SNP: Tories must put single market membership back on table

THE Scottish National Party has insisted that May's failure to secure a Westminster majority in the 2017 general election means EU single-market membership should be put '˜back on the table'.

Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

Stephen Gethins, the SNP’s Europe spokesman says the Prime Minister called a snap election in order to secure a mandate for a ‘hard’ Brexit, but failure to win a majority on Thursday night means that objective may now be difficult to achieve.

“The election result was a comprehensive rejection of the Tory plans for an extreme Brexit – and single market membership must now be back on the table.

“Theresa May couldn’t have been clearer. She called this election to secure a mandate for her negotiating position, and the electorate snubbed her.

“The Tories expected to come back with a thumping big majority – but instead they’ve come back weakened and reliant on the votes of the DUP.

“Scotland needs a seat at the negotiations to leave the EU – and it’s time for the Tories to ditch their plans for an extreme Brexit.”

Meanwhile, Steve Crowther, stand-in leader of UKIP, maintains that only a hard Brexit will do.

“The people voted last year to leave the EU, full stop. Mrs May’s incompetent electioneering makes not the slightest difference to that. If the Conservative-DUP government thinks it can backslide on this, it will rapidly find that it is mistaken.”