Independence Is Scotland’s Only Route Back to EU Prosperity
The SNP will demand a parliamentary inquiry into the impact of Brexit on the soaring cost of living in the UK – in an opposition day debate at Westminster today.
Ahead of the debate on the SNP motion, which would create a new parliamentary Select Committee focused on the impact of Brexit on the cost of living, Dr Philippa Whitford MP said “independence is Scotland’s only route back to the EU, sustained economic growth and prosperity” and warned “people are paying an unacceptable price for Westminster failure, as the Tories and pro-Brexit Labour Party wreck the economy”.
The SNP will push for a vote on the motion and have urged the Labour Party to “stop dancing to the Tory tune on Brexit”. It comes as analysis from the London School of Economics revealed Brexit has added £6billion to UK food bills – leaving households £210 worse off on average. Separately, the OBR has forecast a 4% hit to UK GDP and a 15% hit to UK trade from Brexit – costing the UK economy billions of pounds.
Commenting, Dr Philippa Whitford MP said:
“Brexit has been an unmitigated disaster for the UK economy – costing us billions and sending the cost of living soaring. Yet, the Tories and pro-Brexit Labour Party are guilty of a conspiracy of silence over its devastating impact.
“The SNP is the only party offering real change with independence, which is Scotland’s only route back to Europe, sustained economic growth and prosperity.
“People are paying an unacceptable price for Westminster failure, as the Tories and pro-Brexit Labour Party wreck the economy. Keir Starmer must stop dancing to the Tory tune on Brexit – and both parties must admit the long-term damage their Brexit obsession is doing to Scotland.
“At the election next year, the SNP will put independence front-and-centre so Scotland can escape Brexit, tackle the cost of living, and get rid of unelected Tory governments for good.”
Notes for Editors:
Text of SNP opposition day motion:
Cost of living:
That this House agrees that increases in the cost of living are having a detrimental impact on
businesses and families across Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom; notes that the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union has played a significant role in driving those increases; further notes that the devolved administrations do not possess the full financial powers required to effectively mitigate the increases in the cost of living in the devolved nations; accepts that finding solutions to the cost of living crisis deserves dedicated parliamentary time to investigate all matters relating to increases in prices and of the contribution of exiting the European Union and of Westminster economic policy to those increases; and resolves that the following shall be a Standing Order of the House:
Cost of Living Committee
1. There shall be a select committee, to be called the Cost of Living Committee, to examine the
causes of and possible solutions to matters related to the cost of living in the United
Kingdom, the consequences of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union and the cost
of living, the effect changes in the cost of living affects the economy, and other connected
matters.
2. The committee shall be chaired by a Member from the second largest Opposition Party and
shall additionally consist of 22 Members from the Government party and 22 Members from
opposition parties, drawn from the following Committees:
Committee Number of Members
- Business and Trade 3
- Energy and Net Zero 3
- Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 3
- Health and Social Care 3
- Home Affairs 3
- Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 3
- Northern Ireland Affairs 5
- Scottish Affairs 5
- Transport 3
- Treasury 3
- Welsh Affairs 5
- Women’s and Equalities 3
- Works and Pensions 3
3. The committee shall have power —
a. to send for persons, papers and records, to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of
the House, to adjourn from place to place, and to report from time to time; and
b. to appoint specialist advisers to supply information which is not readily available or
to elucidate matters of complexity within the committee’s order of reference.
4. Unless the House otherwise orders, each Member nominated to the committee shall
continue to be a member of it for the remainder of the Parliament.
5. The committee shall have power to appoint a sub-committee, which shall have power to
send for persons, papers and records, to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House,
to adjourn from place to place, and to report to the committee from time to time.
6. The committee shall have power to report from time to time the evidence taken before the
sub-committee.
7. The committee shall have power to order the attendance of any Member before the
committee and to require that specific documents or records in the possession of a Member
relating to its inquiries be laid before the committee or any sub-committee.
8. The quorum of the sub-committee shall be eleven.