by a special three-hour Cabinet meeting in Downing St, focusing on no-deal preparations.
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, said he suspected the risk of a no-deal was "perhaps deliberately being overblown" by the UK Government to put pressure on its counterparts in Brussels to do a deal.
"That's why you are getting the noise from the[Tory pro-Brexit] European Research Group because they sense the mood music as much as anybody else."
The Highland MP explained: "When you look at everything that has happened over the course of the last few days, certainly the mood music coming out of the EU, there seems to be a recognition of a desire to achieve a compromise, whatever that might be."
The no-deal Cabinet and the release of the Whitehall papers will precede a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee, chaired by David Lidington, Mrs May’s de facto deputy, and attended by his Cabinet colleague David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary, and Michael Russell, the Scottish Government’s Constitutional Affairs Secretary.
It too will focus on no-deal preparations, which is likely to create a fractious atmosphere given Mr Russell and the SNP administration’s belief that crashing out of the EU without agreement would have catastrophic consequences for Britain’s economy.
Speaking ahead of the JMC, Mr Lidington described the Chequers Plan as a “pragmatic and workable solution that provides the basis for an agreement with the European Union that would provide the best Brexit deal for all parts of the UK”.
He went on: “I hope that the devolved administrations will recognise that we are at a key point in these proceedings. It is now time to come together, to pull in the same direction and agree the ambitious and pragmatic Brexit that is in all our interests.”
Mr Lidington added: “Government departments have been preparing for all scenarios since early stages of negotiations and through meetings such as today’s, we are engaging with devolved administrations on no-deal planning. This is a sensible, precautionary approach that ensures we are ready and well-prepared for when we leave the EU.”
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