Clause 1
Legislation (Territorial Extent) Bill
10:00 am
Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South, Conservative)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gale. I had not intended to speak to the clause, but I must respond to some of the comments and assertions made by the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk.
At the outset, I reassure the Committee that, as far as I am aware, none of my ancestors were slain by the ancestors of another hon. Member. However, like my hon. Friend the Member for North Wiltshire, I have to pick up on one point made by the hon. Gentleman. He claims that we are supporting the Bill because of some debating nicety—that it is some wheeze for Members from the shires to pass the time—but it is a real issue that many of our constituents raise. As someone who passionately believes in the Union and its continuation, it is an issue that we had to address.
I am not a knight of the shire; I grew up in Hamilton in the central belt of Scotland during the 1980s. I well remember the political debate at the time, when policies introduced by Conservative Governments were vehemently opposed by the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk and his colleagues in Scotland. They were not simply opposed because of the details of the policies, as was their right, but because the policies were thought to be somehow anti-Scottish. It was argued that because the Conservatives did not command a majority of the seats in Scotland, they had no authority to legislate on matters in Scotland. That argument was put vehemently throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and that helped to pave the way for devolution.
But now the situation has turned. Potentially we face a situation in which the Conservatives could command a majority in England but would not form the Government, and the will of Scotland could effectively override the will of England. I am not saying that that issue is topmost in people’s minds at the moment, but it does raise its head. People do write and say, “Why is this happening?” It will gradually gnaw away at the bonds that hold the Union together if we do not address the issue.