MSPs to vote on UK Government's Article 50 bill

MSPs are to vote on the UK Government’s bill to trigger Article 50, despite the Supreme Court ruling that the consent of the Scottish Parliament was not necessary to go ahead with the bill.

However, the Scottish Government says it believes that because of the direct effects on the devolved responsibilities, the Scottish Parliament should be invited to give its view before the bill is passed.

To ensure that the Scottish Parliament’s views are heard prior to the end of the committee stage in the House of Commons, the SNP government decided not to lodge a formal legislative consent memorandum.

The motion determining the Scottish Parliament’s view will be debated on Tuesday.

Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe Michael Russell said: “The people of Scotland did not vote for Brexit, and only one of the nation’s 59 MPs has now backed the UK Government by voting for the triggering Article 50.

“It is now essential that the Scottish Parliament’s views are heard prior to the end of the Committee Stage of the Article 50 Bill in the House of Commons, so we will lodge a motion to allow Parliament to express its view.

“A formal LCM would have to go through committee deliberation before Parliament as a whole was able to vote on it – a timetable incompatible with the accelerated timescale to which Westminster is now working.

“The Prime Minister has made numerous statements and commitments to Scotland that there would be an agreed UK-wide approach to Brexit. 

“And the UK Government has now published a white paper which claims ‘The UK Government acts in the interests of the whole UK’.

“Those claims will only be meaningful if the voice of Scotland’s Parliament is respected.

“Triggering Article 50 will have profound impacts on devolved responsibilities and on the powers of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government. It is therefore right that the Scottish Parliament expresses its view.”