Theresa May has made wooing Scotland over Brexit one of her key missions. Her first trip as Prime Minister was up to Edinburgh to meet Nicola Sturgeon in order to reassure her that she was willing to listen to ‘all options’ following the referendum. It was an attempt to put out the fire started by Sturgeon in the hours after the June 23rd vote, when the Scottish First Minister said that Scotland did not vote for Brexit (despite two-in-five Scots having done exactly that). So far, May has been using the carrot rather than the stick to deal with Scottish dissent over the Brexit vote. And that strategy has continued today with the Scottish Secretary David Mundell spelling out how he plans to listen to Scots in order to placate those frustrated with the referendum outcome. He’ll speak to representatives from the oil industry, law, business and farming. And Mundell has also said talks will be held throughout Scotland with local authorities. His ‘Team UK’ approach is sensible and shows May’s emphasis on grown-up, rather than fractious government. But despite this olive branch, some within the SNP ranks are already trying to construct the narrative that Mundell can’t be trusted to put Scotland first. Here’s what Stephen Gethins, the SNP’s European Affairs lead, had to say:
‘Given that the Tories have caused this mess and now think it okay to drag Scotland out of EU against our will, it’s a bit rich for their sole MP to suggest that he’s acting to protect Scotland’s interests.’
The SNP have also tried to undermine Mundell by suggesting the fact he wasn’t a member of Theresa May’s economic task force meant he had no clout, was ‘on the outside looking in’ and therefore couldn’t stick up for Scotland. So it looks like trouble is brewing. But whilst rumours are rife that the SNP is plotting a ‘secret referendum’ in 2017 (a story dismissed as ‘nonsense’ by the party yesterday), it’s clear that despite the best attempts of the Tories to keep some of the noisier elements in the SNP on board, nothing will placate them. It’s worth remembering, though, just why these bids to stir up division are happening; the SNP know that, as things stand if Scots were given a second referendum, they’d vote to stay in: 55 per cent said they would rather live in a Scotland that was part of the UK post-Brexit, against 45 per cent who wouldn’t. So although it’s just not true that the Government isn’t doing its best to listen to Scots over Brexit, it is the case that the suggestion that they aren’t doing that (even if it’s false) is just what the SNP need to whip up in order to desperately try and keep their raison d’etre alive.
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