UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 7 March 2018.

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Photo of Bruce Crawford Bruce Crawford Scottish National Party

That point has already been addressed by Mike Russell, but I will say this to Jeremy Balfour: I have to ask him and the rest of his colleagues whose side they will be on. Will they protect democracy in Scotland, and this Parliament, or will they take the Tory party line from London? That is the question that will be coming their way very shortly.

In closing, I will outline my position on competence. First, I do not disrespect the position that has been adopted by the Presiding Officer. However, I will put this simply: I choose to agree with the position of the Lord Advocate, who is Scotland’s top law officer. I use the word “choose” deliberately, because the matter is about who we are as parliamentarians and what we choose to believe. As Patrick Harvie said earlier, the Finance and Constitution Committee heard this morning that there is space for disagreement on the matter. It is therefore not as simple as asking who is right and who is wrong, in terms of the finer points of law.

In taking my view, I am reminded of the words of Donald Dewar from the opening of the Scottish Parliament and the birth of a new democracy on 1 July 1999, when he said on that fantastic day:

“This is about more than our politics and our laws. This is about who we are, how we carry ourselves.”

Therefore, when we come to decision time, let us all remember the last of those words. I urge members to support the general principles of the bill and to vote to protect this Parliament and democracy in Scotland. We owe it to the memory of the people who fought so long and hard to bring this Parliament into existence to protect its powers: we should do the right thing.