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SNP MPs walk out of Commons in protest over Brexit debate SNP MPs walk out of Commons in protest over Brexit debate
(about 5 hours later)
Prime minister’s questions descended into pandemonium in the Commons after Scottish National party MPs walked out en masse as part of a protest over the lack of time given to debate devolution issues connected to Brexit. The SNP has warned of a “complete breakdown” in relations between Edinburgh and London as their leader at Westminster launched a campaign of parliamentary guerrilla tactics to cause maximum disruption to Theresa May’s government.
The party’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, was ejected on Wednesday for repeatedly refusing to sit down after the Speaker, John Bercow, declined his request for an immediate vote on holding a new debate on the Brexit issue. Ian Blackford, the party’s leader in the Commons, said it could no longer be “business as usual” between Holyrood and Westminster after what he described as a “power grab” by the government was passed after just 15 minutes of debate.
With Bercow struggling to keep control of the rowdy chamber, he ordered Blackford to be barred from the Commons for the remainder of the day, citing his “persistent and repeated” refusal to sit down and let Theresa May answer more questions. Prime minister’s questions descended into pandemonium after SNP MPs walked out en masse as part of a protest over the lack of time given to the debate on devolution issues connected to Brexit.
After a brief further standoff, in a planned move the entire contingent of SNP MPs marched out of the chamber in protest, to sarcastic cheers of “Bye!” from the government benches. One SNP MP, Mhairi Black, angrily jabbed her finger towards the Speaker as she left. But the SNP was accused by its opponents of being “locked in a toxic embrace” with the Tories in which the constitutional crisis was used to shore up the party’s grassroots’ support and keep its independence dreams alive.
Once they had gone, after a further pause, May stood up again and was able to resume the session. After a day of high parliamentary drama, Blackford accused the government of attempting to claw back powers from Holyrood, including over farming, fisheries and the environment, after leaving the EU without giving MPs time for debate.
The uproar came about 20 minutes into an already noisy PMQs during which Jeremy Corbyn again taunted May over what he said was the “sheer ineptitude” of the government’s Brexit plans. The SNP leader was ejected from the Commons for repeatedly refusing to sit down after the Speaker, John Bercow, declined his request for an immediate vote on holding a fresh debate so MPs’ voices could be heard.
The SNP outrage was prompted by the timetabling of the Commons’ consideration of Lords amendments to the EU withdrawal bill, the first session of which took place on Tuesday. With Bercow struggling to keep control of the rowdy chamber, he ordered Blackford to be barred from the Commons for the rest of the day, citing his “persistent and repeated” refusal to sit down and allow May to continue.
Three hours were set aside for consideration of one series of amendments, among them the call for a meaningful vote by MPs on a final deal, where May avoided defeat by offering last-minute concessions. After a brief standoff, in a planned move the entire contingent of SNP MPs marched out of the chamber in protest, to sarcastic cheers of “Bye!” from the government benches.
Three hours more had been set aside for debate about issues on the bill connected to devolution, and for an amendment on Northern Ireland. Outside the Commons and surrounded by more than a dozen of his MPs, Blackford said: “This is the beginning of something, not the end … They’re taking us on, so they’re going to find we are taking them on. We’ll use every measure at our disposal.
But because the 11 votes on the first session were treated as part of the six-hour total, in the end there was less than half an hour left for the devolution issues, with only one speaker, David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister. “This isn’t a stunt, this is about the harsh reality of the British government acting against the interests of the Scottish people and the Scottish government. It’s new territory, this can’t be business as usual.
Blackford, who is granted two questions at PMQs after Corbyn, told May he was outraged by what had happened, saying: “The prime minister gave a commitment that she would treat Scotland as part of a union of equals. Yet last night she pressed ahead with a power grab in direct opposition to Scotland’s elected parliament.” “It is a complete breakdown in relations because there’s disrespect which has been shown to the Scottish parliament by the Conservatives. They need to understand that there is a change in the relationship as a consequence.”
Under the vote following the brief session, powers “are being grabbed back and the MPs from Scotland were not given the courtesy of even debating it last night”, he said, adding: “It is a democratic outrage. The people of Scotland will not be disrespected by this parliament.” His threat to cause trouble on a “day-by-day, week-by-week” basis raises the prospect of the SNP, the third biggest party in the Commons, obstructing votes, delaying debates and raising as many obstacles to the passage of legislation as its 35 MPs can muster.
Blackford ended his second question by demanding an immediate vote on devoting more time to debate the devolution issues. Bercow said this could only happen after PMQs, prompting the deadlock, repeatedly yelling: “Mr Blackford, resume your seat!” The SNP outrage was prompted by the amount of time devoted to debating Lords amendments to the EU withdrawal bill on Tuesday. While three hours was devoted to a series of proposals including the meaningful vote, devolved issues only got 15 minutes.
After PMQs, responding to a series of points of order on the issue, Bercow said the SNP could most likely have been granted an emergency debate on the lack of time, if they had submitted a formal request before 10.30am. The party said it had signed up 1,110 new members since midday on Wednesday after the row.
The SNP’s leader, Nicola Sturgeon, tweeted her support for the walkout: At the heart of the row is the government’s plan to retain control of 24 key areas once powers return from Brussels, which it says will be a temporary move in order to allow rules and regulations to remain in place across the whole UK.
Right behind @IanBlackfordMP and @theSNP MPs. Scotland and @ScotParl are being treated with contempt by Westminster and it needs to be highlighted. https://t.co/Mbrriq6RPL The vast majority of the 158 devolved policy areas powers will return directly from Brussels to the devolved administrations. The Scottish parliament refused consent for the Brexit bill in February.
However, the Scottish Conservative deputy leader, Jackson Carlaw, described the move as a “self-indulgent stunt” and “a dereliction of duty from the SNP”. The SNP leader and Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, tweeted minutes after the walkout that she was “right behind” her party’s MPs, claiming that Scotland and Holyrood were “being treated with contempt” by Westminster.
The chaos overshadowed another contest between May and Corbyn devoted to Brexit. The Labour leader began by mocking the PM over comments made by Boris Johnson at a dinner, in which he said Donald Trump might do a better job at delivering Brexit. However, the Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine said: “Neither the SNP or the Conservatives appear to want a solution to the impasse, it suits them both. The SNP wants to crank up the grievance narrative to help them get another independence referendum that most people do not actually want.
“When the prime minister met President Donald Trump last week, did she do as the foreign secretary suggested and ask him to take over the Brexit negotiations?” Corbyn asked, prompting laughter in the Commons. “And it suits the Conservatives to have the constitutional debate kept alive. They’d far rather keep talking about that, than the matters people really care about.”
He later accused May of presiding over a cabinet that is divided and “briefing against each other”. The Labour MP Paul Sweeney said: “The SNP’s only oxygen is on constitutional issues and they and the Conservatives are locked in a toxic embrace on the matter. As long as they can keep the focus on the constitution and not on issues like fighting poverty or investing in our economy they’ll continue to feed the beast.”
He said: “And the prime minister has been left with no white paper on which to negotiate; last week the transition period was delayed by a year in the space of 24 hours, and yesterday a deal with her backbenchers was reneged on within hours.” The Scotland secretary, David Mundell, who will make a statement in the Commons, said: “It was putting a stunt over substance. If the concerns were real then their priority would have been to have a debate to hold the government to account.”
May replied by insisting it was Labour that was split over Brexit, also accusing the opposition of seeking to frustrate the referendum result.
PMQs
Scottish National party (SNP)Scottish National party (SNP)
Brexit
DevolutionDevolution
Scotland Brexit
Scottish politics
House of CommonsHouse of Commons
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