Anne McGuire: I thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make my first speech in the House in this historic debate on the referendums for a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly. Having listened to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin), it is somewhat ironic that I stand here representing the constituency of Stirling. I offer my congratulations to other hon. Members who have made...
Anne McGuire: Mr. Deputy Speaker, thank you for allowing me to speak so soon after making my maiden speech. As the parliamentary representative of the Stirling constituency and the town of Dunblane, I want to identify some of the legitimate opportunities of my constituents that were infringed on 13 March 1996. I wish to put the debate in some context, because I believe that it is a continuation of the...
Anne McGuire: I thought that I made that clear at the beginning of my remarks. I take up the point made by the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard), the shadow Home Secretary. I said at the beginning of my speech that today's debate was an extension of the one that took place earlier this year when the previous Government introduced a bad piece of legislation. I hope that...
Anne McGuire: I agree with my hon. Friend. I suggest that many Conservative Members are entirely out of touch with the aspirations and wishes of ordinary people, which were reflected by my hon. Friend's constituents. I recognise the wish of sports people to compete. I recognise also that they have rights in a democratic society. I assert, however, that their rights cannot and should not be put above the...
Anne McGuire: Yes.
Anne McGuire: Can the hon. Gentleman name any other Olympic sport that must be regulated by police?
Anne McGuire: I did not say that I do not like handguns and they must therefore go. Those of us who supported the ban on handguns did so because they kill, and in Dunblane 16 children and their teacher were killed by a handgun. It is not just that I do not like them; they have a lethal purpose.
Anne McGuire: Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that nearly 1 million people signed the Snowdrop campaign's petition, which asked the House to consider a ban on all handguns without any exceptions?
Anne McGuire: Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, after Hungerford, an opportunity was not taken, in the interests of safeguarding minority rights, and because of that we had Dunblane?
Anne McGuire: I had not intended to speak, but, having listened to what has been said, I should like to make a few comments in view of the fact that this will, we hope, be the last occasion that we discuss firearms for a long time. I have heard a great deal this afternoon about random samples and unlicensed targets. The children of Dunblane were unlicensed targets—
Anne McGuire: It is not a cheap comment. I ask the hon. Gentleman to come and say that in the small city of Dunblane in my constituency.
Anne McGuire: No, I will not give way.
Anne McGuire: I represent the people of Dunblane. This is the final part of the chapter that will deal with the gun culture in our communities. We have heard much about the liberty of individual groups and about exceptions. The history of the past 100 years or so is littered with instances of individual liberties having to be restrained so that the unfettered pursuit of happiness was not undertaken at the...
Anne McGuire: Will the hon. Gentleman explain how a level playing field is uncompetitive? If he is into statistical analysis, will he advise us how many people's working lives will be improved by the social chapter?
Anne McGuire: On the fourth day of enactment of the new legislation banning hand guns in Britain, may I thank my right hon. Friend on behalf of the residents of Dunblane, which is in my constituency, for his commitment to the cause, and may I also thank the House for ensuring that the ban was enacted? Even given that firearms have legitimate uses, will my right hon. Friend assure me that the Government...
Anne McGuire: Will the hon. Lady explain what partnership the previous Administration were involved in when they closed their eyes in the hope that BSE would go away between 1988 and 1996? What communication was there between the then Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the farmers?
Anne McGuire: Will the hon. Lady give way again?
Anne McGuire: Given the image of pastoral tranquillity before 1 May 1997 that has been painted by the Conservative party, would the Prime Minister be surprised to find that one of the last pieces of research on rural affairs from the Scottish Office under the Conservatives showed significant decreases in gross domestic product and incomes, and a massive increase in homelessness? Would it not have been more...
Anne McGuire: That happens anyway.
Anne McGuire: Unlike the Conservative party, I welcome the investment in rural transport announced by the Chancellor. Does my right hon. Friend agree, however, that, in parallel with urban transport management, it is essential that we have rural transport management to encourage people out of their cars and on to public transport, resulting in greater integration? Will my right hon. Friend assure the...
