HOLYROOD will vote down Theresa May’s Brexit plan next week, after every party bar the Tories agreed to take a common position against it.
Labour, the SNP, LibDems and Greens announced they had agreed to table and support a single motion for a debate and symbolic vote on Wednesday.
Although the exact text is not expected until the weekend, it will oppose the Prime Minister’s withdrawal deal and political agreement, as well as rejecting a chaotic No Deal.
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The vote will take place six days before MPs hold their meaningful vote on the deal at Westminster, with current numbers pointing to a crushing defeat for Mrs May.
In a joint statement, the Brexit spokespeople for the four parties - the SNP’s Michael Russell, Labour’s Neil Findlay, Green Ross Greer and LibDem Tavish Scott - said the motion would convey “the overwhelming view of the Scottish Parliament”.
They said: “We are now confident that we can agree on a motion which will reject a No Deal scenario, recommend rejection of the Prime Minister’s negotiated agreement, and point the way towards the alternatives that exist.
“This unique and positive cooperation between four of the five parties at Holyrood indicates Scotland’s strength of feeling on Brexit and the Prime Minister’s untenable position as well as illustrating the isolation of the Tories on this matter.”
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The vote is likely to be backed by all non-Tory MSPs, although eyes will also be on former SNP cabinet minister Alex Neil, who backed Brexit.
The move was Jackson Carlaw, the interim Scottish Conservative leader.
He said: “These four parties don’t seem to get it. As numerous European leaders have made clear in recent weeks, the alternative to the Prime Minister’s deal is a no-deal scenario.
“It would be devastating for Britain. Yet that is what the SNP, Labour, the LibDems and the Greens are risking by opposing the deal on the table.”
He claimed the Greens and SNP wanted to oppose the deal in the hope of a chaotic Brexit that boosted “their plan to break up Britain”.
He added: “But for Richard Leonard and Willie Rennie to help Nicola Sturgeon’s political games next week shows complete naivety. They are being used as part of the SNP’s drive for a second referendum on independence. That they have chosen to stand shoulder to shoulder with the SNP next week is deeply regrettable.”
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