Theresa May could plunge Britain into the greatest constitutional crisis since the secession of Ireland if she ignores the Scottish and Welsh government’s demands on Brexit, it has been claimed.
Mike Russell, Scotland’s Brexit minister, said that the great repeal bill was “unacceptable and would lead to chaos” as he confirmed that the Scottish government would not consent to the law as it stood.
Nicola Sturgeon made a joint announcement with Carwyn Jones, the Welsh first minister, last week condemning the proposals as “a naked power grab” by Westminster.
Ian Duncan, the Scotland Office minister, yesterday accused Ms Sturgeon of posturing and brinkmanship and claimed that her stance would cause “fear and concern” for Scottish businesses. He confirmed the UK government’s intention to forbid Scotland and Wales from making laws in devolved areas repatriated from Brussels until a common UK framework was agreed.
Mr Russell said: “We are in a constitutional crisis and that crisis becomes worse if this takes place. It essentially means that we have a situation where Scotland and its parliament has said one thing and the UK parliament has simply overruled it.”
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Matt Qvortrup, of the University of Coventry, compared the looming standoff to the political chaos in Ireland in 1919. He claimed that Mrs May’s apparent blindness to the “impending doom” had echoes of James Callaghan’s dismissive attitude to the collapsing British economy when he was prime minister in the late 1970s.
“Lack of consent from Scotland and Wales could be ignored by Westminster but politically speaking such a move would create a massive constitutional showdown between the devolved parliaments and Westminster,” Mr Qvortrup said. “By using legal arguments instead of good political sense, May is in danger of creating the ideal conditions for indyref2.”
Mr Duncan said that he was concerned about the Scottish government’s threat to withhold consent for the Brexit bill. “It would cause absolute fear and concern in every possible aspect of the industrial sector . . . They are putting in jeopardy all of the people who depend upon a clear message.”