Fury as Labour offer to hold talks with SNP over securing SOFT Brexit
LABOUR has come under fire from Eurosceptics after offering to hold talks with the SNP over securing a soft Brexit.
Emily Thornberry said she would talk to Nicola Sturgeon in a bid to keep UK in the single market
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said she could have discussions with Nicola Sturgeon's party in a bid to keep the UK in the single market.
But Ms Thornberry made it clear Labour would not enter into a pact with the SNP nor back a bespoke deal for Scotland.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is on collision course with Theresa May with demands to maintain both tariff-free trade and unfettered migration.
[...]I think remaining in the single market is a very important part of us keeping a healthy economy
She has said access to the single market seems to be the obvious consensus position we should try to work towards".
But in a speech at the Institute of Directors conference in London on Tuesday, she also made clear the Scottish Government is "looking to see if there are ways in which - for example - the benefits of single market membership could be retained by Scotland even if they are discarded by the rest of the UK".
Alex Salmond says Scotland should block Brexit
Ms Thornberry said she would be "more than happy" to talk to the SNP but she stressed there must be one deal for the whole of the UK.
She told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I think the most important thing about our negotiations is that the Government understand that as far as the people are concerned, nobody voted for anybody to lose their job, I think remaining in the single market is a very important part of us keeping a healthy economy.
"And given the European Union is where we export most of our stuff, we have to be able to access the European market as well as we possibly can and as unrestricted as possible. That has to be a priority because it does affect people's jobs."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is on collision course with Theresa May
She added: "We voted as a country, it was a UK referendum, it's a UK result, and we have to negotiate as the UK and get the best result for the UK.
"I don't think that there should be separate negotiations and separate deals, I think we should have a UK deal."
But Jack Montgomery, of the Leave.EU campaign, hit out at Labour highlighting polls showing two-thirds of Scots believe immigration should be cut.
Theresa May is being called to maintain unfettered migration and tariff-free trade
He added: “It would be incredible if Labour and the SNP colluded to keep the UK tied into a Free Movement regime which has compressed wages, overburdened our public services and undermined national security.
Jack Montgomery said Labour and the SNP had to assure Scotland was taken into consideration
“If Labour and the SNP should be co-operating on anything, it should be to make sure the Tories deliver a Brexit package which delivers for Scotland, particularly the fishing communities which the EU has hurt so badly.”