Hansard

I might have read a different document to that read by Mr Stevenson but I can see no compromise in the SNP’s position. The SNP is obsessed with stoking up the politics of grievance and its agenda for independence and nothing else. Instead of constantly trying to undermine the process, the Scottish Government should get on with the job of getting the best deal for Scotland. Its current grandstanding is putting that at risk.

We repeatedly hear from the SNP that Scotland voted differently to the rest of the United Kingdom in the EU referendum. That is certainly the case. Indeed, I was one of the Scots who voted for the United Kingdom to stay in, but the referendum was about the UK’s membership of the EU. The question on the ballot paper was not about Scotland’s membership of the EU, for the very simple reason that Scotland is not a member of the EU. This is an important point. If Scotland was a separate member, our membership would look very different to that of the UK and the issues that are stake would also be very different. The UK voted to leave the EU, including a not insubstantial 1 million Scots.

Democracy is easy to defend when we agree with the majority and we get our way. Our belief in democracy is tested when we disagree with the result. On balance, I believe that leaving the EU was not in the best interests of business, trade or our international standing in the world, but I lost the argument and I have accepted the result. I am now working to get the best deal for Scotland and the United Kingdom outside of the European Union.

The Brexit minister is keen on referring to me and my party colleagues as born-again Brexiteers. Is it not time for the SNP to accept the result of the EU referendum and, for that matter, the result of the 2014 independence referendum, both of which it was on the losing side of? Is it not time for Mr Russell and the SNP to become born-again democrats?

Let us look to the future. With the publication of the UK Government’s white paper, we have further clarity about the UK Government’s approach to the negotiations. The UK Government has guaranteed the current level of funding under common agricultural policy pillar 1 until 2020, as well as all European structural funds projects that have been signed off. The United Kingdom Government will seek to secure the status of EU citizens who are already living in the UK, and that of UK nationals in other member states as early as possible. The Prime Minister has also confirmed that she is prioritising controlling immigration at the same time as ensuring the greatest possible access to the European internal market.

It is, however, completely reasonable for the UK Government to refuse to provide a running commentary. As with any process of negotiation, revealing our red lines and potential trade-offs is not in the interests of getting the best possible deal.

I suspect that the European officials tasked with managing the EU negotiating position will not be revealing their hand either, at this early stage. While we have some useful clarity on the UK government’s strategy, what we will do with the extra powers and what type of systems we will design is still very much up for debate. The Scottish Government should be focusing on getting the best deal and the right solution for Scotland, and ensuring that Scotland’s needs are considered as powers over farming, fisheries, trade and research support are returned from the EU.

Leaving the EU means having our own system of farming support that works for British farmers, not farmers across the other 27 member states, an immigration system that attracts the right workers for UK businesses, the ability to negotiate trade agreements with the rest of the world, and it will mean that this Parliament will emerge more powerful. That is what the SNP should be spending its time on.

The final point that I want to make is on the First Minister’s weekly threats of a second independence referendum. I recently spoke alongside SNP MP Calum Kerr at a debate in Kelso with local farmers about the impact of Brexit on agriculture. Mr Kerr faced a number of questions from concerned farmers who were worried about the SNP’s independence plans and whether they would undermine the UK’s internal market—a market worth four times that of the EU. Mr Kerr’s response was to refuse to answer their questions. I found that astonishing. Was he refusing to answer, or was he unable to answer those tough questions about how an independent Scotland would actually work?

All the options put forward by the First Minister, particularly independence for Scotland, would undermine Scottish trade with the rest of the UK and put up barriers between us and our largest trading partner—something that would make the challenges of Brexit look insignificant.