Meeting of the Parliament 29 November 2022
The editorial director of Le Monde, Sylvie Kauffman, said, a couple of years ago,
“Watching the long descent of Westminster into something resembling hell has been an exhausting experience.”
It is easy to appreciate those words, given the absolutely chaotic and disastrously mismanaged Brexit that has resulted in economic catastrophe for the UK, with grim longer-term forecasts until the Tories and the new pro-Brexit Labour party find the bravery to admit the folly and change direction.
The real problem here, of course, is that, unlike our European neighbours, we are not bystanders with the ability to step back and watch the unfolding shambles; we are collateral damage in the Tory party internal struggles, and we are being denied a democratic route to stop it for the people of Scotland.
Had we voted yes in 2014, we would have been like every other European country, watching our nearest neighbour wreak havoc on itself. We might have been able to advise and cajole them into considering their actions, but we would not have been dragged down with them. That, unfortunately, is a consequence of trusting the unionist narrative, which we now know to be completely untrue.
However, we are where we are, so even more worrying is the fact that the responsibility to outline a restructuring of the laws inherited through the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 was given to two of the most prominent fantasist Brexiteers, Lord Frost and Jacob Rees Mogg. That should be a red flag to anyone. The UK Government insists that the aim is to
“take back control of our statute book”
and to do so by a sunset date of the final day of 2023. All inherited EU laws will expire on that date unless they are expressly preserved in some form.
Unsurprisingly, not only the changes but the arbitrary rush have caused great panic among those who are working on the front line of the key sectors and industries that undoubtedly contribute positively to the Scottish economy and are at most threat from that folly, and of course safeguard essential, hard-fought-for rights. Workers’ rights, the environment, food standards, health and safety, aviation safety, data privacy, animal welfare, consumer rights and production standards will all be required to follow a new play book as the UK Government delivers its judgements on what exactly it means to “take back control” of those laws.
There was a very interesting evidence session in last week’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee where stakeholders presented views on what the bill will change. Food Standards Scotland’s deputy chief executive Julie Hesketh-Laird stated that the sunsetting approach is a “huge risk”. She said:
“The bill seems to confuse red tape and consumer protection ... the aim of the bill is to take us back to the days when British laws were dominant.”
She said that that was dangerous, as doing that
“would take us back to nothing”.
She pointed out that
“EU law ... was put in place through a proper process with risk assessments”
and stressed that sunsetting could mean that we lose all consumer protection.
Not only is it a major risk to consider fundamental changes to a wide range of laws at pace, it is clear that this is also an attempt by Westminster to interfere in Scotland’s current devolved responsibilities. We have of course witnessed the reaction to last week’s Supreme Court ruling, which shows that the UK establishment does not have any respect for Scotland’s democracy. The Scottish Government was elected with the largest-ever majority in favour of holding a referendum and, in the context of today’s debate, Scotland voted overwhelmingly to stay in the EU. However, we now have Alister Jack considering sticking his nose into the business of the Scottish civil service. The intention is clear, and it is not just the loss of EU laws that is at stake.