Lorna Slater speaking at the Scottish Greens spring conference

Scotland’s future would be fairer and greener as an independent country within the EU, Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater has said. Slater made the comments ahead of a major independence march and rally that took place in Edinburgh on September 2. Slater was among the speakers at the rally.

In advance of the demonstration, Slater said:  “I am very proud to be speaking at today’s rally and to be making the case for a fairer, greener and better Scotland at the heart of Europe. Brexit has been a disaster for Scotland. It has meant higher prices in shops, extra costs and hurdles for local business, staffing shortages in retail and care, and curbs on the right to work, live and travel across Europe. We were told it was about “taking back control” but the UK government has used it as an excuse to give itself veto powers over key policy areas.

“The people of Scotland rejected Brexit at the time and we still do. Freedom of movement and trade in the EU were amazing political achievements. I want us all to have those rights again and for young people to benefit for generations to come.”

She went on to say that the only way that Scotland could reap the benefits of the European Union in the future was through independence. She said: “But there is no way of regaining what we have lost if we are stuck between a Tory government in Downing Street and a Labour opposition that is committed to keeping Brexit. We don’t have time to wait for Westminster to do the right thing. The longer that Brexit endures the more damage we will need to undo.

“So many of the biggest challenges we face can only be tackled by independent governments working together. It is only with the powers of a normal independent country that we can regain the rights and benefits we lost and choose our own future as a positive, progressive and welcoming nation.”

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Image credit: Scottish Greens YouTube