Ruth Davidson
Conservative
1. To ask the Deputy First Minister what engagements he has planned for the rest of the day. (S5F-00983)
John Swinney
Scottish National Party
The First Minister is in London today at the unveiling by Her Majesty the Queen of a memorial to commemorate those who have served in recent international conflicts. The First Minister has asked that I respond to questions on her behalf.
Later today, I will have engagements to take forward the Government’s programme for Scotland.
Ruth Davidson
Conservative
In the 2014 independence referendum, did the Scottish Government consider oil as just a bonus or as the basis of the Scottish economy?
John Swinney
Scottish National Party
I certainly consider oil to be a big bonus. It has certainly been a huge bonus for the United Kingdom—there has been £300 billion-worth of revenues for the United Kingdom. Of course, I am not the only person who thought that oil was a bonus. In 2014, the Prime Minister came to Aberdeen and said that, if Scots voted no in the referendum, there would be a £200 billion oil boom bonus for Scotland. I say to Ruth Davidson that yes, oil is a bonus and it has propped up the UK economy for many years.
Ruth Davidson
Conservative
The Deputy First Minister is sticking to the line that oil is a bonus and not the basis of the Scottish economy. It is what would make every single person in Scotland richer if we were independent—that is how he tried to sell it just three years ago, yet this week, Andrew Wilson, the head of the Scottish National Party’s growth commission, finally exposed the truth when he admitted that
“we did have oil baked into the numbers and it was indeed a basis.”
In other words, the economic prospectus on which the SNP based its entire case for independence was bogus. I have a simple question for the Deputy First Minister—is Andrew Wilson right?
John Swinney
Scottish National Party
I have already explained to Ruth Davidson the importance of oil to the UK economy and the huge bonus that it has been to the UK over these 40 years.
When the Prime Minister was in Scotland in 2014, he said that there would be a massive oil bonus for Scotland if we voted no. Other promises were made to Scotland about what would happen if we voted no—on the same day that the Prime Minister suggested that there would be a £200 billion oil bonus, he said to people in the north-east of Scotland that, if they voted no, there would be a £1 billion carbon capture project for Peterhead. That project has been cancelled. Then, of course, there was the other almighty commitment of the no campaign—vote no to stay in the European Union. Oil, carbon capture and the EU—the no campaign was shattered by those broken promises.
Ruth Davidson
Conservative
The question was about John Swinney’s oil claims being taken apart by his own side—no wonder that aspect is the one aspect that he did not want to talk about. Of course, we all know what has happened since the
Deputy First Minister spoke about all our big bonuses—oil receipts have collapsed. People across Scotland now have a simple question: without those oil receipts, can the Deputy First Minister point to any independent analysis that shows that Scotland’s economy would fare better right now if we were outside the United Kingdom?
John Swinney
Scottish National Party
What people in Scotland want to hear is more action to support the North Sea oil and gas sector. That is what this Government and the finance secretary have been arguing for. What the UK Government has been doing is talking about possibly setting up a talking shop, which it talked about setting up a year ago. Even that has not materialised yet.
We know why the Tories are not interested in supporting the oil and gas sector. Their spokesman, Alex Burnett, let the cat out of the bag. He argued that no measures should be taken to support oil and gas in Scotland. We know that Mr Burnett is a bit poor at declaring his own interests. He is certainly bad at standing up for the interests of the north-east. At a time when the onshore productivity of Scotland is increasing at four times the rate of the rest of the United Kingdom, which the Chancellor cited in his budget statement yesterday, there are grounds for a great deal of optimism about the strength of the Scottish economy.
Ruth Davidson
Conservative
I have here the response from the oil and gas industry to yesterday’s budget:
“We welcome the Chancellor’s response to our call to ... maximise recovery of remaining UK oil and gas reserves.”
The oil and gas industry can welcome the moves from the UK Government. It is no surprise that the Scottish Government does not, because it does nothing for the north-east.
Again, people at home will have noticed that the Deputy First Minister did not answer the question. It is a shame that there is nobody on the SNP front bench who is prepared to be as up front as Mr Wilson was on the radio.
This morning, we had the First Minister gunning for a referendum on independence next year. She called it “common sense”. I call it nonsense, because most people in Scotland do not want it. Most Scots do not want to go back to the Division and uncertainty of an independence referendum. Most Scots think that it is irresponsible to talk of a second referendum, which is only going to damage the Scottish economy yet further. That is common sense. Why is the Deputy First Minister not listening to it?
John Swinney
Scottish National Party
On the substance of action to help the North Sea oil and gas sector and the north-east, let me set out for Ruth Davidson three things that this Government has done in the recent past. The First Minister launched a decommissioning challenge fund to support the development of the supply chain to tackle oil and gas decommissioning. Secondly, we launched a £12 million transition training fund to support individuals to retain their skills in the sector. Thirdly, the energy jobs task force has remained focused on supporting those affected by the downturn in the oil and gas sector and will remain so in the years to come. That is the concrete action that we have taken to support the north-east and the oil and gas sector.
It is interesting that Ruth Davidson moves on to the question of the constitution. That is no wonder, because it has been very topical today. Today, an opinion poll on the constitutional question that was published just before Question Time shows support for independence at 50 per cent. We should not be at all surprised by those numbers, as that is the people of Scotland being exposed to the hard-right politics of the Tory party, seeing the mess that it is getting us into about Europe and deciding that it is time for this country to choose its own future.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
The first bench on either side of the House of Commons, reserved for ministers and leaders of the principal political parties.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
The political party system in the English-speaking world evolved in the 17th century, during the fight over the ascension of James the Second to the Throne. James was a Catholic and a Stuart. Those who argued for Parliamentary supremacy were called Whigs, after a Scottish word whiggamore, meaning "horse-driver," applied to Protestant rebels. It was meant as an insult.
They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
