BORIS Johnson has been accused of “economic vandalism” over his Brexit plans by the SNP’s Westminster leader.
Ian Blackford said Scotland, and the UK as a whole, was set to lose billions of pounds as a result of leaving the EU.
Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Blackford also asked if Mr Johnson would “commit to releasing the detailed economic impact assessment of the cost to the UK of his extreme Tory Brexit plans”, stating that people were facing food and medicine shortages in just two weeks as no deal has been finalised.
He added: “One year ago at the general election, Scotland rejected this prime minister, rejected this Tory government and rejected their extreme Brexit. People in Scotland now need to know the price that we’ll be forced to pay.
“Ahead of any vote in Parliament, will the Prime Minister commit to releasing a detailed economic impact assessment of the cost to the UK of his extreme Tory Brexit plans?”
Mr Johnson replied: “There’s every opportunity, every hope that I have, that our friends and partners across the Channel will see sense and do a deal, and all that that takes is for them to understand that the UK has a natural right like every other country to want to be able to control its own laws and its own fishing grounds.”
He added: “Whatever happens in the next few days, I know that this country will prosper mightily on the terms that we agree with our European friends whatever they may be, whether they’re Australian or Canadian, he can go forward with a high heart and confidence into 2021 knowing that there are great opportunities for Scotland and the rest of the UK.”
Ronnie Cowan, SNP MP for Inverclyde, asked if the Prime Minister would “do a good thing” to help Scotland’s drugs crisis by removing “obstacles to the creation of drug consumption rooms.”
He explained: “Previously the UK Government has held an ideological view that drug consumption rooms encourage drug taking. Will the Prime Minister engage with me and allowed me the opportunity to help the Prime Minister do a good thing?”
The Prime Minister replied that he would not “want to do anything that would encourage the consumption of more drugs.”
He said: “Nor do we want to decriminalise the possession of drugs because I believe that they ruin lives and drive criminality across this whole United Kingdom, but I'm more than happy to look at the proposals that he makes one more time and indeed, to pursue the agenda of tackling drugs.”
Mr Johnson added that the “vast majority of powers… needed to tackle drugs and drugs crime are already vested with the devolved administration in Scotland, and I'm afraid the failures that he talks about are very largely down to them.”
Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer said the Prime Minister’s “next big mistake” is likely to be over the easing of restrictions for Christmas, adding: “If he really is going to press ahead with this, could he tell us what’s the assessment and has it been done of the impact it will have on infection rates that increase pressure on the NHS?”
Mr Johnson replied: “I wish he’d had the guts to just say what he really wants to do, which is to cancel the plans people have made and cancel Christmas – I think that’s what he’s driving at, he’s looking a bit blank, I think that’s what he’s driving at.
“I can tell him as of today that just this morning there is unanimous agreement across all the UK Government, across all the devolved administrations – including members of all parties, including his own – that we should proceed in principle with the existing regulations because we don’t want to criminalise people’s long-made plans.
“We do think it’s absolutely vital that people should, at this very, very tricky time, exercise a high degree of personal responsibility – especially when they come into contact with elderly people, and avoid contact with elderly people wherever possible.
“That is how by being sensible and cautious – not by imposing endless lockdowns or cancelling Christmas as he would appear to want to do, that’s the only implication I can draw from what he’s said unless he wants to announce some other idea – that is the way we’ll continue to work together to keep this virus under control, to defeat it and take the country forward.”
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