Clause 10 - Establishment of combined region
European Parliament (Representation) Bill
10:30 am
Mr David Heath (Somerton and Frome, Liberal Democrat)
I do not believe that any long, complicated arguments need to be made in support of the amendment. It reflects amendments that I attempted to make to part 1 of the Bill, which the Minister said were premature at that point. I understand her saying that at the time, but such amendments cannot be premature now.
Recognising the existence of Gibraltar in the context of a combined region will be a beneficial
move. The hon. Member for Stone said that there was not overwhelming competition between the electoral regions to determine which should be chosen for the purpose by the Electoral Commission and recommended to the House, but on Second Reading there appeared to be a spirited application on behalf of Northern Ireland, which is the one area that is excluded by the Bill, and I believe that there were comments from a sedentary position about Scotland as well.
It might be helpful if the Minister would give the reasons for the Government's conclusion that neither Scotland nor Northern Ireland would be appropriate regions for the incorporation of Gibraltar. I can readily see why in the case of Northern Ireland, but I find it slightly more difficult to understand why Scotland could not be considered. Perhaps she would be kind enough to put on the record the Government's reasoning in this instance.