Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Thursday that the new Brexit deal agreed by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Brussels earlier in the day harms interests of Scotland and seeks to take away its voice in a future relationship with the European Union
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2019) Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Thursday that the new Brexit deal agreed by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Brussels earlier in the day harms interests of Scotland and seeks to take away its voice in a future relationship with the European Union."It's hard to imagine a deal that could be worse from the perspective of Scotland's interests," Sturgeon said, commenting on the new Brexit deal.
According to the first minister, the deal would put Scotland at a disadvantageous position against Northern Ireland and leave it "as the only power of the UK with no say over the relationship with Europe."
"England and Wales voted to leave and Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to remain, but it's [Northern Ireland] being offered arrangements to give a say over its future relationship with Europe. Scotland would be left with no say and no respect for how we voted. SNP [Scottish National Party] MPs cannot vote and will not vote for that because our job is to stand up for Scotland's interests and not sail them down the river," Sturgeon stressed.
According to the European Commission's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, the new Brexit deal is very likely to find support in the EU and get ratified by October 31. However, it has yet to be approved by the UK parliament as well as two of UK opposition parties, Labour and the SNP, which have already indicated they would not back the agreement at the vote expected on Saturday.
