Brexit deal destroys SNP argument for independence in their search for Indyref2! (4k)

31 Dec 2020

Jeff Taylor

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The SNP were particularly vociferous in their anti-Brexit arguments in the debates this morning, so it's a good job I had my Blackford Defenders on hand! PLEASE SUPPORT MY WORK ON YOUTUBE VIA PATREON AT: http://bit.ly/2oUVQfm OR VIA PAYPAL: https://paypal.me/JeffTaylorDemocracy... Merch: https://teespring.com/en-GB/stores/je... FACEBOOK: @JeffTaylorBrexit TWITTER: @JeffTaylorUK Brexit deal destroys SNP argument for independence in their search for Indyref2! Next year, the SNP will suddenly find that they have destroyed their independence argument with their own position on the Brexit deal! During the Brexit debates on the European Union (Future Relationship) Bill in the House of Commons this morning, SNP politicians kept talking about this awful Brexit Agreement that will deal a hammer blow to the Scottish economy. The SNP leader in Westminster, Ian Blackford, talked about the damage it would do to the £16 billion in exports from Scotland to the EU. The picture he painted was of a Scotland about to be laid waste to by this deal. And no more freedom of movement, he wailed. He was definitely playing to the Scots Nats gallery on this one. Basically, he said that the destruction, devastation, and ruination that Boris Johnson would wreak on Scotland through this deal would bring destitution and impoverishment to all of Scotland's people. So much so that his party will be voting against the deal, so effectively backing the no-deal Brexit outcome instead. But given that the vote at second reading was 521 MPs in support of the bill and 73 against I think the writing's on the wall, don't you? But I'm not sure Blackford and the SNP have thought this anti-Brexit deal thing through to its logical conclusion though. Here's the problem for them. According to gov.scot, in 2018 the Scottish exports of £85 billion were made up as follows: Exports to the EU: £16.1 Bn (or 19% of the total). Exports to the Rest of the World: £17.7 Bn (or 21% of the total). And: Exports to the Rest of the UK: £51.2 Bn (or 60% of the total). And what Nicola Sturgeon, Ian Blackford and the rest of the SNP and their supporters are saying, is that this trade deal imposed between Scotland and their 19% of exports to the EU will do irreparable damage to them. So what they're going to do is leave the UK so as to dismantle that barrier and recover the Scottish economy. But can anyone see the deep, deep flaw in their argument? Well, it's this. If they ever did gain independence and joined the EU, they would then be forced to trade on EU terms with the UK. They would be forced to use this very same deal when exporting to the rest of the UK. The exact same terms of the Agreement they say is so bad for Scotland, would then be switched from 19% of their exports to the EU, onto the 60% of their exports they have with the rest of the UK. So, from the 1st of January 2021, when the SNP tour Scotland, whipping up support for independence, they will be telling their citizens to rip up the Scotland-EU border. Then impose the exact same border between themselves and the only country with which they have a land border. And the country that is also, by far, their largest export market. The SNP will effectively be campaigning FOR this deal. They will be arguing that this deal is bad for Scotland when applied to a fifth of their export market, but good when applied to 60% of their exports. And if they think they can get the EU to agree to a special deal for Scotland that gives them free access to the UK market, well good luck with that one. I'll just point out that David Cameron got nothing. So Nicola Sturgeon can expect even less. And if Scotland goes independent and joins the EU, so immediately losing its independence, there is a risk they'll lose the freedom of movement that they currently enjoy with the rest of the UK. After all, what incentive is there for the EU to agree to special conditions for the Scots, when there's no equivalent to the Good Friday Agreement to be nursed. And when the UK bans live animal transfers between the UK and other countries ... well. And none of this will be driven by the UK or Westminster politicians. It will be imposed by the EU and willingly signed up to by the SNP. The UK would be looking on as an outside, third country to this process. The SNP would then try and cast about for a fall-guy to blame, but the finger would always end up pointing at them. All I can say to those who wish to defend the United Kingdom's unity is, continually point out this incoherent SNP policy. And the SNP will then be forced into Doublethink, Doublespeak gymnastics telling everyone the deal is awful, but it's good. 4k. 4k video. #Brexit #SNP #IanBlackford

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRV6pCUD8ZQ

UK approves Brexit trade deal

 Prime Minister Boris Johnson says UK will become EU’s ‘best friend’ after Brexit transition ends.

The U.K. House of Commons has endorsed the Brexit trade deal | Christ J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

BY CRISTINA GALLARDO

December 30, 2020 4:13 pm

LONDON — The U.K.'s post-Brexit trade agreement with the European Union has passed into law after receiving royal assent in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle told MPs at 12.35 a.m. Thursday that Britain's Queen Elizabeth II had signified her royal assent for the European Union (Future Relationship) Act, after it passed through both Houses of Parliament.

MPs in the House of Commons voted 521 to 73 to pass the bill at its second reading in the Commons. It enshrines into law the 1,246-page Brexit deal struck by the EU and the U.K. on December 24. The deal covers goods and services trade, but also includes investment chapters, provisions on fish and data protection and arrangements for future cooperation on areas such as R&D and space.

Both the Conservative and Labour parties backed the legislation, despite a rebellion of a limited number of MPs from both camps. These included Tory former Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson, who abstained, and former Shadow Home Secretary Dianne Abbott, who explained her decision to vote against the deal saying it falls short on policy areas such as security. The Scottish National Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, Plaid Cymru and the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland did not support the bill.

Opening the debate, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that following the end of the Brexit process, the U.K. will “seize the moment to forge a fantastic new relationship” with the EU “based on free trade and friendly cooperation.”

“With this bill, we are going to become a friendly neighbor, the best friend and ally the EU could have, working hand-in-glove whenever our values and interests coincide with fulfilling the sovereign wish of the British people to live under their own laws, made by their own elected parliament,” Johnson said.

On the opposite benches, Labour Leader Keir Starmer faced criticism for his decision to instruct his party to back the deal in Westminster, while in the Scottish parliament Labour are expected to vote against the deal later Wednesday. Starmer defended Labour’s position saying the two votes are “completely different” and the only choice in Westminster is between a thin agreement and a no-deal outcome.

“When the default is no-deal it’s not a mark of how pro-European you are to reject implementing this treaty. It isn’t in the national interest to duck a question or to hide in the knowledge that others will save you from the consequences of your own vote,” he said.

The U.K. government in Westminster is expected to press ahead with implementing the deal regardless of whether the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland express their consent.

Former Prime Minister Theresa May, who endorsed the agreement, lamented the very thin provisions on services and the loss of access to the Schengen Information System II security and border management intelligence database. But she expressed hope that more ambitious arrangements could be negotiated with the EU in the future. “We have a deal in trade which benefits the EU but not a deal in services which would have benefited the U.K.,” she said.

The bill concluded all its remaining stages in the Commons minutes after the second reading vote, and will now pass to the House of Lords, with peers expecting to vote it tonight. The legislation is expected to receive the royal assent it needs to become law shortly afterwards.

https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-house-of-commons-vote-brexit-trade-deal-eu/