Scottish ministers hold out on Brexit devolution deal as Welsh settle

The UK Government may push through its EU Withdrawal Bill without the Scottish Government's consent on matters affecting the devolution settlement, after the SNP Government yesterday rejected what is said to be the UK's final offer.

Mike Russell, the SNP minister in charge of the negotiations, confirmed to MSPs yesterday that no deal had been reached even though the Welsh Government has now decided to accept the terms offered. Previously the two devolved administrations had been united in resisting what they termed the "power grab" under which powers returning from the EU after Brexit would in the first place accrue to Westminster even in areas that are otherwise devolved.

Mr Russell said that while agreement had been reached on a number of matters – such as that, ideally, preparing post-Brexit laws would be done on a UK-wide basis, and that it could make sense for there to be common frameworks applying across the UK in some areas – there was a "key sticking point". That was "the insistence of the UK Government on its right to take control of devolved powers". The Scottish Government was "absolutely and unanimously clear that we cannot support any proposal that would enable the powers of the Scottish Parliament to be constrained without the agreement of the Scottish Parliament. The UK Government’s latest proposals continue to give Westminster the power to prevent the Scottish Parliament from passing laws in certain devolved policy areas".

He expected the devolution-related amendments to the Withdrawal Bill, to be published today, to include the addition of a sunset clause, but this would last for up to seven years. At the same time the UK Government was accepting no similar legal constraint relating to England.

While it might be a way forward for each Government to "agree on equal terms not to introduce legislation in devolved policy areas while negotiations on frameworks were taking place", the present proposals were not something he could recommend to the Parliament.

For the opposition, Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins described the minister's statement as "deeply disappointing", and later accused the SNP of acting for narrow political reasons and out of "their obsession with a second referendum on independence". He alleged that Mr Russell had been prepared to agree the terms offered but had been overruled by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, which Mr Russell firmly denied.

For the Welsh Government, Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said that London had "changed its position so that all powers and policy areas rest in Cardiff". He added: "This is a deal we can work with which has required compromise on both sides. Our aim throughout these talks has been to protect devolution and make sure laws and policy in areas which are currently devolved remain devolved and this we have achieved."

The Scottish Government therefore remains on track to attempt to implement its own EU Continuity Bill in potential conflict with the UK legislation. The legality of the bill is to be tested before the UK Supreme Court.