IN his strongest condemnation yet of the Tory Government’s determination to remove Scotland from the European Union, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford has warned that Brexit will “seal the fate of the Union”.
His remarks came after he used a point of order in the Commons to warn of a “constitutional crisis” following the royal assent to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill despite all three devolved governments opposing the legislation.
Blackford told The National: “In just one week’s time, Scotland faces being dragged out of the EU and into the Brexit abyss against its will – harming people’s livelihoods and jeopardising our communities and businesses.
“Despite the devolved legislatures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all refusing to give consent to Westminster’s withdrawal agreement, the Tory Government has continued with its policy of riding roughshod over devolution and threatening its very foundations.
READ MORE: Ian Blackford: UK now facing a post-Brexit 'constitutional crisis'
“The Tories’ toxic race-to-the-bottom Brexit plans and their contempt for Scotland and other the devolved parliaments will seal the fate of the Union.
“It’s little wonder they are running scared of democracy in Scotland – but their anti-democratic stance is unsustainable.
“Our voices and votes have been disregarded, our Parliament disrespected, and our democratic decision to stay in the EU overridden. It’s clear beyond
any doubt that Scotland will never be treated as an equal partner in the UK.
“With the SNP winning a landslide victory at the General Election – securing 80% of seats in Scotland on a cast-iron mandate to hold an independence referendum – the people of Scotland must have that choice over our future.
“That decision lies solely with the people of Scotland – not a detached and dangerous Tory government acting against Scotland’s interests.”
Speaking to his point of order in the Commons, Blackford said: “Something quite momentous has taken place with this royal assent. This is absolutely unprecedented and I say to the house that this is a constitutional crisis.
“We are faced with a situation which is completely unprecedented, when the government in Edinburgh, in Belfast and in Cardiff has not given consent to this act of parliament. And this completely contravenes the devolution settlement that made it clear that the consent of the devolved administrations had to be given in bills of parliament to become acts of parliament that involve the devolved administrations.”
READ MORE: Michael Russell calls heckling SNP MPs a 'form of discrimination'
In a separate development, Scotland’s Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell has urged Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to clamp down on the abuse of SNP MPs by other parties.
Replying to a tweet which suggested the abuse was a form of racism, Russell replied: “The orchestrated barracking and the deliberate attempt to drown out the elected representatives of Scotland in the House of Commons is a form of discrimination and should be called such.
“Surely the Speaker should stamp it out?”
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