Brexit news: Prospect of UK staying in EU 'greater than at any point since referendum', Sturgeon says
Scottish first minister says SNP will do everything in its power to stop EU departure
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The chances of stopping Brexit and keeping the UK in the European Union are the greatest they have been since the Leave vote, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
With Theresa May currently facing a battle to get her proposed withdrawal agreement through parliament next week, the Scottish first minister said her party would do everything in its power to try to put the brakes on the process.
She spoke out the day after the Scottish parliament overwhelmingly voted against both the PM's deal and the prospect of a no-deal Brexit.
Following that 92 to 29 vote in Holyrood, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie called on the first minister to "reject all and every kind of Brexit".
Ms Sturgeon said: "I do oppose all and every kind of Brexit, I don't want Brexit to happen, I want Scotland and the whole of the UK to stay within the EU."
She added: "I do think there is a greater prospect of achieving that aim now than there has appeared to be at any time over the last two and a half years, which is why the SNP will do everything we can to bring that about."
Mr Rennie said with the prime minister facing "certain defeat" on Tuesday in the Commons, he had "never felt more confident that we can stop Brexit".
He hit out at the first minister for arguing for the compromise position of keeping the Scotland in the single market and customs union.
"We've got the Conservatives on the run, so we shouldn't be hunting for a compromise that has already been discredited," Mr Rennie said.
"Every kind of Brexit will damage the economy, that is why we should be opposing every kind of Brexit.
"I am frustrated I need to keep raising this with the first minister."
Ms Sturgeon told him Tory ministers had already said the proposed withdrawal agreement, with its backstop arrangements for Northern Ireland, could give it an "unrivalled advantage" in attracting foreign investment.
"There's the risk to Scotland in a nutshell," she said.
"We want to stay in the EU but if that can't be achieved we want to see solutions that do the least damage to Scotland."
Speaking at first minister's questions, she stressed the need for her government to consider "how you protect Scotland's best interests in all possible circumstances".
The SNP leader said: "If we can't achieve keeping the UK in the EU then I have an obligation to look at what then best protects Scotland's interests."
She said the "worst possible situation for Scotland to be in" after Brexit would be for the country to "be at a competitive disadvantage with Northern Ireland, which is why we need to have at least the same relationship with the single market and customs union that Northern Ireland is going to have to have".
Ms Sturgeon also told the Liberal Democrat: "Willie Rennie and I agree on the issue of Brexit, I do think it is regrettable that he keeps trying to find points of disagreement when actually it would be more powerful for us just to come together and unequivocally agree."
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Graham Brady - the chair of the Conservatives' 1922 committee of backbench MPs - has told BBC he would welcome a delay to the final vote on May's deal.
Mark Drakeford has been elected as the new leader of the Labour Party in Wales.
In a statement, Jeremy Corbyn said: "I would like to congratulate Mark Drakeford AM on his election as leader of the Welsh Labour Party. As leader and as First Minister, I am confident that Mark will demonstrate what Labour in government can achieve by building a more equal society, even in the face of the Conservatives’ callous austerity agenda and cuts to the Welsh budget.
“I know Mark will relentlessly fight for the interests of the Welsh people and stand up to the Tories’ chronic underinvestment in Wales compared to other parts of the UK, particularly London.
“I congratulate Eluned Morgan and Vaughan Gething for the passion with which they campaigned and put forward their visions for Wales.
“I thank Carwyn for his longstanding service to our Party and for his unprecedented electoral success and I wish him well for the future. I am looking forward to working with Mark as he builds on this legacy, to deliver his bold plan for jobs, investment and pioneering proposals for a modern, low carbon economy, run in the interests of the many, not the few.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan visited Dublin on Thursday and argued against the prospect of a "devastating" no-deal Brexit.
Irish president Michael D Higgins welcomed Mr Khan to his home in Aras An Uachtarain on Thursday morning.
Mr Khan congratulated Mr Higgins on his recent re-election before the two discussed a wide range of issues of mutual concern, including climate change, sustainable development, housing, transport and Brexit.
A statement from the president said Mr Higgins also expressed; "sympathies and support for the people of London, who have experienced a number of terrorist attacks in recent years, and the tragedy of Grenfell Towers".
After the visit Mr Khan took to social media, saying: "London just wouldn't be the city it is without the contribution of the Irish community.
Former prime minister Tony Blair has said Theresa May is facing the prospect of "hitting a brick wall at speed" in next Tuesday's vote, and would be better advised to act as "facilitator" in the search for a Brexit solution which can command the support of a majority of MPs.
He predicted no consensus would be found in the Commons and the issue would have to be put to a second referendum.
Asked if Ms May should pull the 11 December vote, Mr Blair said: "Personally, I don't see what the point is in going down to a huge defeat."
Karen Bradley has said she is focused on persuading MPs to back the prime minister's withdrawal agreement with just days until the crucial vote in the House of Commons.
The Northern Ireland secretary made the comment on a visit to Belfast hours after Theresa May signalled MPs could be given the power to decide whether the UK goes into a controversial Brexit backstop arrangement regarding the Irish border.
Ms May indicated parliament would choose between triggering the backstop or extending a transition period after the UK formally quits the EU.
The move is likely to be seen as a bid to bolster flagging support ahead of a crunch commons vote on her EU withdrawal deal next Tuesday - a showdown the PM made clear she would not postpone.
When asked about this, Ms Bradley said the whole cabinet are talking to MPs to attempt to address their concerns.
"We are all working, as cabinet ministers and the prime minister, with individual MPs to understand what their concerns are, because we all have had concerns and we have all worked to address those concerns," she said.
"We are all working to understand those concerns and what can be done to mitigate those concerns and to give people comfort around them in the way that we have had comfort around them.
"But this ultimately comes down to a political decision - do you believe the risks of a worse case scenario have been mitigated in order that we can benefit from the rewards of leaving the European Union in an orderly way, in a way that respects the referendum result and gives us that brighter future?"
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