A SCOTTISH Tory claim that the SNP voted to “scrap” 545,000 jobs in Scotland by rejecting the Internal Market Bill has been found false.
The Ferret’s Fact Service looked at the claim, which was posted across the party’s social media accounts following the September 14 Commons vote on the controversial “power grab” legislation.
The Tory Government has drawn up the trade bill to underpin the internal market. At the heart of that is a “mutual recognition” mechanism, which would see regulations in one part of the UK recognised in all the other nations.
READ MORE: WATCH: Theresa May says Tories behaving 'recklessly' with Brexit deal
As well as causing serious concerns for the devolved nations, the bill would break international law by overriding parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
In Holyrood, all parties have voted against the legislation besides the Scottish Tories.
The Ferret service found that the “545,000” Scottish jobs figure cited by the Tories seems to come from a 2019 Fraser of Allander Institute report. The document says about 545,200 jobs are directly supported and indirectly by demand for goods and services from the rest of the UK.
The fact check found the claim the SNP voted for these jobs to be scrapped is “not correct”.
They explained: “The Internal Market Bill’s success will not in itself protect Scottish jobs which are reliant on demand from elsewhere in the UK. Voting against a bill does not mean 545,000 jobs will be scrapped.
“It is unlikely that the devolved governments would put in place rules which significantly inhibited trade between UK nations, as this would have a negative effect on their economies and could put these jobs at risk.
"There is no suggestion these jobs would be lost if the bill is not supported, and the bill is not the only way that jobs reliant on trade within the UK could be supported."
Find the full fact check at The Ferret.
This week former prime minister Theresa May said she would not be backing the Internal Market Bill, warning it would cause “untold damage” to the United Kingdom and threaten the future of the Union.
She accused the Government of acting “recklessly and irresponsibly” without thinking of the long-term consequences.
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