Tory appeal for Brexit ‘tug of war’ truce

SCOTLAND’S new Tory minister has called for help from the SNP to lobby his own government to get the best Brexit deal for Scotland.

Ian Duncan wants to host weekly meetings between the London and Edinburgh administrations as part of a “Team Scotland” approach – but hinted that Nationalist Brexit Minister Mike Russell could be sidelined in the talks.

The newly ennobled Lord Duncan of Springbank also revealed he wanted a “very close” working relationship with the SNP Government as he settled into his role as Scottish Secretary David Mundell’s number two.

The call for greater cooperation came as reports suggested First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was to have her access to Prime Minister Theresa May slashed back. Some UK ministers now believe the SNP leader should only deal with Mr Mundell because “he is at the same level as her.”

But Lord Duncan said: “I don’t believe we are pulling on opposite ends of the rope here. We are trying to get the best for Scotland.

“And if we can deliver in a fashion which is joined up, if the Scottish Government and the Scotland Office can be lobbying the UK Government together, then it will be more successful than if we appear to be on either end of a tug of war in which both of us will eventually fall over.

“That would be short-sighted and counterproductive.”

The plan would centre on both sets of ministers listening to the concerns of representatives from industries such as farming, fishing and finance about Brexit, working together to find solutions that could then be fed into the UK negotiating team.

It is part of an effort by the Scotland Office to be seen as standing up for Scotland’s interests and signals that Conservatives north of the border could push back against Mrs May after Mr Mundell was embarrassed by the DUP securing a £1 billion deal for Northern Ireland after last month’s election.

Any talks would begin in the autumn but former MEP Lord Duncan said it “would make sense … to have sectoral ministers rather than generalists” in the meetings in a sign he wanted SNP cabinet secretaries rather than Mr Russell, who Ms Sturgeon made her point man on Europe almost two years after sacking him as Education Secretary, at the table.

A spokesman for Mr Russell said: “Lord Duncan may interpret his role as being a highly-paid lobbyist sitting in the unelected House of Lords, but the Scottish Government is not a lobby group – it is the democratically-elected Government of Scotland, and should be directly involved in the negotiations to protect Scotland’s interests. This is a view shared by business leaders.

“There is overwhelming support in Scotland for staying in the single market – and overwhelming concern about the disaster the current Tory approach would be for Scottish jobs, our economy and our living standards.”

He added: “The clock is ticking on Brexit. If Lord Duncan and Mr Mundell want to get in line with Scottish opinion, we would welcome their public rejection of the Tory government’s extreme Brexit agenda.”