Mike Russell is Scotland's Brexit Minister
TWO years ago, Scotland voted decisively to remain part of Europe. Since then, we have worked tirelessly to secure the least-worst outcome for Scotland and the rest of the UK.
But this Tory Government appears so riven with splits and infighting that it is incapable of delivering any sensible outcome.
In the two years since the EU referendum, the UK Government has descended into ever-deeper chaos. And it is united on only one Brexit issue – a power grab on the Scottish Parliament which rips up the founding principles of devolution.
The Tories are undermining devolution, which the people of Scotland voted for overwhelmingly, in order to force through a Brexit which Scotland roundly rejected.
Jobs and living standards across Scotland and the rest of the UK now risk being sacrificed because of an extreme Brexit which is being pushed through because of the bitter Tory civil war that now leaves the entire UK on the brink of a catastrophic no-deal outcome.
For the last two years Theresa May has been so obsessed by political infighting in the Palace of Westminster, she has forgotten about her duty to the country as a whole. That has to end now.
Time has almost run out. The UK Government has completely failed to come up with proposals of its own and must now at this week’s EU Council put on the table the Scottish Government’s plan to stay inside the single market and customs union. That will bring an end to the chaos and give people some certainty.
However, what has become clearer with every day since the Brexit vote is that Westminster does not speak for Scotland and is utterly incapable of representing our national interests.
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The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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