MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Monday, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon held talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May and the leaders of Wales and Northern Ireland for the first time since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union on June 23.
“Under the Tory [Conservative Party] government’s current proposals, they would repatriate powers from Brussels over agriculture, fisheries, regional policy, VAT and other issues and they plan to centralise these powers in Westminster and Whitehall. A far better way – that the constitutional convention can examine – is that these powers come from Brussels not to Westminster but to the nations and regions of the UK,” Alex Rowley said.
“Brexit gives us the opportunity to lead the transformation of the way the UK is organised and governed.”
He further suggested that since May was aiming to secure a deal for the City of London and for financial services across the United Kingdom, Scotland should have equal right to tariff free access to the single market and be in position to coordinate immigration policy to meet the needs of the region's economy.
On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the 28-nation bloc. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support Brexit, while about 16.1 million opposed it. Scotland backed staying in the European Union by 62 percent to 38 percent.
Sturgeon said earlier on Monday that Scotland intended to secure its place in the European single market as it favored a flexible deal to hard Brexit.
