Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 3 June 2020.
I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for the advance copy of his statement.
The Scottish Greens certainly agree that an extension to the transition period is clearly necessary. It comes as no surprise that the same people who brought us the profoundly dishonest and xenophobic Brexit campaign are the same individuals who, during the Covid-19 crisis, have deliberately burned what little public trust the UK Government had, by clearly saying that the rules do not apply to them.
Has the UK Government given any clarity to the Scottish Government on who will pay for the primary and secondary infrastructure between Scotland and Northern Ireland, which will be necessary only because of the UK Government’s insistence on maintaining a Brexit position that will leave us outside the single market and the customs union? The UK Government has made that position clear, so it should fund the infrastructure that will result from the requirement for a customs border in the Irish Sea.