David Wilson takes a look at this week’s Brexit updates. 

Crossing the Line

Now some people think the Scottish Parliament pales in comparison to Westminster in terms of melodrama. These people are plain wrong. With more melodrama than a Taylor Swift song, Holyrood passed a Liberal Democrat amendment calling for a public vote on the final terms of the Brexit deal. Daniel Johnson and Kezia Dugdale broke ranks and voted for it while the remaining Labour MSPs and the SNP’s Linda Fabiani abstained. Similarly, Kenneth Gibson and Mark McDonald joined forces with the Conservatives to oppose it while the rest of their SNP colleagues sided with the Greens and the Liberal Democrats to vote for it. Take that, Westminster.

Brexit Doubts

Just like 90s boyband “curtains style” hair and 00s indie-rock, it looks like more people might be realising leaving the EU could be a bad idea. As March 2019 draws closer, and with no firm deal on the UK’s exit and future relationship with Europe on the table yet, new research from Which? has found concern about Brexit in over-65s has doubled from its 2016 figure of 27% to 61%. This is pretty noteworthy as this age group overwhelmingly voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum. More predictably, 18-34 year-olds are also feeling weary about the UK’s upcoming departure, as 64% expressed their doubts.

Boil ‘em, Mash ‘em, Stick ‘em in A Stew

Brexit has a tendency to throw up some issues you would never think about before. Ever wondered how a no-deal Brexit would affect Scotland’s seed potato industry? Well, that’s okay, because Mairi Gougeon has! In fact, the Rural Affairs Minister is so concerned she has written to Michael Gove about the issue, claiming the “world renowned” (as if you didn’t already know that) seed potatoes in Scotland could lose its 13.5% EU market share if the UK were to leave the EU without an agreement.