NICOLA Sturgeon wants to form a parliamentary soft Brexit coalition with Jeremy Corbyn and even Remainer Tories to stop Britain crashing out of the European Union.
The First Minister said that, should Theresa May's withdrawal plan be defeated in the Commons, leading to the prospect of a no-deal, one "better alternative" would be a People's Vote.
However, following a cordial 30-minute meeting with the Labour leader, she accepted that it would be challenging for her party and his to coalesce around an agreed alternative yet, in the weeks before the so-called “meaningful vote” on the Prime Minister’s deal, she said it was her responsibility to try to do so.
Asked what option they might unite around, Ms Sturgeon told reporters: “That’s the question that has to be answered over the next couple of weeks; we are not there yet. What we talked about today was our unity of purpose, thinking the PM’s deal was a bad deal and voting that down; a unity of purpose around not allowing this to be presented as a bad deal or no-deal [choice]…
“The next stage of these discussions has to then look at what option can the opposition coalesce around. There are possible options: a People’s Vote; customs union/single market. These are all on the table,” explained Ms Sturgeon.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon admits Indyref2 may be after 2021
She said the anti-Brexit coalition talks would involve “Remain-leaning Tory MPs,” who had a “role to play in putting that majority together.”
A Labour spokesman said Mr Corbyn’s meeting with his SNP counterpart had been “constructive,” noting: "They discussed their common opposition to Theresa May's botched Brexit deal and a determination to work across Parliament to prevent a disastrous no-deal outcome."
Later, Ms Sturgeon had 30-minute face-to-face talks with the Prime Minister but there was no meeting of minds.
Describing how there was a “full and frank exchange of views,” the FM said she told Mrs May that her withdrawal deal did “not serve Scottish interests” and that the PM was leading Britain towards a “blind-fold Brexit,” which would be nowhere near as good as the country’s current status as a full member of the EU.
Ms Sturgeon was presented with a draft of the future framework being negotiated with Brussels, which she described as a “pretty vague aspirational document”.
She said it meant the “Commons[was] being asked to vote to exit the EU without knowing what comes next and that’s asking people to take a blind-fold leap off a cliff-edge,” which was not a responsible thing to do.
The FM added: “The most likely outcome is that the Commons will not agree the deal and the challenge for us is to come up with a better alternative.”
READ MORE: Theresa May off to Brussels to complete Brexit deal with Jean-Claude Juncker
Following the May/Sturgeon meeting, a No 10 spokesman said: “The Prime Minister made clear that we are negotiating a deal with the EU that works for all parts of the United Kingdom…and delivers on the result of the referendum. The deal will give Scottish businesses the clarity and certainty they need to protect jobs and living standards and see us take back control of our waters, improving the fortunes of our fishermen.”
Later a Downing Street source added: “The PM urged the FM to listen to Scottish employers and to back the agreement reached with the EU. The truth is that SNP plans just make a no-deal Brexit more likely.”
Today, Mrs May, after facing what is expected to be a fiery Prime Minister’s Questions, will travel to Brussels for talks with Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission President. No 10 sources played down the prospect of a deal on the future framework being clinched then; rather, there was more work to be done ahead of Sunday’s special EU summit.
Also at Westminster, Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, told MPs that he backed Mrs May's withdrawal plans and warned that a no-deal Brexit would be the "worst outcome".
Ms Sturgeon, who spent most of the day in the Commons holding meetings, experienced some unexpected surprises.
Ahead of her talks with the PM she came across Boris Johnson, the former Foreign Secretary, in a ministerial corridor; he wished her “good luck”. Later, the FM walking down another corridor opened a door to a room, where Jacob Rees-Mogg’s pro-Brexit group, the ERG, was having a meeting. As she put her head around the door, the Brexiteer Tory MPs inside cheered.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel