Plans for a post-Brexit internal market must not be imposed without consensus and agreement between the devolved nations and the UK Government, MSPs have warned.
The Westminster Government wants to establish a new internal market between the four nations at the end of the Brexit transition period, but the Scottish Government has claimed “every devolved power could be undermined” by the proposals.
Holyrood’s Finance and Constitution Committee has been hearing evidence on the plans and has now written to the UK’s Business Secretary urging “mutual trust and respect for the existing constitutional arrangements”.
READ MORE: 40% of Scots say English tourists should not be allowed into Scotland – poll
Responding to the Government’s white paper consultation, committee convener Bruce Crawford criticised the lack of detail about a new trade framework and claimed there was “little scope for meaningful engagement”.
In response to the @UKGov’s White Paper on the #UKInternalMarket, the Committee believes that all of the legislatures of the UK must work together to achieve consensus on this complex issue. Read Committee Convener @RHBruceCrawford’s letter here: https://t.co/Op3ykE75b2 pic.twitter.com/1VPjyJY4yX
— Fin & Con Committee (@SP_FinCon) August 14, 2020
Business Secretary Alok Sharma declined to give evidence to the committee about the plans, but a UK Government spokeswoman previously said the proposed internal market “will ensure the free flow of goods and services across every part of the UK, while upholding the devolution settlement”.
Arguing EU-controlled powers will be transferred to the devolved administration, she added: “This will give the devolved administrations power over more issues than they have ever had before, without removing any of their current powers.”
On behalf of the committee, Mr Crawford said new structures must not be imposed without devolved governments’ agreement because “trade-offs and balances are involved in making an internal market”.
He said: “There is an onus on all four governments and legislatures across the UK to work constructively together to seek a solution to this complex and challenging issue.
READ MORE: Letters: There is now a strong case for backing written exams over continuous assessment
“This must be achieved through mutual trust and respect for the existing constitutional arrangements within the UK.
“In particular – as this committee has emphasised on numerous occasions – the UK Government, post-Brexit, must respect the devolution settlement.
“There must be a transparent and inclusive public debate on the white paper proposals which allows all interested parties and the wider public to contribute.
“The significance of the proposals for all citizens across the UK means that the solution cannot be left to the UK Government to decide.
“A consensus needs to be achieved and this requires a much longer, inclusive and more detailed debate than what is currently being proposed.”
Giving evidence about the proposals on Wednesday, Scotland’s Constitution Secretary Mike Russell accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of “running a clear and deliberate anti-devolution policy”.
READ MORE: Holyrood urged to oppose UK plans
Mr Russell argued the proposed legislation considers Westminster to be sovereign in trade and regulation disputes, and the UK Government “have a veto on everything”.
Warning the Scottish Government is considering legal action to challenge the plans, he said: “This is an outrageous power grab and it is a major weakening of devolution, and it should not be permitted to take place.
“My view is that it reveals completely the agenda of the current UK Government, which is hostile to devolution and hostile particularly to Wales and Scotland for exercising their rights under devolution.”
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