Nicola Sturgeon: "No Brexit is preferable to no deal"
By Caoimhe Toman
Date: Monday 08 Jan 2018
(ShareCast News) - First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has made clear that a Brexit without a deal is unthinkable and has said that Theresa should stop appeasing hard-line Brexiteers and think about what is best for the country.
Sturgeon said that a second referendum could become "irresistible", especially in the case of a no-deal scenario.
She told BBC Radio Scotland: ""It seems to give the impression that the UK Government think this is some kind of game, that Theresa May is more concerned with appeasing the hardline Tory Brexiteers than she is about acting in the best interests of the country.
"No deal is unthinkable, let me be absolutely clear, no Brexit is preferable to no deal."
She also added that it seemed that the UK Government at times was trying to pursue the hardest Brexit possible: "My focus, has to be to make sure that we do everything possible to protect Scotland's best interests.
"If Brexit is going to happen then in my view the priority is that we remain within the European single market and customs union because that is the least damaging outcome in terms of jobs and the economy," she added.
She also said that Scotland would publish a series of reports analysing every possible outcome of Brexit and its impact on the economy.
Sturgeon explained that in 2016 nobody knew the relationship that the UK and Europe would have once Brexit occurs, but that a year and a half later the people are still in the dark. She said that no deal would be harmful for the economy and society and that no Brexit would be preferable.
"So if we did get into a position for example where there was no deal then I'm very clear and I think a lot of people, certainly in Scotland but I suspect across the UK as a whole, would think that in those circumstances no Brexit was absolutely preferable to a no deal situation."
She also spoke about a potential Scottish independence referendum, adding that she would wait until the current stage of negotiations with Brussels is over to make a proper assessment and judgement.
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