Addressing MPs, Brexit Secretary David Davis suggested the SNP knew it would not win a second independence referendum.
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Mr Davis, flanked by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, insisted there would be no attempt to “delay, frustrate or thwart” the will of the British people for the country to leave the EU.
“Both sides of the argument must respect the result”, said Davis, who was addressing the parliament for the first time since he was appointed on July 13. “‘Brexit means Brexit’ has surely passed its shelf life. Simply, it means leaving the European Union”.
However, he conceded that the talks did represent a considerable challenge.
“The Brexiteers wanted out of Europe but they had no plan for the day after or any other day in the future”, said Ian Blackford, a Scottish National Party lawmaker who supported the motion for the debate, in parliament’s second debating chamber, which does not have the power to change the law.
Davis, who said his department now had 180 staff in London and 120 officials in Brussels, also set out some of the government’s thinking around the negotiations, including that Theresa May would lead talks aimed at the United Kingdom regaining control of its laws, borders and money. Well, as highlighted by Thornberry, it seems we’re not going to have a points-based immigration system, we’re not going to have any more money for the NHS, and we’re not going to have any reduction in Value-Added Tax on fuel.
However, later, answering questions, Mr Davis did say that Article 50 would not be triggered “until the New Year” – hours after the prime minister declined to confirm that timetable. And Mr Davis said that, before taking that step, his officials would carry out a sectoral and regulatory analysis, which will identify the key factors for British businesses and the labour force that will affect negotiations with the EU.
He said Brexit was about “getting the best deal” with something that is unique rather than an “off-the-shelf solution”. “We must have a vote”.
However, the prime minister has given no more details about how this might be done and has not answered the crucial question of whether the government could give preferential access to citizens of the European Union over those from the rest of the world.
She said the Australian-style system would not give Britain sufficient control of who enters the country, as sought by Brexit backers.
She said: “They don’t speak English, they don’t know which institution they’re going to and they don’t know what course it is they’re doing”.
The former chancellor Ken Clarke said that while some “anti-foreigner rhetoric” may have increased the leave vote, that was not the driving factor.
“What we will not have an ability to do is when we come out of the European Union have some control on the movement of people coming from the European Union into the United Kingdom”.
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Davis agreed to “wholly condemn” hate crime but said people’s concerns about immigration were not “xenophobic”.
