UK Government no show is an insult to democracy
UK Business secretary Alok Sharma has refused to give evidence on his own UK Internal Market Bill at the Scottish Parliament.
If passed, the bill will give the UK Government a veto over any devolved decision which it decides threatens commercial interests.
Commenting on the news, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said:
“The UK Government is showing contempt for international law, for the Northern Ireland peace process, for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, and is even trashing the UK’s own reputation for keeping its word. Now they are also refusing even the most cursory democratic scrutiny in Parliament at the same time as seizing the power to over-rule Scots law and the decisions of the Scottish courts.
“It’s hard to see how they could make this calculated assault against Scotland’s democracy any more insulting than they already have.”
Nearly 6,000 people have written to Alok Sharma to object about the bill via a Scottish Greens campaign