Ruth Davidson on the UK internal market
There were several very important press articles at the weekend which respond to the latest campaigns of misinformation which the SNP are peddling in their destructive attempts to break up Britain.
"The Scotsman" published a commentary by Susan Dalgety on SNP attempts to talk up the damage that COVID-19 has done in England and downplay what it has done in Scotland, and explains why
"Nicola Sturgeon’s Border talk is about politics, not health."
Meanwhile in the Evening Standard, former Scots Tory leader Ruth Davidson has an excellent piece about the row which is brewing between the UK government and the SNP over the powers which have been repatriated to the UK from Brussels.
You can't win with the SNP. If a power which was once exercised by Brussels comes to Westminster this is somehow a "power grab" at Scotland's expense. If it is devolved to Holyrood, as it it proposed that over a hundred powers will be, this is a "sham" or a "con trick."
Ruth's article is called
"Sturgeon is set to crank up the grievance machine over post-Brexit Britain,"
and it is a must read for anyone who cares about the Union.
Her are a few extracts from what Ruth has to say about the next major row which the SNP are about to start in their relentless efforts to sir up trouble.
"At the moment the EU ensures minimum standards for goods across its member states, free trade between them, and it stops governments in one EU country helping companies with money in order to undercut companies based elsewhere, thus ensuring a level playing field.
"What the UK Government is seeking to do is ensure these outcomes across the UK. So something manufactured in Brent can be sold without issue in Bangor or Belfast, and that no politician anywhere can help a company or sector in one part of the UK in a way that damages companies elsewhere on these islands.
"The SNP has already called this a “power grab” and is cranking up the grievance machine. Expect to see a number of flushed and furious SNP talking heads on politics programmes in the coming days, echoing their leader who has called it “a blatant move to erode the powers of the Scottish Parliament in key areas”.
"It’s quite the charge.
"Especially regarding a Bill designed to make sure no one part of the country has an unfair advantage over another. And, as much as the SNP enjoy guerrilla politics — finding traps and ambushes with which to snipe away at Westminster — I fear they’re on less than firm footing.
"Powers that were once held at Brussels have to be held somewhere, either at a Westminster level, by the devolved administrations or — as is proposed — a combination of the two. Sturgeon’s argument about “eroding” the powers of the Scottish Parliament is a strange one. It suggests that someone is taking powers away from Holyrood.
But the Scottish Parliament was only reconvened in 1999, so it has never held these powers.
In fact, under the UK’s plans, Holyrood will be given responsibility for over a hundred new powers it has never previously held.
"And for those powers the SNP chief is furious will be administered by Westminster? Well, Sturgeon believes in the EU and that there should be a level playing field between states. She also believes that if the Scottish people were ever to vote for independence, Scotland would immediately seek to re-enter the EU and hand all of these powers back to Brussels.
"So her argument that a level playing field across the EU is great, but across the UK is an outrage, is specious.
" Lord knows I’ve had my disagreements with Boris Johnson down the years — not least over Brexit during the referendum campaign. But in sorting out all the technical difficulties over what Brexit looks like, the idea that ensuring one part of the UK can’t give unfair help to a sector or company which will damage businesses elsewhere is a rational — indeed, sensible — one."
You can read Ruth's full article on the Evening Standard website here.
"The Scotsman" published a commentary by Susan Dalgety on SNP attempts to talk up the damage that COVID-19 has done in England and downplay what it has done in Scotland, and explains why
"Nicola Sturgeon’s Border talk is about politics, not health."
Meanwhile in the Evening Standard, former Scots Tory leader Ruth Davidson has an excellent piece about the row which is brewing between the UK government and the SNP over the powers which have been repatriated to the UK from Brussels.
You can't win with the SNP. If a power which was once exercised by Brussels comes to Westminster this is somehow a "power grab" at Scotland's expense. If it is devolved to Holyrood, as it it proposed that over a hundred powers will be, this is a "sham" or a "con trick."
Ruth's article is called
"Sturgeon is set to crank up the grievance machine over post-Brexit Britain,"
and it is a must read for anyone who cares about the Union.
Her are a few extracts from what Ruth has to say about the next major row which the SNP are about to start in their relentless efforts to sir up trouble.
"At the moment the EU ensures minimum standards for goods across its member states, free trade between them, and it stops governments in one EU country helping companies with money in order to undercut companies based elsewhere, thus ensuring a level playing field.
"What the UK Government is seeking to do is ensure these outcomes across the UK. So something manufactured in Brent can be sold without issue in Bangor or Belfast, and that no politician anywhere can help a company or sector in one part of the UK in a way that damages companies elsewhere on these islands.
"The SNP has already called this a “power grab” and is cranking up the grievance machine. Expect to see a number of flushed and furious SNP talking heads on politics programmes in the coming days, echoing their leader who has called it “a blatant move to erode the powers of the Scottish Parliament in key areas”.
"It’s quite the charge.
"Especially regarding a Bill designed to make sure no one part of the country has an unfair advantage over another. And, as much as the SNP enjoy guerrilla politics — finding traps and ambushes with which to snipe away at Westminster — I fear they’re on less than firm footing.
"Powers that were once held at Brussels have to be held somewhere, either at a Westminster level, by the devolved administrations or — as is proposed — a combination of the two. Sturgeon’s argument about “eroding” the powers of the Scottish Parliament is a strange one. It suggests that someone is taking powers away from Holyrood.
But the Scottish Parliament was only reconvened in 1999, so it has never held these powers.
In fact, under the UK’s plans, Holyrood will be given responsibility for over a hundred new powers it has never previously held.
"And for those powers the SNP chief is furious will be administered by Westminster? Well, Sturgeon believes in the EU and that there should be a level playing field between states. She also believes that if the Scottish people were ever to vote for independence, Scotland would immediately seek to re-enter the EU and hand all of these powers back to Brussels.
"So her argument that a level playing field across the EU is great, but across the UK is an outrage, is specious.
" Lord knows I’ve had my disagreements with Boris Johnson down the years — not least over Brexit during the referendum campaign. But in sorting out all the technical difficulties over what Brexit looks like, the idea that ensuring one part of the UK can’t give unfair help to a sector or company which will damage businesses elsewhere is a rational — indeed, sensible — one."
You can read Ruth's full article on the Evening Standard website here.
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