United Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European Union

Ian Blackford Excerpts

Friday 29th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Ian Blackford (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (SNP)]

It is disappointing that, as I stand to speak on behalf of the Scottish National party and the Scottish Government, the Prime Minister has already walked out of the Chamber. I regret that that is the response we get from her, and it is all too common.

On the day that the Prime Minister told us the UK would leave the European Union with a deal, she has come to Parliament defeated and desperate. This is a Prime Minister who is willing to break every promise she has made to this House and to the people of the United Kingdom. This is a Prime Minister who has had to offer her own resignation to get her own party to support her bad Brexit deal. This is a Prime Minister obsessed with power but powerless. Instead of serving the interests of all these islands, this Tory Government are seeking to serve the interests of no one but the Tory party, and even that has not worked. The Prime Minister cannot pull her fractured party together, and we in this House and the rest of the UK will pay a price for that failure to seek a broader consensus. It is time they were stopped.

I take no credit for pointing out to the Prime Minister that at no time has she sought to reconcile the 52% who voted to leave and the 48% who voted to remain. All we seemed to get was the constant refrain that “Brexit means Brexit” and that we were leaving on 29 March. There was no attempt to go beyond the soundbites and to engage across this House or with the devolved Administrations. It has always been her way or the highway, and all she has done is sought to meet the demands of the European Research Group.

[Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)]

My right hon. Friend sets out well the game-playing that has gone on. There is no doubt game-playing going on with the motion today, but it appears that some Labour MPs may be getting bought by that game-playing, in spite of the cost of this terrible Brexit and the damage it will cause for our poorest constituents, and the fact that passing the motion will usher in a right-wing Tory Prime Minister who is even worse than the disaster we have right now. Will he reflect on the damage that will be caused to the Labour party in Scotland if the motion is passed by Labour votes?

[Ian Blackford]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. We are at a dangerous juncture. I appeal to Members on the Labour Benches to think very carefully about where we are today. If the Government somehow or other manage to get this motion through on the back of Labour MPs voting for it, we know that the Prime Minister will depart, and we will all be left in the hands of Tory MPs, who will appoint a new Prime Minister—a Prime Minister who, in all events, is likely to be a Brexiteer. I appeal to Labour Members: do not give that authority to the Conservative party. Do not be the midwives of Brexit. Do not allow this Tory Government, on the backs of a few Labour MPs, to deliver a hard Brexit that will imperil all our constituents.

[Jim McMahon]

Can we have a bit less of the holier-than-thou grandstanding from the SNP on this issue? Let us be honest: the SNP would be completely happy for the current deal—with all its faults and the danger to Northern Ireland—to be on the ballot paper in a people’s vote, with the possibility that people could vote for it. Where is the integrity in that?

[Ian Blackford]

My goodness! This is a serious moment for all of us. I applaud the 1 million-odd people who marched in London last weekend and the 6 million people who want to see revoke on the ballot paper. I appeal to Labour Members: if you go through the Lobby today with the Conservatives, you are delivering a hard Tory Brexit, and you will pay a price economically for that. Thank goodness, in Scotland we have the opportunity to defend ourselves, and we will not allow ourselves to be dragged out of the European Union. It will usher in the day when the thing that so many Members tell us they want to preserve—the Union of the United Kingdom—will be over, because Scotland will and Scotland must become an independent member of the European Union.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

The first thing I will say is that the SNP does not speak for Scotland. Secondly, the right hon. Gentleman needs to remember that everyone on the Opposition Benches—with the exception of a few, who are standing up for their constituents—is on the same side. His entire speech so far has attacked the Labour party, which tells us all we need to know about the nationalists. Rather than using his speech to attack the Labour party, when we will all be in the same Lobby later, will he tell us why he was not in the Lobby with us for the vote on the customs union on Wednesday night, so that we could have got out of this mess?

[Ian Blackford]

I say to my hon. Friend—he knows I have respect for him—that I want us to unite. I am not attacking the Labour party—[Laughter.] They can laugh, but I am saying to Labour Members: do not be duped by voting for the Conservatives today; have some backbone and let us make sure that all of us are united. That is what I am appealing for. The Labour party has to reflect on the fact that in 2014 in Scotland that is exactly what it did—it joined with the Conservatives in Better Together. You would have thought that by now Labour would have learned the lesson that its members have become also-rans in Scottish politics because time after time they side with the Tories. One of these days the Labour party has to understand that it should be standing up with the people of Scotland. [Interruption.] Let me say to hon. Members who I can see gesticulating wildly, that that day of the referendum—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am sorry, but there is a very disorderly atmosphere in the House, with sustained barracking and finger-pointing of the most unseemly kind. Please, let us try to lower the decibel level and treat each other with respect.

[Ian Blackford]

Quite right, Mr Speaker. I say to the Labour party that the day will come when there will be a referendum on Scottish independence. I hope that next time Labour decides to stand with the people of Scotland and we can get that safe passage towards independence and Europe.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Ian Blackford]

I am going to make some progress.

There has been no attempt to engage across the House and no attempt to engage with the devolved institutions. It has always been the Prime Minister’s way or the highway. There has been no appreciation that, rather than being sucked into reconciling herself with the European Research Group, the Prime Minister should have sought to work across party. Last Wednesday, the Prime Minister met Opposition party leaders. Many of us set out our positions, but crucially, when we extended an olive branch and sought to work with the Prime Minister, it was rejected. It was the Prime Minister who would not budge: transfixed, repeating the same old mantra and caught in a trap of her own making. Leadership brings responsibility. It has been sadly lacking in this case. It is little wonder that we are left in this situation where the Prime Minister is isolated: isolated from the other parties in this House and leaving the UK in a position of division.

[Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) (Ind)]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way. I am really delighted that he is now looking at the substance of the Government’s motion, because it is really important that all of us who see this motion for what it is and who are going to vote against it stick together and do not turn against each other. Can he help us with this? Has he had the opportunity, and would he welcome the opportunity, to speak to the Attorney General—I am sure the Attorney General is going to come off his phone in a minute, if somebody could give him a prod. [Interruption.] Thank you. Hello. Has the right hon. Gentleman had the opportunity to speak to the Attorney General? Would he take that opportunity to speak to the Attorney General to discover whether it is the Government’s intention to revoke section 13 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act that we passed last year?

[Ian Blackford]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely correct. We have had no clarity from the Attorney General on that issue. Let me applaud her, Liberal Democrat Members, Plaid Cymru Members and the Green Member of Parliament, because we have all sought to work together. We have all sought—

[Anna Soubry]

And Labour.

[Ian Blackford]

And those on the Labour side as well. We have all sought to work together to bring unity to the Opposition and to present a credible alternative. I hope that on Monday we do that; that we can coalesce around a motion that we can support which sends a very clear message to the European Council ahead of its meeting on 10 April. We say to the European Union, on the basis of the Government being able to achieve a consensus across the Houses of Parliament, trust the Members. It is in that spirit that I say to all colleagues in this House—I plead with you—under no circumstances vote with the Government today. Do not make it easy for this Government to deliver us into a blind Brexit.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Ian Blackford]

I am going to make some progress.

Mr Speaker, I do not think I will forget the Prime Minister failing to take responsibility for her own failings and blaming Parliament for the impasse, in so doing seeking to pit Parliament against the people in a quite shameless way. She made a catastrophic error of judgment, yet we are still waiting for an apology. Where is that apology, Prime Minister?

Today, we must close the door on the Prime Minister’s proposal and move on. Parliament today must reject this shambolic proposal before us.

[Colin Clark (Gordon) (Con)]

It is very kind of the right hon. Gentleman to give way. Does he agree with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, the National Farmers Union, Scotland, the Scottish CBI and the Federation of Small Businesses that what is important today is that Scottish MPs, and all the MPs of the United Kingdom, vote for jobs and businesses in their constituencies? Voting against the motion makes no deal more likely and Scotland is watching the SNP.

[Ian Blackford]

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I ask him to reflect on the fact that every local authority area in Scotland voted to remain. The people of Scotland can reflect on the fact that the 13 Conservative MPs have failed time and time again to stand up for the people of Scotland. When I hear the hon. Gentleman raising the unicorn of no deal, it becomes very simple. What he must do, along with his colleagues the so-called Scottish Conservatives, is to vote with us on Monday to support the motion on revocation and stop this Conservative Government driving Scotland out of the European Union. That is the way to protect jobs in Scotland.

[Joanna Cherry]

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way. I am sure Scotland, unlike the Prime Minister, is watching and listening to him. Is he aware, like me, from talking to businesses in his constituency and businesses across Scotland, that the foremost consideration of businesses is preserving freedom of movement, for the benefit of the Scottish economy and because of Scotland’s demographics? Is that one of the main reasons that SNP MPs cannot vote for this withdrawal agreement, because it ushers in the end of freedom of movement?

[Ian Blackford]

My hon. and learned Friend is absolutely correct. We have been enriched by freedom of movement. We have been enriched by those who have come to live and work and contribute to life in Scotland. It is perhaps the most shameful aspect of this whole consideration that we are turning back, that we are turning inwards and that we are closing the door on those who would come to Scotland and help us grow our economy. Our population has barely grown over the course of the past 100 years. It started to increase over the past decade. The Conservatives want to put on that handbrake, and to stop those who want to come and live and work in our beautiful country. We want them to come in and that is why not only must we reject this motion today, but, yes, we must stop Brexit.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Ian Blackford]

I am going to make some progress, because I am aware that other people wish to speak.

We were promised another vote on the Prime Minister’s deal, but because the Prime Minister knows she has no support for her deal she comes here to play games, to trick MPs into backing her disastrous deal. Yet it is still the same deal that the House voted against not once but twice. Mr Speaker, this deal should be dead. Before us are the terms by which the Prime Minister wants us to agree to withdraw from the European Union without any clarity about our future. This is a blindfold Brexit.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way, but I beg him. I am standing in front of a plaque that says that we have more in common than divides us. He knows that on many issues we have put aside party and, sometimes very subtly, worked together. I beg him today, as he ends his speech, to come back a little bit. All of us believe that this is not an honest debate today, but a confidence trick—to trick us into misleading our constituents. We are nearly there. We can defeat this. Let us stay together.

[Ian Blackford]

I applaud the hon. Gentleman for that intervention because I agree with him, and that is precisely what we are seeking to do. I hope that all his colleagues—every single one of this colleagues—stay with us today, and we can defeat this Government.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Ian Blackford]

I am conscious of time and I have been generous with interventions, so I now want to make some progress.

How can any MP agree to sleepwalk in behind a deal when they have no idea what it means for the future of our countries, our constituents and our communities. It is incomprehensible that anyone could even consider simply taking the Prime Minister’s word for it, especially a Prime Minister who cannot even be truthful about living up to her word. Like her predecessor, the Prime Minister will ride off into the sunset after delivering crisis, chaos and further uncertainty for the UK. She has committed the ultimate betrayal: she is abdicating all responsibility. How humiliating, how reckless! History will remember her premiership as one defined by cowardice, falsities and negligence. I cannot believe that any leader could take us to this place. It is a disgrace.

There were constant promises to find consensus and to find a way forward, yet the Prime Minister has done as expected: she has run down the clock—only to ignore the wishes of Parliament and the wishes of the people, and engage in a game of blackmail and trickery to win support. It is an absolute outrage that those who go through the Lobby in support of the Prime Minister and the Government will be responsible for aiding and abetting the greatest act of self-harm in the United Kingdom.

The arguments against the Prime Minister’s plan do not need to be rehearsed. They are well known in this House and they are well known to every household in the country, but it is not only the substance of the plans the Prime Minister has put together but the disgusting treatment the Prime Minister and the Tory Government have displayed towards the people of Scotland that need to be known in every household in Scotland.

[Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con)]

Some time ago, the right hon. Gentleman talked about the enrichment of free movement. Is it not the fact that the greatest enrichment of free movement enjoyed by Scotland has been free movement between the nations of the United Kingdom? Is it not ironic that he talks about the Prime Minister not paying attention to the 48% when he absolutely fails to pay attention to the 55% who voted to stay within the United Kingdom? When will he acknowledge that he is a Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, not just a Scottish Member?

[Ian Blackford]

My goodness, I was almost expecting the hon. Gentleman to burst into a chorus of “Land of Hope and Glory”. Is he really suggesting that people from Scotland will not have the right to come to live and work in the rest of the United Kingdom? Is that what he is suggesting? Quite frankly, if he is, he should apologise because that is a disgrace. It is what we see from so many Tory Members—seeking to threaten the people of Scotland with sanctions—and it really lacks any degree of dignity.

The Tories really think they can do whatever they want to Scotland and get away with it. So much for the partnership of equals! We have been ignored, silenced and sidelined, with the futures of citizens across Scotland and the rest of the UK held to ransom by right-wing Brexiteers and the DUP. The Prime Minister has no mandate from Scotland and has no right to assert that her version of Brexit is the only version of Brexit. Lies brought the country to vote for Brexit in the first place, and people certainly did not vote to become poorer and be faced with the prospect of troops—troops—being mobilised to manage basic services. How extraordinary that a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is threatening us with troops on the streets, because that is the reality.

With one internal confidence vote and one parliamentary confidence vote, with the Government being held in contempt of Parliament for the first time in history, with scores of her Ministers resigning and with her flagship policy in ruins, the Prime Minister has no legitimacy or authority left to carry forward her policy or to speak for the country. The Prime Minister certainly does not have any authority, nor will she ever have authority in Westminster to tell the people of Scotland what to do. The people of Scotland will decide what is best for the people of Scotland. Now more than ever that reality needs to sink into the minds of politicians across this Chamber.

[Bill Grant (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Con)]

Does the right hon. Gentleman have a kindly word for businesses in Scotland and for the over 1 million people in Scotland who voted to leave the EU?

[Ian Blackford]

Yes, of course I do, because businesses in Scotland know that the best way to protect their interests is to stay in the European Union. Every economic analysis of any substance that has been published has shown us that we will be poorer. I say to those in Scotland who voted for Brexit, “Of course we understand why you voted the way you did, and of course we will listen to your concerns.” However, our obligation is to speak with everyone and to have an open conversation and dialogue about what is in the best interests of the people of Scotland—how do we grow prosperity in Scotland and how do we deliver a fairer Scotland?—and that is why independence offers the best option for us all.

Westminster clearly has no interest in doing what is right for Scotland if it votes for this motion this afternoon. Westminster has no authority over the rights and the freedoms of the people of Scotland, and Westminster will never—not ever—be an authority over the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine our futures and to choose to be a European nation.

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

Is it not interesting that while my right hon. Friend is talking about Westminster not being interested in the people of Scotland, Conservative Members are gesturing to him to sit down and be quiet? Other people have spoken, and the Front-Bench leader of the SNP here has a right to speak in this Chamber the same as every other Member.

[Ian Blackford]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and she is absolutely right. We are sent here as 35 SNP MPs to stand up for our constituents—the majority in Scotland. At a time when this House is threatening to take us out of the European Union against our will, I can absolutely guarantee that the voice of Scotland and the voice of remain will be heard in this Chamber, and no Conservative MP is going to shut Scotland down.

This Tory Government have wasted £4 billion on investing in no-deal preparations. This money should never have been spent, and we should have ruled out no deal as a possibility long ago. Why did the Prime Minister not do that? The PM regularly says that all MPs have a duty to deliver Brexit. Above all the duties mandated to the SNP, we are elected to stand up for Scotland’s interests and Scotland’s voice. It is clear that no one else will, and we are making it absolutely crystal clear: we will never accept Brexit on behalf of the people of Scotland.

The Prime Minister has prescribed her Brexit deal to Scotland, despite decisive and unanimous analysis that this will be bad for our country and do irreparable damage to our key relationships. Even some of her Cabinet seem to agree. Some 100,000 jobs could be lost from Scotland if Westminster backs the Prime Minister. The EU workers needed to grow our economy will be denied to Scotland if the Tories get their way. Our economy will be smaller, our people poorer and our country isolated. The SNP will not—not ever—do that to Scotland. We will not back the Prime Minister. We will always stand up and put Scotland’s interests first.

I am angry and I am frustrated, but I am, too, deeply saddened that we have reached this point. Imagine how people think up and down the United Kingdom. They are ashamed of this Parliament, ashamed of British politics and embarrassed by the laughing stock we have become in the world. I want to say to people watching at home that we in the SNP are embarrassed, too. We are appalled at the behaviour of Government Members and many official Opposition Members as well. They have let you down. They have broken Britain and now they have no idea how to fix it. While the Tory and Labour parties scramble on a race to the bottom, I say to them listen up: the people are watching.

One million people marched to demand a second EU referendum, and 6 million signed a petition to revoke article 50. Are we listening to their voices? The answer has to be no. Yes, the SNP is here to stand up for Scotland. We are proud to represent the voices of Scotland and to stand up for the democratically expressed will of our people and our Parliament. But, Mr Speaker, we also care about the rest of the United Kingdom—about our friends and our neighbours. I deeply question the motives of the Tory and Labour leaderships. The power is in all our hands—let us use it.

My plea is for Members to vote down the Government’s proposition this afternoon, and let us put the question back to the people. The Prime Minister has lost control. The Government are out of control. The Leader of the Opposition is unwilling to exert control over his party. Let us give the power back to the people, end this stalemate and give certainty back to business and assurances to EU workers. Let us salvage our bonds with our European neighbours. It is not too late. We cannot give up. Take back control, and give power back to the people.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

--- Later in debate ---

[Jeremy Corbyn]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. This is now the third time that the Prime Minister’s deal has been rejected. When it was defeated the first time, she said:

“It is clear that the House does not support this deal”.—[Official Report, 15 January 2019; Vol. 652, c. 1125.]

Does she now finally accept that the House does not support the deal? She seemed to indicate just now that she will return to this issue again.

On Monday this House has the chance and—I say to all Members—the responsibility to find a majority for a better deal for all the people of this country. The House has been clear: this deal now has to change. An alternative has to be found. If the Prime Minister cannot accept that, she must go—not at an indeterminate date in the future, but now—so that we can decide the future of this country through a general election.

[Ian Blackford]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. We should all be aware—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The right hon. Gentleman must be heard.

[Ian Blackford]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. We should all be aware of our responsibilities in this House and the seriousness of the situation we are in. I say respectfully to the Prime Minister that she now has to accept that her deal has been defeated three times. I applaud the Members of Parliament on both sides who voted against the Government’s proposition. It is a bad deal, and we have to find a way out of the crisis that we are in; all our constituents would expect that. We must give ourselves time, and I suggest to the Prime Minister that we must now look seriously at the option of revocation. We need to apply the handbrake to this process. Quite simply, the Prime Minister has failed to take this deal forward. She does not have the confidence of the House. She has indicated her departure. She should now go, and we should have a general election.

[Sir Vince Cable (Twickenham) (LD)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. On Monday, it is perfectly possible that the House may indicate a preference for one of the options, such as a customs union or a confirmatory vote, which are compatible with the withdrawal agreement. If that is the case, will the Prime Minister be open to listening to the view of the House and considering how we might have a longer extension to explore them?