Scotland in the United Kingdom

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 9:28 am on 22 March 2007.

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Photo of Alasdair Morgan Alasdair Morgan Scottish National Party 9:28, 22 March 2007

I am trying to put that case, and address the motion, and address the amendments.

It seems to be okay for the Labour Party to hint at the possibility of extra powers for the Parliament at some stage in the future, and okay for its coalition allies to be hardly any more forthright; but as soon as the SNP has the temerity to do what Government motion number 1 said and ask for any extra powers, that is the equivalent of bringing the constitutional Government of the whole of the United Kingdom grinding to a halt. Never mind that some of the powers are ones that Labour itself has wanted, such as the need to move on firearms legislation north of the border, and on the return of the £40 million that used to come to Scotland as attendance allowance; and never mind that the vast majority of people in Scotland, not only nationalists, would probably agree that some powers should come to Scotland—powers such as the power to set up our own replacement to public-private finance schemes, and the power to lead in Europe on fisheries negotiations rather than sitting outside in an anteroom listening to the negotiations on loudspeakers.