Peston On Sunday Transcripts Sunday May 20, 2018

Published: Mon 21 May 2018

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NICOLA STURGEON TRANSCRIPT [DOWN THE LINE]

Robert Peston: Since we're on the Royal wedding, did you watch it yesterday?

Nicola Sturgeon: I, I saw the end of it, I was busy yesterday, I was attending the opening of the opening of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh but I caught the end of it when I got home and you know whatever their titles, whatever anybody's views on the Royal family or the monarchy happen to be it's impossible not to feel happy for two people who you know when you look at them they're obviously very much in love so I wish them well.

RP: I mean in terms of the image of the whole country, obviously including your country, some people were a bit disappointed that Meghan Markle's mother didn't walk her down the aisle. Was that a disappointment to you?

NS: I think it was her decision, we can all have our own views, I actually thought the fact I didn't see this part but the fact she walked the first part of the walk down the aisle on her own with children, you know if you're looking for symbols, if you're looking for a proud statement of feminine principle then I think you can find it there, but these things are very personal, yes it was a wedding in the full glare of publicity but a bride on her wedding day will make decisions based on what feels right to her and I think Meghan Markle was as entitled to do that as anybody else getting married is.

RP: Now back to the day to day business of politics, the Scottish [NS - if we must!] I think we probably ought to, the Scottish Parliament has rejected the EU withdrawal bill, what do you see as the significance of that? Is there any way back so that the Scottish Parliament can give approval?

NS: Oh there is if the Westminster government wants to take it, we set out clearly what that would require and if the Westminster government has the will to reach an agreement then certainly it can be done. You know this is a debate that I appreciate often sounds very technical but to put it very simply, there are some powers, powers over farming fishing, environmental protections, food standards, food labelling that are under the current law devolved to the Scottish Parliament while we're in the EU they're influenced at EU level, but this is a debate that happens after Brexit. The current law says these powers should return to the Scottish Parliament and if we want to have UK-wide frameworks which would make sense in some areas. What the UK government wants to do is centralise these powers at Westminster for up to seven years and have the ability to impose things on Scotland and why that matters is that it affects things like farming support for example or environmental standards or food standards, there's an article in the Observer today about the kind of lowering of food standards that UK governments might embrace to get a trade deal with America. Now these are things that the Scottish Parliament should be able to decide, but if we sign up to the withdrawal bill as it stands, we will be powerless to stop these kinds of things and instead have policies like that imposed upon us, and that's neither in line with the devolution settlement nor is it sensible in my view as we look ahead.

RP: Some of your critics have said that you're being disingenuous that one the one hand you want a single market with the EU, but as a result of wanting these powers you obviously don't want a single market with the rest of the UK.

NS: Well that's not the case I mean I've just said and I've said all along that there will be matters and this would be true I think it's important to say even if when Scotland is an independent country because of the geography of the UK there will be areas where in order to ease trade across these islands we will want to have common standards and common frameworks so I don't dispute that at all and never have done. The question is how do we arrive at what the content of those frameworks are, my view is that it should be by agreement, respecting the powers and responsibilities of the Scottish Parliament or the Welsh Parliament or Northern Ireland for that matter, the UK government wants to have the power to impose the content of these frameworks and that rides a coach and horses through the 20-year-old devolution settlement, and I don't think you know as First Minister I couldn't in all conscience say to the Scottish Parliament that it should sign up to something that allows our ability in areas that are devolved to be completely obliterated in terms of doing things that we think are right for Scotlands interests.

RP: Your predecessor Alex Salmond said the other day that Theresa May's rejection of what you want makes the case for an independence vote sooner rather than later overwhelming. Do you do you agree with that and when will you bring this issue of the timing of the vote back on to the agenda?

NS: Well I've said and you know I said this around about this time last year that once we get some clarity which hopefully we will in the autumn of this year about the Brexit outcome and the future relationship between the UK and the EU then I will consider again this issue of the timing of an independence referendum, I'm not going to say more about that in advance of that moment arising but of course over the next couple of weeks we will I suppose restart a debate about why independence for Scotland is an opportunity and what those opportunities are. As you know we've had a growth commission looking at the opportunities of independence it's report will be published in the coming days and I think that's quite an important moment because if you think about the last coup

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