Sturgeon brands Corbyn '˜pathetic' over Brexit deal

Nicola Sturgeon during FMQs. Picture; Jane Barlow

The First Minister hit out after a majority of Labour MPs voted to allow Theresa May to trigger Article 50.

The Bill has now passed through the House of Commons, with Ms Sturgeon savaging the “so-called opposition” at Westminster.

After the final Commons vote, Mr Corbyn tweeted: “Real fight starts now. Over next two years Labour will use every opportunity to ensure Brexit protects jobs, living standards & the economy.”

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions yesterday, Ms Sturgeon said that was like “closing the stable door after the horse is dead and buried”.

SNP MPs voted against the Bill, and Ms Sturgeon said: “It is deeply regrettable that amendment after amendment was rejected by the Government. We’re talking here about amendments that simply ask for protection for EU nationals.

“Not a single concession was won, yet we still have a Labour so-called opposition that decides to vote for that Bill and hand the Conservative government a blank cheque. I think that is utterly pathetic and shows the weakness of the opposition there is in the UK Parliament in the form of the Labour Party.

“I saw Jeremy Corbyn tweeting that the real fight begins now. How utterly pathetic.

“It’s not so much closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, it’s closing the stable door after the horse is dead and buried.” Ms Sturgeon said 62 per cent of voters in Scotland had wanted to remain in the EU, insisting she has “a duty as First Minister to stand up for the interests of this country”.

But Oliver Mundell, Scottish Conservatives MSP for Dumfriesshire, said that by voting against the legislation, the “SNP have confirmed that they no longer accept the overall outcome of the democratic process”.

He called on the First Minister to guarantee “that my constituents, who neither voted for her as First Minister, nor for this Scottish Government, will not be forced to take part in a second independence referendum against their express will?”

Ms Sturgeon said: “It’s becoming increasingly clear with every week that passes that the people the Tories in this chamber represent are the Tory government in Westminster.

“I’ve been very clear about my determination to find compromise. It just so happens I am facing a UK Government that isn’t willing to compromise with me.”