Boris Johnson has accused the SNP of attempting to erect trade barriers between England and Scotland as he firmly rejected claims that his government had launched the “biggest power grab” of the devolution era. The UK Government will on Thursday unveil plans it says will ensure seamless trade within the UK after the Brexit transition period ends next year. Under the proposals, which will be put out to consultation, products meeting standards set by legislators in one part of the UK would have to be accepted in the other UK nations. The measure is designed to provide simplicity for businesses and to make it easier for Britain to strike trade deals with other nations. UK ministers fear trade agreements will be harder to negotiate if foreign companies have to meet different regulations or standards in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister said that under the changes, which relate to policy areas that are nominally devolved but had previously been decided by the EU, devolved administrations would receive a swathe of new powers. Stormont will receive 157 new powers, Holyrood 111 and the Welsh Parliament 70, the UK Government claimed. However, proposals to write the principle of “mutual recognition” - meaning regulations from one part of the UK will be recognised across the country - into law will be strongly resisted by the SNP.
July 15, 2020
July 15, 2020
