Johnson's Plans to Prohibit Brexit Extension Brings Back No-Deal Risk - SNP Commons Leader
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's proposals to rule out any extension to the Brexit transition period, scheduled to finish on December 31, 2020, will open the door once again to the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, the Scottish National Party's (SNP) leader in the House of Commons Ian Blackford said on Friday ahead of the second reading vote on the Brexit withdrawal bill
Politicians will vote on Johnson's withdrawal deal in the House of Commons on Friday afternoon. The bill contains a controversial piece of legislation that will outlaw any possible extension to the Brexit transition period. In September, politicians passed a new piece of legislation termed the Benn Act, that required the prime minister to seek an extension to the Brexit withdrawal date in order to protect against leaving without a deal.
"The harsh reality is, that by placing that deadline, that the risk of a no-deal Brexit that we all fear is very much back on the table again," the SNP's Westminster leader told the Commons.
Blackford also reiterated comments made by SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who on Thursday demanded that Scotland be given the legislative power to call a second independence referendum. Since the election, the SNP have argued that Johnson has no mandate to take Scotland out of the European Union.
"Scotland could not have been clearer last week.
We did not vote for Brexit and returning the SNP with a greater mandate shows Scotland still totally and utterly rejects Brexit. Yet the prime minister is blindly hurtling towards the cliff edge with these deeply damaging Brexit plans that will leave us poorer, that will leave us worse off," Blackford said.
The SNP leader in the Commons outlined that his party will reject Johnson's Brexit withdrawal agreement when it is voted on. Blackford said that his party was willing to compromise with the UK government on a number of issues, but that Scottish businesses were being severely affected by Westminster's plans to leave the European Union.
In September 2014, Scotland held a referendum on whether to leave the United Kingdom and become an independent country. Only 44.7 percent of Scots voted to leave, but tensions have risen following the 2016 Brexit referendum, which saw 62 percent of Scots vote to stay in the European Union.
Since being re-elected, Johnson has stressed that Scotland, along with the rest of the United Kingdom will leave the European Union by the end of 2020. The SNP, whose manifesto promised voters a second referendum on independence, made significant gains in Scotland in last week's general election. Sturgeon's party now holds 80 percent of Scottish Constituencies, after winning 48 seats in last week's vote.