Scotland Bill

Debate between Lord Lang of Monkton and Lord Mackay of Clashfern

Tuesday 8th December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lang of Monkton]

My Lords, I rise briefly to support my noble friend Lord Forsyth, who is absolutely right. The fact that the Government had the wording as per his amendment in the original Bill represents what must have been their best thought, after careful preparation, on what should be in the Bill. They have succumbed unnecessarily to pressure in another place and now we are faced, as in a number of other areas in the Bill, with what they must consider second best. I do not think that is good enough for an important Bill of this type, and I urge my noble and learned friend to accept the amendment.

[Lord Mackay of Clashfern]

My Lords, this is an interesting amendment. I wonder by whom the recognition is supposed to be given. “Recognised as” requires that someone does the recognising; who is it? This is a much better clause as it stands than it was originally. The process of improvement in Parliament has in fact worked in this case by missing out a nonsensical requirement and replacing it with one that is reasonably clear.

So far as I am concerned, the purpose of a clause of this kind is to declare the situation as it is and as it will be for this Parliament and for any subsequent Parliament that does not decide to repeal it. As we know, the Act of Union was supposed to be for ever, but we are all mortal, and Members of Parliament, in particular, are mortal. It may well be that a later Parliament has a different idea. The sovereignty of this Parliament is perfectly clear, but that does not mean that it binds a subsequent Parliament, and therefore there could be a change in a subsequent Parliament.

That brings me to a matter that was referred to about the referendum. The point that is made in the clause is that the Parliament is to be permanent, and therefore there is no question of a referendum until someone decides that there should be a question about that permanence. It is quite inappropriate to include detailed provisions about what would happen in the event of a decision that perhaps the Parliament was not permanent after all in the shape of a referendum. That is a matter which, at the very least, would have to be looked at in some detail, just as recently we have been looking in great detail at the referendum Bill about moving out of the European Union. If a Bill was required to alter the status of the Scottish Parliament, I feel certain that it would need some pretty careful consideration. That probably will not occur in my lifetime or, I suspect, in the lifetimes of most noble Lords who are present, except possibly the very young.

Energy Bill

Debate between Lord Lang of Monkton and Lord Mackay of Clashfern

Wednesday 6th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mackay of Clashfern]

I have made known my view about what the judgment says and my noble friend Lord Forsyth has made his view known about how the Scottish Government approach these matters. I do not particularly wish to comment on what they have done so far as I do not know fully enough the facts about these other applications. However, certainly in so far as the application from Shetland is concerned, there is no doubt that the decision of the Court of Session until reversed will set that consent aside. There is no question at all of going ahead to erect the station in Shetland at present. That would be completely without sanction, because the judge has set aside the consent as being unlawful. The rule of law will certainly be applied in Shetland, so far as that is concerned; the noble Lord has said whether the Shetland law applies more generally, and I will leave it with what he said.

[Lord Lang of Monkton (Con)]

My Lords, I had not intended to speak in this debate; I know that the hour is late, so I will be brief. However, when I saw that my noble friend Lord Forsyth had tabled an amendment that seemed to be almost in diametric opposition to the preceding amendment—we have not yet reached my noble friend’s amendment—it seemed that there was probably something of interest to be debated. Having heard what has been said, I am glad that I was here to hear it, and I am appalled at what I have heard. However, I am greatly reassured by the views of my noble and learned friend Lord Mackay.

My own views on windmills, which I first made clear in this House some 12 years ago, is of strong opposition to them. They are an appalling waste of time and money; they ruin the environment and damage wildlife; they do not deliver power when the wind is too strong or when there is no wind at all; and when they do deliver power, there is so little of it that it is completely worthless and has to be backed up by other forms of energy. I will not repeat all those views again to the House tonight.

What is at issue is not a matter of energy generation but of the rule of law. I am aghast to hear that the Scottish Government are now cheerfully setting aside a judgment in the High Court in anticipation of an appeal, which may or may not go in their favour. My noble friend referred to his time in the Scottish Office, and my noble and learned friend Lord Mackay referred to his experience many years back. I was present at the opening of the Torness power station, although I had no hand in its design or in the legalities behind it. However, I served in the Scottish Office for nine years, ahead of my noble friend, so between us we did about 12 years.

At no time, then or before, when I was the Scottish Whip for five years, do I ever recall any contemplation of defying the will of the courts. That is the fundamental issue that we are addressing underneath these two amendments. The issue of the licence is fundamental, and this amendment seems to set aside one of the few controls that are in place to try to impose some kind of discipline and proper judgment on the relevant importance of windmills in Scotland. We read every day of how the country is being covered with them like a rash, ruining the environment and all attraction to tourism, with no regard to the future or to the value of these excrescences. Therefore, setting aside my strong views on windmills, this rule of law issue has to be addressed very seriously indeed.