The Scottish Government has confirmed that any attempt to remove powers post-Brexit will face a challenge in the Scottish courts.
The proposed UK legislation would allow Westminster to unilaterally erode food and environmental standards in Scotland in the wake of Brexit, to bring them in line with the likes of the USA ahead of a potential trade deal. This would allow for the importation of chlorinated chicken and lower-quality food, without the need for adequate labelling to inform consumer choice.
Michael Russell MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Government Business and Constitutional Relations commented:
“The Tories know they can’t win an election to the Scottish Parliament so have come up with a scheme to undermine it instead.
“They are plotting, in an underhand manner, to introduce a new law which would effectively hand power to Tory ministers in devolved policy areas, under the guise of protecting what they call the so-called UK internal market after Brexit.
“Under their plans, if Westminster adopts lower standards in devolved areas, Scotland could be forced to accept them, regardless of the view of our Parliament.”
Mr Russell also went further in the Financial Times, saying: “If they pass the legislation then we will have no intention of implementing that and they would have to essentially go to court to force it’s implementation.”
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