Sturgeon and Jones issue legislative consent warning on Brexit Repeal Bill

The Scottish and Welsh governments have said they cannot recommend that legislative consent is given to the Brexit Repeal Bill as it stands.

In a joint statement, first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Carwyn Jones described the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill as a “naked power-grab” that undermined the principles of devolution.

UK Scottish Secretary David Mundell countered that the legislation would result in a powers “bonanza” for Holyrood and said he was confident that legislative consent would be forthcoming.

Mr Mundell confirmed the approval of the Scottish Parliament through a legislative consent motion would be required for the Bill, which is designed to transpose EU law into British law so the same rules apply on the day of Brexit as the day before.

In their statement, Ms Sturgeon and Mr Jones said: “This week began with the Prime Minister calling for a constructive and collaborative approach from those outside Whitehall to help get Brexit right.

“Today's publication of The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill is the first test as to whether the UK Government is serious about such an approach. It is a test it has failed utterly.

“We have repeatedly tried to engage with the UK Government on these matters and have put forward constructive proposals about how we can deliver an outcome which will protect the interests of all the nations in the UK, safeguard our economies and respect devolution.

“Regrettably, the Bill does not do this. Instead, it is a naked power-grab, an attack on the founding principles of devolution and could destabilise our economies.”

The statement continued: “The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill does not return powers from the EU to the devolved administrations, as promised.

“It returns them solely to the UK Government and Parliament, and imposes new restrictions on the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales.

“On that basis, the Scottish and Welsh governments cannot recommend that legislative consent is given to the Bill as it currently stands.

The Bill will repeal the European Communities Act 1972, which took Britain into the EU, and bring the body of European law into the constituent legal systems in the UK.

It will allow for changes to existing EU statutes and regulations that will not operate appropriately after Brexit, for example because they reference European entities.

Mr Mundell said that separate legislation would be needed to cover areas such as fishing, farming and immigration and a series of further Bills could also require legislative consent from the devolved administrations.

He insisted that the return of powers and responsibilities currently exercised by the EU to the UK was a “transitional arrangement” that would allow for the further onward devolution of powers while ensuring the consistency of UK-wide frameworks.

In a briefing to journalists, he said: “This is not a power grab, it is a power bonanza for the Scottish Parliament because after this Bill has been implemented the Scottish Parliament will have more powers and responsibilities than it has today and I'm happy to be held to account for that statement once the process has been delivered.

“Needless to say there will be a process row with the Scottish Government because the Scottish Government does process row, that is their speciality.

“We've seen process row in relation to the Scotland Bill that followed the Calman Commission, process row on the Scotland Bill, we've seen process row on the fiscal framework.

“But all of these things delivered what the UK Government said at the outset that they would do - more powers and responsibilities for the Scottish Parliament and that's what this Bill will do.”

Mr Mundell said the result of the General Election in Scotland, in which the SNP lost 21 seats, was confirmation that there was “no appetite amongst the public for a separate Scottish arrangement” in relation to Brexit.

“I think it's clear now that there's an acceptance in Scotland that we are leaving the EU,” he added