Sturgeon in London

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was in London today, to deliver a speech on the case for remaining part of the EU. You can read the full speech here (http://news.scotland.gov.uk/…/Resolution-Foundation-2330.as…), but her column in the Guardian sets out the key arguments:

“For more than 40 years, membership of the EU has been good for the prosperity and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities across the country. Just look at some of the social protections the EU has established: the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of age, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity; maternity and parental leave entitlement; the right to paid holidays; the right to work for no more than 48 hours each week – all of these are enshrined in EU law.
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“These social benefits need to be articulated just as strongly as the economic benefits of membership. But the economic benefits matter too. As part of the EU, UK firms have the huge advantage of being able to work in the world’s largest trading area of 500 million consumers. For Scotland, this is crucial, as the EU is our top overseas exports destination: 42% of our exports outside the UK in 2014 – worth more than £11bn – were sold into the EU market. Membership of the single market also helps to support more than 300,000 jobs in Scotland”