A CROSS-PARTY summit should be held in an attempt to break the deadlock over the return of devolved powers after Brexit, Richard Leonard has said.
The Scottish Labour leader has written to Cabinet Office minister David Lidington and Scottish Brexit minister Mike Russell to propose last-ditch talks between the UK Government, Scottish Government and the parties that make up Holyrood.
It comes as tensions within Theresa May’s Cabinet continue to erupt, with Michael Gove insisting there are "significant question marks" over the customs partnership option favoured by the Prime Minister for post-Brexit trade.
READ MORE: Theresa May branded ‘weak’ on Brexit by Germany’s European Commissioner
The Environment Secretary made the remarks after a plea by Mrs May for unity as she insisted she could be trusted to deliver the Brexit people voted for.
Mr Leonard’s call comes ahead of a crucial vote in the Scottish Parliament tomorrow, in which MSPs are expected to reject the Conservative Government’s flagship EU Withdrawal Bill.
Scottish ministers insist Clause 11 of the legislation – which deals with the return of devolved powers from Brussels after Brexit – represents a “power grab”, a position supported by all of Scotland’s parties except the Tories.
In his letter, Mr Leonard wrote: “It is clear that we are now in a very difficult phase in the discussions, in which it is necessary to build trust and confidence to secure a satisfactory outcome.
“In light of that I would like to propose that the most constructive confidence-building step at this stage would be cross-party talks involving the UK Government, the Scottish Government and representatives of parties in the Scottish Parliament.
“Talks on this basis would help us explore how we can achieve a consensus and so a breakthrough that delivers on the objective of protecting democracy and devolution.”
Mr Leonard’s position is at odds with the Labour-led Welsh Government, which had teamed up with the Scottish Government to refuse granting consent to the Brexit Bill but struck a deal with UK ministers last month.
However, UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn backed his party in Scotland last week, insisting “quite clearly there is a power grab going on by Whitehall”.
READ MORE: Richard Leonard issues challenge on Brexit – but also faces one of his own
Tomorrow’s vote is expected to pave the way for a major constitutional clash between Westminster and Holyrood, which could lead to UK ministers imposing Brexit legislation without the latter’s consent.
Meanwhile, Mrs May’s Cabinet is split over which of two post-Brexit customs models to back, with Mr Gove yesterday suggesting neither option was perfect.
Pressed on whether Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was right to brand the customs partnership option as "crazy", he told the BBC: "Across Government, across Cabinet, there is agreement that neither of these two models is absolutely perfect.
"And with the new customs partnership, Boris pointed out that because it's novel, because no model like this exists, there have to be significant question marks over the deliverability of it on time."
Mrs May has set up two Cabinet groups to consider the customs options, but favours a system that would see the UK collecting tariffs on behalf of Brussels.
Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer branded the divisions within the Government a “farcical situation”.
Asked about Mr Leonard's letter, Mr Russell said the Scottish Government “continue to talk to all the parties at Holyrood on regular basis and are very open to ideas from them to try and resolve this impasse”.
He added: “I am happy to talk to Richard Leonard about any suggestions he has at any time and to ensure they are factored into our approach to the UK Government.
“The EU Withdrawal Bill in its current form would give the UK Government the power to prevent the Scottish Parliament from passing legislation in key areas such as farming, fishing and the environment for up to seven years.
Mark Smith: Labour are on the right tracks, but the final destination could still be the same - the end of the UK
“That is not acceptable and there is cross-party support for the position that in its current form, the Scottish Parliament could not give legislative consent to the bill.”
A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said the UK and Welsh Government had reached an agreement that will see “comprehensive changes” to Clause 11, and insisted it was “disappointing” Scottish ministers had not signed up.
She added: “But we welcome any move towards constructive dialogue and want to be clear that the door is still open to them to do so.”
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