SNP Westminster Leader put on the spot on Scottish border with England
SNP Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, was given a hard time by Sky’s presenter Adam Boulton on the issue of a border between Scotland and England. The Scottish MP was asked to comment the Brexit report published on Friday after the Prime Minister Theresa May and Mr Jean-Claude Juncker concluded the first stage of the negotiations. He said the deal had put “a smile on his face since Friday morning” as he was very pleased to read there would be no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
SKY NEWS Adam Boulton gives SNP Westminster leader a hard time on Scottish border
Mr Blackford said: “Nobody wants to see a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and that’s been achieved. “But I think one of the other factors is that now it has been accepted that there should not be a border between the isle of Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. So the challenge for the Government is how they make that work. “And what I’d like to say to the Prime Minister is ‘here is your simple solution’”, alluding to the possibility of remaining in the single market. Mr Boulton promptly replied: “A lot of people might say this is rich coming from you since you’d like to put a border between England and Scotland.”
A lot of people might say this is rich coming from you Adam Boulton
Mr Blackford denied such claim and added: “The cat is out of the bag on that one now. If we are not to have a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, why even with independence in Scotland would we have a customs and trade border between Scotland and the rest of the UK?” Speaking at the party’s conference on October 8th, Nicola Sturgeon said the SNP would always fight the case for independence. She said: “As I have always said, Scotland should have the right to choose our future when the terms of Brexit are clear. “We have a mandate to give people that choice and that mandate was won fairly and squarely."
Brexit deal agreement in full: Read the report published Fri, December 8, 2017 Read the full 7,000-word agreement on the Brexit deal Play slideshow EPA 1 of 17 Here is the 15 page Brexit deal in full