The Scottish National Party (SNP) could force Labour to try to “undo Brexit as far as possible” if there is a hung Parliament after the next general election, the party’s Europe and EU Accession spokesperson said.
The comment came after Labour on a number of occasions ruled out a deal with the SNP, which also campaigns for Scottish independence.
The ruling Conservative Party hemorrhaged around 1,000 seats in last week’s local elections in England. But only around half of the seats went to Labour. The other half were mostly split between the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party.
Alyn Smith, the SNP’s Europe and EU Accession spokesperson, said all the signs are pointing to a hung parliament, in which no party has an absolute majority required to form a majority government.
With no other major parties currently supporting the rejoining of the EU, Smith said Scottish independence is “the only way for Scotland to regain our EU membership,” but if Labour needs the help of a Kingmaker, “the SNP could hold the balance of power at the next election and we would use our influence to undo Brexit as far as possible and demand the UK has a close relationship with the EU,” he said.
Smith called Brexit “a disaster for Scotland and the UK,” saying it’s “costing our economy billions, damaging the NHS, and contributing to the cost of living crisis,” and accused the Conservatives and Labour of maintaining “a conspiracy of silence.”
He vowed to push for the UK to rejoin Erasmus and Horizon Europe, defend the European Court of Justice, and ensure “Scotland has the power to escape Brexit entirely with independence.”
Labour Ruled Out Deal With SNP
Labour has previously ruled out a coalition deal with the SNP. The party on Wednesday also pushed the Conservative Party to rule out a “grubby, desperate deal” with the Scottish party.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said in September last year that his party would not go into a coalition government with the SNP, saying, “We can’t work with them. We won’t work with them. No deal under any circumstances.”
But he refused to comment on “hypotheticals” on Tuesday when asked about a potential deal with the Liberal Democrats if his party fails to secure a majority.
During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak accused Starmer of being “busy plotting coalitions” while the Conservatives are running the country.
But Labour called on Sunak to rule out a “grubby, desperate deal” to “cling to power” after his press secretary declined to rule out the Tories entering any pacts.
Asked if Sunak could form a pact with the Democratic Unionist Party or other parties, the press secretary declined to “speculate” on the outcome of the next general election.
Labour’s shadow Scotland secretary Ian Murray said the prime minister’s “refusal to rule out a grubby deal with the SNP is a sign of his desperation to cling to power.”
“A repeat of the Tory–Nat coalition previously seen in Scotland would wreck the UK, putting the very foundations of our country at risk,” he said in a statement.
Murray added that Labour had repeatedly ruled out “any deal with those who want to break up the country,” and urged the Tories to “urgently follow Labour’s example.”
Hours after Murray’s statement, the Conservatives released a statement saying: “We will not be doing a deal with any other party.”
