Labour will never be forgiven over a Brexit deal with Tories

And he claimed that Labour would never be “forgiven” if it got into bed with the government over Brexit, as he looked to put the Scottish Greens on a ‘war footing’ for UK, European and subsequent local elections.

READ MORE: Patrick Harvie: Disrespect shown to Scotland is reason enough to push for independence

He said: “Do not take up this absurd offer of sharing the blame for Brexit; do not trust a word you hear from a Tory Party that doesn’t even know who its next leader will be; do not expect to be forgiven if you facilitate this hard right Brexit project.”

Labour and the Tories remain locked in negotiations this weekend after the Prime Minister was forced to seek a further amendment to the botched process. So far, Labour claim, nothing new has been offered as May looks to balance factions within her own party unhappy with talks involving the opposition.

Harvie said: “We had the greatest sign of contempt ever shown by the UK political system since the Scottish Parliament’s creation.

“Their Brexit crisis meant that both parliaments had to pass legislation to keep our law operational if we’re taken out of Europe. Holyrood made those emergency preparations and did them better than the UK building in more democratic scrutiny, and a stronger legal basis for human rights, environmental principles, and animal welfare.

“The UK Government didn’t like what we were doing, so they triggered a court case after we’d passed the bill, to prevent it getting Royal Assent, then they legislated to retrospectively limit the powers of Holyrood on devolved issues, making it impossible for the Bill to come into force.

“This is far more than a procedural battle between two governments – it is a clear sign that what we have now, 20 years after the people of Scotland finally achieved their own parliamentary democracy, is the clear knowledge that whatever laws we pass in devolved areas of authority, the UK is not only able but fully willing to retrospectively bind our hands and block the laws we make whenever they disagree.”

“Did anyone say “material change of circumstances”?

“We don’t need to wait to find out how Brexit ends – that change of circumstances has happened already, and the people of Scotland must, and will, have the chance to take our futures into our own hands once again.”

He revealed the Scottish Greens already have their sights on further gains at Holyrood and councils across the country, and in Europe, on the back of the so called ‘green wave’ he said was helping push out far-right politics and accelerate environmental policies across Europe.

READ MORE: Green call to 'seize power' to tackle climate change

He added: “It’s unacceptable if the only alternatives people see are a hard right Tory Party that drives poverty and inequality ever deeper and then stigmatises the victims, that wants our NHS taken out of public hands and that’s willing to destroy the autonomy of Scotland’s parliament.

“Or a Labour Party that can’t even oppose Theresa May’s bizarre combination of brutality and incompetence, can’t even stand up to the hard right coup that is Brexit; a Labour Party that’s willing even now to strike a deal with the government they should be opposing to drag us out of Europe, undo decades of co-operation, and take away the freedom of movement, a freedom which does so much more than benefit our economy, a freedom which has been a liberating principle for people and a sign of our belief in a world without fences and razor wire.

“Or an SNP who still cannot let go of the idea of a future for Scotland that maintains our dependence on the lethal fossil fuel industry instead of investing in the green economy that we know can and must replace it; that still thinks its priority should be chasing everlasting economic growth - to the extent that they won’t even stop handing public cash to arms companies – they are still unwilling to see beyond an economic system that’s killing the living world around us.

“We can’t accept that these are the only choices. We know that we have a responsibility to rekindle a belief in the idea of a better world – and that’s why our party needs to be ready.”

On Sunday, his party will also look to choose its list of potential candidates to stand in the European Elections in the likelihood the Westminster government will be forced to take part if it fails to deliver an agreed Brexit deal before the latest deadlines.

He said: “There’s another chance to put forward those ideas, another electoral contest which the UK Government is trying to avoid, because even their own members and activists may be unwilling to bother getting out to campaign for them. They’re trying to avoid having European elections.

“This isn’t just a fear of democracy; the same fear that’s leading them to try and refuse giving the public the final say on Brexit itself. It’s also an enormous missed opportunity for a debate about the issues that matter.

“Because while the last few years in this country have seen interminable disagreement about what leaving the EU means – trade barriers, single market, customs union, freedom of movement, the border and the backstop – there has been no debate about what staying in would mean.”

“Brexit is a cause of immense practical harm to people, but it’s also taken so much political attention away from the issues we should be confronting, both at home and in the wider world. In our fellow EU countries, where Brexit is just a baffling display of incompetence they’re watching from afar, there is much more attention on those other issues.

READ MORE: School climate strikers example to all say Scottish Greens

“Future of the European economy, rise of the far right, the refugee crisis, the need to build an economy that creates opportunities for young people instead of ever growing exploitation, the growing case for a basic income for all, tackling corporate tax avoidance, to the recognition that some of the same giant tax dodging companies are also hacking our democracy and cannot be trusted to self-regulate.

“In the face of these great challenges, fresh thinking and fresh politics is needed.

“Listen to some in the media, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that only the far right populists are gaining ground. But the truth is that in many European countries people are rejecting that hateful ideology, and it’s the Greens people are turning to for a positive vision of the future.

“People want a political movement that’s not afraid to acknowledge the challenges we face and the failings of the political centre ground, but which is not willing to let our societies turn inward against one another. In countries like Belgium, the Netherlands, and in many parts of Germany the ‘Green Wave’ is overtaking not only the far right but also failed parties of the centre and the old left too.

“So let’s welcome the opportunity to get out there on the doorsteps, get into campaign mode, and elect someone who can make the case in Europe for the Green New Deal Scotland needs.

"A Green MEP who will advocate for an urgent and radical shift away from the oil and gas industry and into clean energy, and ending our reliance on arms manufacturers and corporate tax dodgers, in favour of an economy that puts the public interest first, working in partnership as a member of the European family we belong to.”

Earlier Chancellor Philip Hammond told journalists that he remained "optimistic" Brexit talks with Labour would end in some for of "agreement".

However Labour's Diane Abbott said there had been "no movement" on the government's side.

Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer also claimed that the government had refused to change the text of the Political Declaration.