Meeting of the Parliament 08 June 2023
Seven years ago this month, the referendum campaign on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union was reaching its final stages. The result of that referendum was a clear and overwhelming vote for remain in Scotland. As we all know, that result and the wishes of the people who live here were ignored by the Conservative Government at Westminster.
To make matters worse, the Tories not only took Scotland out of the European Union but decided to impose a hard Brexit, removing us from the European single market, which is by population seven times the size of the United Kingdom; taking us out of the customs union; and putting an end to the freedom of movement that was of such value, in so many ways, to our country.
It is with some sadness that we now see Labour supporting that hard Brexit position. However, I hope that, in today’s debate, we can reach a measure of consensus that we will do what we can to protect our Parliament and make it clear that we reject a deregulatory agenda that threatens the high standards that we benefited from as an EU member.