Scottish independence poses a greater threat to businesses in Scotland than “any friction” caused by Brexit, a trade minister has said.
Conservative frontbencher Graham Stuart told MPs that Scottish companies complain to him about the “relentless pursuit of Scottish independence”, as he hit out at SNP MPs.
Mr Stuart added that independence would result in a “loss of opportunity” for businesses and people in Scotland.
SNP MP Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) highlighted concerns raised by lorry drivers over a no-deal Brexit, and asked for assurances that there will be minimal disruption.
Mr Stuart said the Government has been working “flat out” to “minimise the challenges” when the transition period ends on December 31.
He went on: “What Scottish businesses raise with me is the biggest threat to their trade isn’t any friction as we move to the new settlement on the EU border.
“It’s the fact that 60% of all Scottish exports go to England, Wales and Northern Ireland – more than the rest of the world combined, and it’s that and the threat (Mr Day) poses to Scottish business in that way that really worries them for the long term.”
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