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The Scottish Parliament overwhelmingly backed a motion opposing the start of the process for the UK to leave the European Union in a gesture against Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plans.
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European Union leaders are meeting for the first time in over 40 years without a British presence for talks on the UK's exit from the bloc.
The needs of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not been properly considered, there are no guarantees for EU nationals living in Britain and there is not enough detail of the implications of policies including leaving the EU's single market, according to the motion approved on Tuesday.
"This is the Scottish Parliament, the people who voted for us are Scottish people, they expect us to stand up for Scotland," Scotland's chief Brexit negotiator, Michael Russell, a member of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party, told lawmakers.
He accused May's Conservative Party of "becoming apologists for a hard, isolated Brexit and a hard, isolated Britain, just what UKIP wanted."
While the motion is not binding on May and is largely symbolic, it is a reminder from the Edinburgh Parliament that 62 per cent of Scots voted to stay in the EU in last year's referendum. While May has pledged to consult with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish authorities, she needs to do more to satisfy them they are being heard, lawmakers said.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Photo: AP
Jackson Carlaw, the deputy leader of the Scottish branch of the Conservative Party, accused the SNP of pursuing a nationalist agenda rather than the interests of Scotland. Sturgeon has kept open the possibility of another vote on Scotland breaking away from the UK if it's pulled out of the single market.
Sturgeon's party is "chasing a grievance to justify another independence referendum," Carlaw said. "It doesn't matter what anyone says, the SNP is unhappy."
Washington Post
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