Scotland and Wales could make the difference next Thursday

 

Scotland’s First Minister has adopted Labour’s tactic of warning Brexit could result in a government led by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove – one that is even more Right-wing than the current administration.

Amid rumblings that the pro-EU vote in Scotland might not be quite as sure footed as polls suggest, Nicola Sturgeon has used an article for Newsweek outlining her case for remain.

In an impassioned plea, she warns that a vote to leave would be a ‘green light’ to those Right-wingers who call for Brexit ‘to force a race to the bottom on everything from social rights to environmental protections’.

She continued:

‘The time has come to brand the Brexit campaign for what it is—a bid for a Right-wing Tory takeover of the reins of power in the UK and to dismantle the hard-worn social gains of the last few decades.

The people leading the case for a vote to leave are on the right of the Conservative Party and will take an ‘out’ vote as their signal to make their power grab complete.

Make no mistake—a Leave win would be a victory for politicians who actually believe George Osborne and David Cameron are moderates, and it would leave Scotland at their mercy.

In Wales meanwhile, David Cameron and Labour First Minister Carwyn Jones, will campaign together in what will be the first time they have partnered in the same cause.

It comes as one of Wales’ main newspapers, the Western Mail today backs a remain vote on 23^rd June, outlining 9 key reason why Wales is better off in than it is out.

On what is now one of, if not the main issue dominating the campaign, namely immigration, the paper notes:

‘Fear of the impact of immigration hugely outweighs the effect it has had. Wales has not suffered socially, culturally or economically because of immigration.

The idea that migrants are responsible for a wave of crime is a myth.

And it is hard to believe that leaving the EU would significantly reduce the numbers coming here – not least because more than half of migration is of people from outside the EU.’

Meanwhile, one of the country’s leading pollsters as suggested that voters in Scotland and Northern Ireland could prove pivotal in the vote next week.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight earlier in the week, Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University observed:

‘The truth is that Scotland is undoubtedly certain to Remain; the polls up here have typically given Remain about two thirds of the vote, and equally also in Northern Ireland – it looks about a 60-40 split in favour of Remaining.

We’re looking at polls in England and Wales where almost undoubtedly, the Leave side are ahead.

If we are looking at a situation where we only get a 51 or 52 per cent support for Remain, in that event almost undoubtedly Scotland and Northern Ireland would have been pivotal in keeping the UK inside the European Union.’

Such a scenario of the UK remaining in the EU as a result only of votes in Scotland and Northern Ireland would undoubtedly cause anger among many Conservatives and make an already divided party completely ungovernable.

Ed Jacobs is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward. 

2 Responses to “Nicola Sturgeon warns of ‘Right-wing Tory takeover’ in the event of Brexit”

1. 

   Ross Armour

   June 15, 2016

   I’m against Scottish independence but I’ve admired the way Sturgeon and Salmond have conducted themselves in this campaign. A lot of future campaigns can learn a lot from how the SNP always tries to put forward the positive case. Once again Sturgeon has nailed it here, particularly with regards to Boris Johnson. Vote Remain

2. 

   CR

   June 16, 2016

   BREXIT will destroy the Tory Party. The likelyhood is an early General Election.

   A reforming Labour government free of the shackles of the EU is what LeftFoot Forward should be promoting.

Comments are closed.