Brexit: Scottish and Welsh parliaments hold simultaneous debates
The Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales will vote simultaneously on a motion declaring opposition to Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
An identical motion will be debated simultaneously by the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly - with co-ordinated votes.
It will underline opposition to Theresa May's deal, demand a delay to Brexit and call for "no deal" to be ruled out.
Both motions object to the deal to leave the European Union by the UK government and declare that a no-deal Brexit would be “completely unacceptable”.
If passed, they would call for the UK government to “take immediate steps to prevent the UK leaving the EU without a deal” as well as an extension of Article 50.
Scotland’s Constitutional Relations Secretary Mike Russell said: “This is an unprecedented event: the first time in 20 years of devolution that the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales have debated the same motion simultaneously.
“We are taking this historic step to send a strong message to the UK government that it must stop pursuing such a disastrous course of action.
“The prime minister’s deal will cause major, lasting damage to jobs, living standards and public services such as the NHS, and should be voted down.
“The UK government must also stop using the threat of a catastrophic no-deal outcome to blackmail the UK Parliament into accepting her deeply damaging plans.
“An extension that stops the clock on Brexit would allow time for agreement to be reached on a better way forward, which the Scottish Government believes should be a second EU referendum with Remain on the ballot paper.”
It said the focus should be on gaining further assurances from the EU to allow the prime minister's deal to go forward.
The vote is expected to take place at 6pm in Edinburgh and Cardiff.
Resources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-47447176