Scotland will pay ‘heavy price’ for Tories’ Brexit obsession, says Nicola Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon at the SNP general election manifesto launch. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA Wire. - Credit: Archant

Scotland will pay a ‘heavy price’ for the Conservatives’ Brexit obsession, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Launching her party’s manifesto in Glasgow, Sturgeon said: “The leaders of the No campaign, made up of the Westminster parties, promised that if we voted No, we would get stability.

“Since then, the Westminster parties have delivered not stability, but constant chaos and three UK general elections.”

She added that Scotland will pay a price for the Conservatives’ “obsession” with Brexit and Labour’s “woeful lack of leadership”.

She said the SNP backs a new, UK-wide referendum on EU membership.

But she added: “Jeremy Corbyn, incredibly, says that he is neutral on the issue of Leave or Remain.

“That means he is neutral on job losses, cuts to living standards and the erosion of our rights.

“And, of course, he would be happy to sit back and see Scotland taken out of the EU, even if there is a majority for Remain in Scotland but not in the UK.”

The first minister reiterated her assertion that Brexit will “dominate” Westminster in the coming years, adding “Scotland will pay a heavy price for the Tories’ Brexit obsession and Labour’s neutrality, or to give it its proper description, Labour’s woeful lack of leadership.”

She said Scotland’s future is at stake in the general election, asking Scottish voters to consider who should decide the future of Scotland – “the people of Scotland, or Boris Johnson?”

She said she is open to forming a “progressive alliance” with other parties following the election.

But she added: “Unlike the Liberal Democrats, the SNP will never, ever help the Tories into government, but we will be prepared to talk to other parties about forming a progressive alliance.”