May to meet Scotland’s Sturgeon after Brexit standoff

Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon accused the British government of “talking-up” a no-deal Brexit, making it more likely the UK will just drop out of the European Union at great cost to the economy.

Sturgeon issued her comments ahead of a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Edinburgh today (7 August). A majority of Scots voted to stay in the EU at a 2016 referendum where an overall majority in Britain voted to leave.

In June, Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party (SNP) staged a walkout in Britain’s national parliament to protest at not being given more time for the its views to be heard before a key Brexit vote.

UK trade minister says EU is pushing Britain to no-deal Brexit

The United Kingdom is now likely to leave the European Union without a deal due to the “intransigence” of the European Union, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox told the Sunday Times.

In a statement ahead of the meeting, Sturgeon said talk of a no-deal Brexit, where trade between Britain and the EU revert to World Trade Organisation rules because of a failure to reach agreement with Brussels before the March exit date, were “utterly unacceptable and deeply damaging.”

“(…) by talking up (a no-deal) as a negotiating tactic, there is a very real danger it becomes a reality,” she said.

May had to keep her promise to provide parliament with a detailed statement of what the future relationship with the EU would look like, Sturgeon said.

May’s visit to the Scottish capital is intended to mark £600 million of investment by the British and Scottish governments in scientific research, aimed at boosting jobs and growth.

“As we leave the EU, the UK government is working in partnership with business, academia and the devolved administrations to create more good jobs and spread economic prosperity across the country,” May said ahead of the visit.

Ambitious EU-UK trade deal possible after Brexit, need Ireland solution first

Britain and the EU can have a trade agreement of unprecedented scope after Brexit if each retains control over their laws and there is a deal how to avoid a physical border in Northern Ireland, a top EU official said.

On the other hand, British PM May still believes that Britain will negotiate a good Brexit deal with the European Union rather than failing to win any agreement for its departure from the bloc, her spokesman said on Monday (6 August).

The spokesman told reporters that trade minister Liam Fox was right to highlight in an interview at the weekend the risk of Britain crashing out from the EU, which helped push the pound down to an 11-month low.

“We continue to believe that a deal is the most likely outcome because reaching a good deal is not only in the interests of the UK, it is in the interests of the EU and its 27 members,” the spokesman said.

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