EU citizens in Scotland need more certainty
EU citizens in Scotland need more certainty, even if Brexit doesn’t happen on October 31st, Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie has said.
Responding to the statement on no-deal preparation by Deputy First Minister John Swinney, Patrick Harvie called for the Scottish Government to identify what support EU Citizens will need in the wake of the hardening stance by the UK Government on the issue.
Patrick Harvie said:
“Those EU citizens who are already here, whose lives have been subject to such uncertainty and anxiety, I think frankly their contribution to our society has been demeaned by the UK Government and those seeking to end freedom of movement.
“If 'no deal' at the end of October can be prevented, which of course it should be, their lives will still be facing the prospect of future vulnerability, not least if a future general election leads to a Conservative government whose central mission is to throw those people’s lives under a bus in a brutal, no-deal Brexit to come.
“Surely the impact of the current situation on their emotional and mental wellbeing is up there with what else the brutal hostile environment has inflicted on anyone.”
In his response, John Swinney praised events on the rights of EU citizens in the Stirling area led by Green MSP Mark Ruskell and others.