We won’t let Scottish Nationalists thwart Brexit – Alexander Stafford

It should be abundantly clear to the SNP-Labour axis that, after all these years, the people of the United Kingdom are tired of endless delay and Remain subterfuge. The British people voted for Brexit four years ago, yet they are still waiting for us to fully extricate ourselves from the EU’s stranglehold.

The results of the 2016 referendum and December’s election made it clear what the mission of this House of Commons must be: to fully leave at the end of the year, come what may.

It is critical to the health of our democracy that people have faith in our political system and know that the results of elections and referenda are obeyed, including ones on independence for Scotland.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, now more than ever we need the certainty of exiting the transition period for a number of reasons.

Business investors need confidence and stability; we need to end the transition period so that we can get the Brexit dividends that will turbo-charge our economy; and, given the ongoing challenges presented by coronavirus and various geo-political tensions, we must move forward from this Brexit paralysis.

The people of this country are tired of scaremongering and of this great country being talked down. Everyone on all sides of the debate just wants the best possible deal for Britain – or they should do.

The Government are working hard to achieve exactly that: an ambitious, comprehensive, Canada-style free trade agreement with our European friends and allies, built on mutual respect and co-operation. We are making good progress in the negotiations and they are proceeding apace.

In fact, the reason why we got rid of the virtual Parliament and came back was to get the legislation passed.

The SNP was against our coming back to a physical Parliament – another of its delaying tactics that would have delayed Brexit even longer.

Regardless of what type of deal we agree with the EU, I 
am absolutely certain that Brexit will provide great opportunities for the whole of the UK.

My priority is to protect jobs and livelihoods in the areas – such as my constituency of Rother Valley – that have been long forgotten and often left behind. Brexit offers us a chance to create many high-quality British jobs in all four corners of the nation and truly to level up. We can promote UK plc by exporting our skills and goods globally to whomever and wherever we please.

It is necessary to point out that all four nations of the United Kingdom will benefit from the Brexit boom. Our friends in the SNP offer little for the people of Scotland beyond shameless and insidious separatist rhetoric.

They neglect to mention that the UK single market is worth over three times more to Scotland than the EU single market.

I also remind the Scottish nationalists – the separatists on the other side of the House – that every single person in Scotland receives a dividend of £1,968 per year more. That is £2,000 per person; it is a great deal for the people of Scotland.

However bad the SNP’s separatist rhetoric is, though, Labour’s position is even worse – its MPs cannot be bothered to turn up to this debate. After years of flip-flopping and changing their mind on Brexit, they still do not support our exit from the EU.

If they did, they would be here, arguing with Government Members against the nationalists, but they cannot be bothered to turn up.

My constituents in Rother Valley know only too well that if Labour had won power – with the help of the SNP, because Labour would have been propped up by an SNP Government – Brexit would have been abandoned. That would have gone against the good, ordinary working people of my constituency.

In stark contrast, the Conservative Party has kept its promise by taking the UK out of the EU on December 31.

We shall exit the transition period in the same decisive fashion, in order finally to take our rightful place among the nations of the world.

Alexander Stafford is Tory MP for Rother Valley. He spoke in a Commons debate on Covid-19: Future UK-EU Relationship. This is an edited version.

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