The UK Internal Market Bill will protect hundreds of thousands of Scottish jobs and more than £50billion in trade between Scotland and the rest of the UK, the MP for Moray has said.
Douglas Ross backed the legislation on its second reading in the House of Commons last night (Monday), as it passed by a government majority of 77.
In his speech, Mr Ross said the bill would ensure “companies in Forres and Fort William can do the same trade between the four nations of the UK as those in Felixstowe and Farnborough”
Scottish Conservative MP for Moray, Douglas Ross, said:
“I’ve had a lot of emails from local people about this legislation but this bill, at its heart, is about jobs and businesses.
“It was telling that not a single SNP MP who opposed this bill mentioned jobs or businesses.
“This Internal Market Bill will ensure that the £51.5billion of trade that Scotland does with the rest of the UK continues after we leave the EU single market.
“That is three times more trade than we do with the whole of the EU put together.
"That's really important for businesses large and small here in Moray and the people they employ.
“The respected Fraser of Allander Institute has estimated that 545,000 Scottish jobs are reliant on trade within the four nations of the UK.
“I am not willing to put that at risk in the middle of a global pandemic.
“That’s why I voted for the bill at this stage to make sure that safety net for Scottish jobs – and for our communities – is there.
"But there is now also an opportunity over the next few weeks for MPs to scrutinise the detail of the Bill and suggest changes. My vote was to allow us to get to this scrutiny stage and I will closely follow this Bill as it progresses.”