Deidre Brock, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, has slammed the UK Government for a lack of forward thinking on the rights of EU citizens living here if there’s a vote to leave the EU next week.
This morning she asked the Minister for Government Policy, Oliver Letwin, how the UK Government would protect the existing rights of people from other EU countries and all he could say was it’s ‘a matter of hot debate’ and ‘of very great complexity’. She has been asking questions about this for a while now and the UK Government’s position is still confused.
Ms Brock said:- “We get huge benefits from the people who come to Scotland and make this their home but it’s clear that the UK Government is clueless and couldn’t care less about what would happen to our friends and neighbours from other European countries if we vote to leave the EU.
“Cameron and his cronies recklessly set sail on this referendum path without doing any research on what it would mean for everyone living on these islands. It’s dangerous for a Government to do anything without thinking it through first and it’s doubly dangerous when it’s something as big as this.
“I have many constituents from other EU countries, and lots whose families are affected, anxious to know about their futures, whether they’ll be allowed to stay here and keep making a contribution to Scotland and our economy.
“For the Scottish independence referendum the Scottish Government produced a 670 page white paper spelling out its vision for Scotland’s Future, including answers about citizenship. Where is the white paper here? We might be heading towards the EU exit door with nothing to guide us but a flimsy leaflet and a handful of prejudices.
“I’m sick of the racist rhetoric in this debate. Instead of facts we’ve just got Tories fighting each other to be the toughest on Johnny Foreigner – someone to blame so they can hide their own failures.
“That’s not the kind of country I want and it’s a good reminder why Scotland should be an open, fair and inclusive society within the EU family of independent nations.
“Before the votes are cast next week we need to know what will happen to the 3.5 million EU citizens settled here and contributing to our society, who feel their lives and livelihoods threatened.
“The UK Government has to start taking responsibility; it got us into this mess, and Mr Cameron and his pals should make provisions to protect the rights of all existing UK residents. We need to reassure everyone that they won’t be kicked out the country simply because of Tory infighting.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
