31 May 2017

The Scottish Conservatives have called on Nicola Sturgeon to abandon her damaging plan for a separate Scottish Brexit deal.

Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservatives finance spokesman, said SNP proposals to keep Scotland in the Single Market when the UK leaves the EU would create costly barriers to trade within the UK.

He spoke out after the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank published a damning analysis of the SNP’s election manifesto.

In it, the IFS concluded the cost of creating barriers to trade within the UK could outweigh any advantages of Single Market membership.

Scotland’s trade with the rest of the UK is worth four times as much as our exports to the EU.

Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser said: 

“The Scottish and UK governments spent weeks discussing Nicola Sturgeon’s proposals for a separate Scottish Brexit deal.

“The Nationalists failed to produce evidence that it was either desirable or workable – and they pre-empted the conclusion of the discussions by demanding a second independence referendum.

“Since then they have produced no fresh evidence to support their plan yet they are now threatening to put it back on the table after the election.

“As the IFS report shows, their proposals could prove very costly for Scottish businesses and that would be hugely damaging for the economy and jobs.

“The SNP need to work with Theresa May to secure a Brexit deal that works for Scotland and the whole of the UK.

“The United Kingdom should present a united front in Brexit talks.

“Nicola Sturgeon’s demands are just about picking a fight with Westminster and can only undermine efforts to get the right Brexit deal for Scotland.”

The IFS analysis is here: https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/9273

The SNP manifesto (p30) says: “If the SNP wins the election, it will give us a mandate to demand a place for Scotland at the Brexit negotiating table and the inclusion of the case for our place in the Single Market in the UK’s negotiating remit.”

In March, Brexit Secretary David Davis warned the Scottish Government’s proposals would create barriers to trade and cause “significant disruption” to the UK internal market. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-39744871

The Scottish Government’s own figures show trade with rest of the UK is worth four times as much to Scotland as exports to the EU. Statics here: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/Exports/ESSPublication

Chang Xiaobing, former chairman of China Telecom, was sentenced to six years in prison for graft Wednesday.

The sentence was handed down by the Intermediate People’s Court of Baoding city in northern China’s Hebei Province.

The court also fined Chang 500,000 yuan (around US$72,850) and ordered his illicit gains to be confiscated.

Chang confessed to his crimes in court.

It found Chang guilty of taking advantage of his positions as a telecom official and chairman of China Unicom to seek benefits for various institutions between 1998 and 2014.

In return, he accepted money and valuables worth more than 3.76 million yuan.

China Unicom and China Telecom are two of China’s top three telecom service providers.

The court decided to be lenient as Chang pleaded guilty, expressed remorse, returned his illegal gains and offered information on other crimes.