Meeting of the Parliament 07 February 2017
As our Conservative colleagues are always keen to remind us, we have debated a number of aspects of Brexit in the Parliament in recent months. Just a few weeks ago, members from across the chamber again urged the UK Government to end the uncertainty for citizens of the other 27 EU nations who live in the UK and not to use them as bargaining chips. It was therefore with some disappointment, but no surprise whatsoever, that I saw in today’s newspapers that the Prime Minister, while offering positive rhetoric about the contribution that our neighbours from elsewhere in Europe have made, has again refused to guarantee their future here.
I absolutely accept that the Governments of the other 27 countries should also be offering reassurance to UK citizens in their nations and taking them off the negotiating table. However, none of that should stop the UK Government taking EU citizens who are here off the negotiating table today—that is entirely the UK Government’s choice. Our Green colleagues across the continent have been making the case that citizens should not be part of the negotiations, and we will continue to do so.
In our debates in recent months, we have urged the UK Government to keep Scotland in the European single market and we have highlighted the damage that leaving would inflict on our wages and jobs and on the wellbeing of the Scottish economy. We urged Theresa May to respect the democratic verdict of voters in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar and agree to a compromise that recognises that we voted to stay.
It should not be forgotten that there has been significant compromise on our part. Scotland did not vote just to stay in the single market; we voted convincingly to stay in the European Union, as the Green amendment states. The proposals that the Scottish Government set out are an exercise in compromise and damage limitation. They are an attempt at good will towards and co-operation with colleagues at Westminster but, to be frank, there is little to show for them beyond empty rhetoric from the other side.
I have much sympathy for Mike Russell and the team who were behind the “Scotland’s Place in Europe” paper. However, despite the statements and despite a committee session with the minister last week, I have no idea what intensifying the joint work means in relation to the proposals, because I have seen nothing from the UK Government to explain that.
Given that the Prime Minister did not even wait for the proposals from the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru before outlining her Brexit proposals, I do not have much faith that she is taking any of the compromise proposals seriously. That is reason alone for the Greens not to support the activation of article 50, but it is not the only reason.
In a number of debates, the Parliament has highlighted significant concerns, but we are no closer to a satisfactory answer on issues that have been raised repeatedly over recent months. The bill that has been introduced in the UK Parliament is wildly inadequate. It contains barely two provisions, one of which simply specifies the name of the bill. As has been mentioned, the rights of EU migrants are still not assured. Amendments in the Commons to that end are, shamefully, set to be voted down by the Government and its back benchers if they are selected, although there is still the chance for a change of heart by any Conservative MPs who are watching, because the vote has not come up yet. The course that is being set at Westminster could not be further from the collective—though not unanimous—position of this Parliament that Scotland should remain in the single market, either with the UK as a whole remaining or through a differentiated agreement.
It is evident that Theresa May’s Government does not have a clear plan. What she has laid out so far is confused, contradictory and dangerous. The white paper would be laughable if it were not so serious. For all the criticism that the Greens laid out in 2014, “Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland” was substantial enough for effective scrutiny and was scrutinised ahead of the vote. The UK Government’s Brexit white paper was not even released until after the first reading of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill in the House of Commons. Nothing approaching a coherent position was laid out ahead of the referendum.