Michael Gove, the UK Environment and Rural Affairs Secretary is visiting the Royal Highland Show today.
He was a leading member of the Leave Campaign last year and has just been appointed to the cabinet following the 2017 General Election.
It does not seem clear as yet what powers might be devolved to Scotland after Brexit. The Brexit negotiations only started on Monday.
We just spotted @michaelgove Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs @ScotlandRHShow this morning pic.twitter.com/DubxW24YEN
— Edinburgh Reporter (@EdinReporter) June 22, 2017
SNP MSP and convener of Holyrood’s Europe Committee, Joan McAlpine, has now written to Mr Gove, challenging him to follow through on his commitments from last year.
Commenting, Ms McAlpine said: “Michael Gove claimed, as a leading Leave campaigner, that Brexit would see a whole raft of new powers coming to Scotland.
“But the reality, now exposed in the Queen’s Speech, is that the Tories want to use Brexit as cover for a power grab to strip powers away from Holyrood instead, including over issues like farming and fishing, which have been devolved to the Scottish parliament since day one.
“That would be totally unacceptable, and will be opposed by the SNP at every turn.
“Mr Gove should use his visit to Scotland today to give answers on the promises he made to Scotland a year ago, and explain what has happened to those pledges, including his suggestion that Brexit would see Scotland gain new powers over immigration.
“And if he can’t provide any answers he should apologise for trying to mislead people.
“Having now returned to government, Mr Gove has the perfect opportunity to honour his pledges on new powers for Scotland. Anything less would amount to yet another Tory sell-out.”
Ms McAlpine’s letter said :
Dear Michael,
Firstly, I’d like to congratulate you on your recent promotion to the position of Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
With this in mind, I would like to refer you to comments you made during the EU referendum campaign last year. During the campaign, when asked about how many migrants would be allowed to come to Scotland under the Leave campaign’s immigration proposals, you said:
“It would be for Scotland to decide because under the proposals that we have put forward we believe that a points based immigration policy – similar to the one that was actually put forward as a model for an independent Scotland by Nicola Sturgeon – would be the right approach.”
You later added:
“If, in the course of the negotiations, the Scottish Parliament wants to play a role in deciding how a particular visa system could work, much as it works in other parts of the European Economic Area, then that is something we’ll look into. Ultimately, the numbers who would come in the future would be decided by the Westminster parliament and the Holyrood parliament working together.”
I would like to know if you believe that it would still be “for Scotland to decide” upon immigration policy after Brexit, and if you would be making representations at Cabinet calling for full powers over immigration to be devolved to Scotland, as you suggested should happen little over a year ago.
I very much look forward to your response.
Best wishes,
Joan McAlpine
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
