A Hard Brexit poses a threat to 80,000 jobs in Scotland and would be a “national disaster”, it was claimed last night.
Michael Russell, minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, said the scenario could be avoided by retaining single market membership for the whole of the UK.
Russell issued his warning ahead of publication of a paper that will outline new proposals to keep Scotland in the European single market.
He described them as “the first serious attempt by any government in the UK to address the challenges thrown up by the Brexit vote”.
Russell added: “We believe that the best option for Scotland, one which would fully protect our place in Europe, is to be an independent member of the EU. But, in line with our commitments to explore all options to protect Scotland’s interests, we will set out compromise proposals which, while not conferring the full benefits of EU membership, would mitigate the Brexit damage. At the heart of our plan is a framework to keep Scotland’s place in the European single market.”
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The paper, to be published on Tuesday, will include proposals for substantial transfer of new powers to Holyrood.
Writing in The Sunday Times, Scottish secretary David Mundell said the UK government would consider the proposals carefully and added: “There is a fear Scotland will be told this week that its choice is essentially between a separate deal or a second referendum on independence.”
David Mundell, in this section