Mr George Robertson: They were at least appointed on the basis of the skills they have and not the skills that their fathers had. I will paraphrase the words of Lord Campbell, who, in a previous debate on another subject, asked where the Government would be without a second Chamber. There are two responses to that. One of them is self-evident. The second is to ask where that particular noble Lord would be without...
Mr George Robertson: What facts have been produced here?
Mr George Robertson: I will not give way. What has been produced—
Mr George Robertson: The noble Lord Lord Houghton described this as being the worst—
Mr George Robertson: I am still the Member of Parliament for Hamilton. Lord Shin-well supported it but opposed it, Lord Banks supported it but opposed it, and Lord Glenkinglas supported it but opposed it.
Mr George Robertson: It may initially seem an impertinence for a second new Members to speak at this stage in the proceedings, not having participated in the preceding lengthy deliberations. However, like my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Garscadden (Mr. Dewar), I have been involved in the discussion that has gone on in Scotland about the Bill. Therefore, we come here with no little knowledge of the...
Mr George Robertson: I accept that eventually people would perhaps grow to understand the system and thereby create the degree of consent which I believe to be essential. But my anxiety is about the initial stages of the Scottish Assembly's life. I stood as a candidate for this House on the basis that I believed in the Government's proposals for the Assembly. I believe, not only that these should be a Scottish...
Mr George Robertson: On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. It is presumptuous of me at this early stage in my parliamentary career to raise this matter. But, earlier today Mr. Speaker, in response to a question by the hon. Member for Inverness (Mr. Johnston) advised the House that quotations from speeches in the Lords, other than those from Government spokesmen, were not allowed. Hon. Members who have spoken...
Mr George Robertson: I was highly impressed by the eloquent and circuitous argument of the right hon. Member for Down, South (Mr. Powell) about the juxtaposition of clause 26 and the amendment to it. I do not feel qualified at this stage to counter the right hon. Gentleman's complex and highly convincing argument, but no doubt there is an answer to it. Amendment no. 57 clearly seeks to underline the attempt that...
Mr George Robertson: I think that the Scottish Assembly can do that, anyway. But simply because it is denied the right to set up a Committee will not prevent it from doing the horrifying things that those who are hostile to the concept of devolution believe that it will do anyway. All this amendment does is deny the right to the Committees to make this sort of perambulation round these subjects. It does not deny...
Mr George Robertson: This subject is of considerable importance, and not only to the people of Scotland around whom this debate has been framed. It is important for the people of all of these islands. In discussing the management of oil and the possibilities that it opens up, we have to assess, as the electorate will have to assess at some stage, the credibility of the various parties and the policies they put...
Mr George Robertson: I do not agree. In that respect, I quote from a document called "A Scottish Government and the Oil Revenues" published by the SNP. This was a document that was given some degree of publicity. It speaks of Holland and on page 8 makes a number of assessments about the impact of national resources on the Dutch economy. It says: The 'Dutch Disease' is a warning to us. We must avoid frittering...
Mr George Robertson: It is not within the context of oil resources that the recent figures seem to suggest that the public sector deficit exists at the moment between £600 million and £700 million. I stand to be corrected if that figure is not accurate. But certainly the figure is at least in excess of the £400 million last published, and undoubtedly, on the basis of studies recently done, it must be nearing...
Mr George Robertson: My hon. Friend makes a very important point. The document, which is crucial to the assessment of this debate, again for almost the first time, makes a detailed study by the SNP of the difficulties and problems that would be associated with negotiating a settlement of the division of the continental shelf. Indeed, the document says: The 1968 Order —that is, the Continental Shelf order— had...
Mr George Robertson: Will my hon. Friend give way?
Mr George Robertson: rose—
Mr George Robertson: I do not need to underline to this House the pride I have in being elected as Member of Parliament for Hamilton. I hope that my presence here and the result in that constituency are of some little relevance to this debate. It is a great honour for me to follow in the footsteps of the late Member for Hamilton, Mr. Alexander Wilson. I knew him well and I know that he was widely respected in...