European leaders could be willing to renegotiate a Brexit deal to keep the UK in the single market if Theresa May fails to get her draft agreement through the House of Commons, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Scotland's first minister said at the moment it was “difficult to see” how the prime minister could get the necessary votes to get her proposals through parliament.

“Instead of just waiting for it to be defeated, right now we should be looking to get a better alternative on the table”, she said.

Speaking at the Scottish Federation of Small Businesses’ annual dinner in Glasgow, Ms Sturgeon again stated that crashing out of the European Union is “not inevitable” and she argued it was “time to get something sensible on the table” as an alternative.

She said: “People will say the EU is not going to negotiate any other deal, well I don’t suspect they will want to go back to the drawing board. But if the UK was to come forward with what I think is the sensible option, what we in the Scottish Government have argued all along, that the UK is leaving the EU but is going to stay in the single market, all of it, and the customs union, I think there would be a willingness to negotiate that on the part of the EU.”

Such a move might require the Article 50 deadline of March 2019 to be extended “by a little bit”, she added.

But she said: “Worse things than that believe me have happened. So we will continue to argue as hard as we can for that sensible option.”

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The Scottish National Party leader spoke about her “profound concern” that making special provisions for Northern Ireland as part of the Brexit plan would give that country “unfettered access” to the European market, leaving Scotland at a competitive disadvantage.

She told the audience: “I as First Minister spend a lot of time talking to companies that are considering investing in Scotland, employing people in Scotland, expanding existing operations, and we do really well at attracting companies to come and invest here, we’re the best performing part of the UK outside of London for attracting inwards investment.

Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Show all 13 1 /13 Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Esther McVey Britain's Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey arrives to attend the weekly meeting of the cabinet at 10 Downing Street in London. - Britain's Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey resigned from the cabinet over draft Brexit deal AFP/Getty Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Handout image taken from the Twitter feed of @EstherMcVey1 of the resignation letter addressed to Prime Minister Theresa May from Works and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Thursday November 15, 2018. Ms McVey has resigned, saying the Brexit deal âdoes not honour the result of the referendumâ. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: @DominicRaab/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Dominic Raab British Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab give a press conference at the end of the final round of talks in Brexit negotiations at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium EPA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Handout image taken from the Twitter feed of @DominicRaab of the resignation letter addressed to Prime Minister Theresa May from Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Thursday November 15, 2018. Mr Raab has resigned, saying he âcannot in good conscience support the terms proposed for our deal with the EUâ. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: @DominicRaab/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Rehman Chrishti Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party Rehman Chrishti tendered his resignation letter this afternoon PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Anne-Marie Trevelyan Parliamentary private secretary in the Department of Education Anne-Marie Trevelyan resigned stating that she cannot support the deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Handout image taken from the Twitter feed of @annietrev of the resignation letter addressed to Prime Minister Theresa May from Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a parliamentary private secretary in the Department for Education. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Thursday November 15, 2018. Ms Trevelyan has resigned saying she cannot support the Brexit deal after negotiations âbuilt on the UK trying to appease the EUâ. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: @annietrev/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Sam Gyimah Universities minister Sam Gyimah resigned on November 30, claiming the government's decision to pull out of the EU's Galileo satellite navigation system as a deciding factor PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Shailesh Vara Shailesh Vara who has quit as Minister of State for Northern Ireland, saying he cannot support Theresa May's Brexit agreement, which he said "leaves the UK in a halfway house with no time limit on when we will finally be a sovereign nation" PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Suella Braverman Brexit minister Suella Braverman has resigned, stating “It is not what the British people, or my constituents, voted for in 2016.” Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Ranil Jayawardena Parliamentary private secretary to the ministry of justice Ranil Jayawardena resigned as he could not back the deal "in good conscience"

“But every business that is thinking of setting up here will be looking at other places as well across the UK, perhaps across Europe. In recent years one of the most competitive places has been Belfast.

“If we find ourselves in a position in the future where we are competing for business and a company looking at Scotland is also looking at Belfast, and Belfast will have unfettered access to the whole European single market that they won’t have in Glasgow or Edinburgh or Fife or wherever Scotland, then we are going to be at a serious competitive disadvantage and it is really important we don’t allow that to happen to us.”