THE current Tory leadership candidates are all “toxic” for the future of Scottish trade due to their hardline Brexit “obsession”, the SNP have stated.
The SNP is slamming the Tory leadership candidates for what they have termed their “Brexit obsession”.
They put forward that their hardline Brexiteer stances fly in the face of repeated warnings from economists that the UK is lagging behind the rest of the G7 in pandemic trade recovery, UK business investment is trailing behind other industrialised countries, and the OEC’s predictions that the UK will have the second slowest growth in the G20 next year – ahead of only Russia.
Scotland's exports to European countries are worth around £16.4bn to the Scottish economy, and Scotland's food and drink sector alone currently accounts for the largest share of UK food and drink exports.
SNP MSP Jim Fairlie said: "Scotland's trade has an incredible amount of potential, but it's clear that being subject to Westminster control has held us back from reaching our full potential.
"The damage being caused to Scotland's trade by the Tory UK government has only become worse as a result of Brexit and being ripped out of the European single market - increasing barriers both to freedom of movement and to trade with the largest single market in the world.
"This is now set to be compounded by the fact that the UK is threatening to provoke a catastrophic trade dispute with the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
"The SNP government is using all the powers we currently have to protect our trade from the damage of Brexit but, as an independent country, Scotland can rid itself of the consequences of a Brexit and Tory governments we didn't vote for and have the full powers to protect our interests, markets, and producers."
Five Tory MPs remain in the fight for leadership, after Brexiteer Suella Braverman was eliminated on Thursday July 14 after receiving only 27 votes.
Tory MPs will continue to vote in subsequent rounds until two candidates are left, who will then battle it out over the summer to win the support of Conservative members, with their choice of the next prime minister being unveiled on September 5.
