A no deal Brexit should be avoided for the good of the Aberdeen economy, First Secretary of State Damian Green has told the Press and Journal.
Independent research has shown Aberdeen’s economy would be worst hit in the UK by both a hard and a soft Brexit.
When asked what the impact of a no deal Brexit would be on Aberdeen’s economy, Mr Green said he wanted to avoid that scenario.
He said: “We hope to get a deal because it will be best for Aberdeen and the rest of the UK to get a deal.
“Certainly a combination of a good deal and the many other things the government is doing to make sure we maintain our global connections and remain an outward-looking, globally trading nation will be particularly good for Aberdeen.
“I think it’s hugely desirable we get a deal, both for the UK and for the EU, and because of that fact I think it’s likely we will get a deal.
“When a deal is in the interests of both sides it seems to me likely that at the end of what is proving a tough negotiation we will come to a sensible solution.”
Mr Green went on to deny there would be any power grab from devolved nations, including Scotland, and he believed Scottish Government ministers Mike Russell and John Swinney would come round to his way of thinking on allowing EU powers to go to Westminster before being devolved to Holyrood.
The first ministers of both Scotland and Wales have said Holyrood and the Welsh Assembly will refuse legislative consent if that happens.
But Mr Green said they were wrong. “There is not going to be a power grab,” he said.
“We have said the powers that have been held on Brussels throughout our membership obviously will come back to this country and we will at the end of this process devolve more powers to Scotland, Wales and, I hope, Northern Ireland than were there beforehand.
“In the end I hope and expect we can persuade Scotland and Wales to give legislative consent because that will be seen to in the interests of citizens and business.”
