UK’s Withdrawal from the EU

Debate between John Baron and Angus Brendan MacNeil

Wednesday 27th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

rose—

[Angus Brendan MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

I will try to abide by your instructions, Mr Speaker; thank you for calling me so early.

It is customary to say what a pleasure it is to follow the previous speaker, but I must suggest to my friend, the hon. Member for North East Fife (Stephen Gethins), that the SNP continually talks down the United Kingdom to such an extent that most people in Scotland do not even listen any more. SNP Members would do well to reflect on this. I gently suggest to the hon. Gentleman that he may be very critical of the UK at the moment—of how the Government conduct themselves and our parliamentary democracy—but we can be proud of the fact that this robust democracy is accommodating a very robust debate. In France, the Government can increase the fuel tax and there are people dead in the streets of Paris. In America, there has not been a Government for months. This is an important debate and there are differences across the House, but we can be proud of our parliamentary democracy in actually accommodating that debate.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

As the hon. Gentleman is busy lecturing Scots and Scotland, I hope he will reflect on this point—that in Scotland today the EU is far more popular among the people, by about 18 percentage points, than the United Kingdom. He should bear that in mind the next time he wants to lecture Scotland.

[Mr Baron]

I actually think that is quite questionable given the SNP’s recent election results and how badly it is doing—