The SNP has been accused of “breaking ranks” over Brexit, amid suggestions from leading party figures that leaving the EU could yield “significant opportunities” for the north-east.
Councillor John Cox followed former Cabinet Secretary Alex Neil in suggesting Scotland needs to make the best of the break with Brussels.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has claimed the UK could be facing a “lost decade” post-Brexit, while a Scottish Government analysis suggested billions could be lost to the economy.
But Mr cox, the Aberdeenshire councillor for Banff and District, argued there were “significant opportunities” in leaving the EU, particularly around the north-east fishing industry.
Last week, MSP Mr Neil told Holyrood that Scotland needed to “make the best of Brexit”.
North-east Tory MSP Peter Chapman has welcomed the comments – but suggested they were “off message” for the SNP.
He said: “I am pleased to see some common sense at last on Brexit from the former Cabinet Secretary and a prominent local SNP councillor up here in Banffshire and Buchan.
“Their comments may be perceived as off-message for the party and are certainly not in line with the sabre-rattling rhetoric we have heard from Nicola Sturgeon.
“It is not often that SNP politicians break ranks, but Mr Cox and Mr Neil should be praised for showing a bit of leadership and making their own views heard.”
However, Mr Cox has defended his comments, which originally came in response to a report that Aberdeenshire Council could face an £11million black hole as a result of Brexit.
Speaking yesterday, he reaffirmed his opinion that leaving the EU provided “significant opportunities”, particularly in relation to fishing.
The councillor added that being able to scrap the Common Fisheries Policy could lead to a renaissance for north-east trawlers and create thousands of jobs.
He continued: “The direction of travel is that we are leaving the EU. If that is what is going to happen, then we have got to focus on the opportunities.
“It’s not going against any party policies to look over the horizon to find the best opportunities in this situation.
“What we don’t want to do is spend the next two or three years arguing about the threats.
“We need to put as much energy into the positive as the fear factor.”
