May and Sturgeon are deadlocked on Brexit after Scottish First Minister REFUSES offer to devolve all powers reclaimed from EU
- Scottish Government has rejected an offer on devolving EU powers after Brexit
- Westminster has committed to sending all 111 powers to Holyrood politicians
- But it wants some held back pending common frameworks being set up
Nicola Sturgeon has rejected a Westminster offer to immediately devolve all powers returned from the EU to Scotland.
Ministers in Westminster had hoped offering to hand over all 111 powers over devolved issues such as fishing and agriculture would end the impasse.
The veto leaves London and Edinburgh deadlocked over Brexit and throws into new doubt whether Theresa May's flagship Brexit legislation will be law.
The Scottish Government has objected to a demand some powers not being handed over until 'common frameworks' had been set up to ensure the smooth functioning of the England-Scotland border.
Nicola Sturgeon (file image) has rejected a Westminster offer to immediately devolve all powers returned from the EU to Scotland
The veto leaves London and Edinburgh deadlocked over Brexit and throws into new doubt whether Theresa May's (pictured in Derby yesterday) flagship Brexit legislation will be law
A Scottish government insider told The Times: 'This goes against the essence of devolution: you can't devolve something if you are not really devolving it.'
If no deal is reached, the Scottish Government has said it will refuse to pass a legislative consent motion to the EU Withdrawal Bill.
Mrs May's Government does not technically need a consent motion but pressing ahead without one would trigger a constitutional crisis over the devolution settlement.
Downing Street said today it continued to work with the devolved administrations on the crucial draft laws to 'get the legislation passed'.
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The Prime Minister is due to gather senior ministers at her country residence on Thursday to discuss the 'end state' of relations with the EU.
The PM has been struggling to forge a united position as Brexiteer and Remain factions within her top team clash over how close ties should be.
Brexit Secretary David Davis has been on a charm offensive to reassure EU leaders that the UK can be relied on to deal fairly after we leave the bloc.
Brexit Secretary David Davis has been on a charm offensive to reassure EU leaders that the UK can be relied on to deal fairly after we leave the bloc
In his speech today he argued that a common commitment to high regulatory standards should ensure trade with the EU remains as ‘frictionless as possible’ after Brexit.
He said he 'could not agree more' with French President Emmanuel Macron - who recently warned that failure to forge broad international standards would undermine trust in gobalisation.
But Mr Davis also criticised the European Commission, which has claimed that Brexit could lead to workers losing protections.
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