Business of the House

Alison Thewliss Excerpts

Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am tempted to go back to Don Pacifico, because he was a British citizen by virtue of being born in Gibraltar, yet his British citizenship was upheld by the then Government—by Palmerston—regardless. I think that British citizenship is equal among all of us, and that all British citizens, whether they have been British citizens through their families for hundreds of years or they became a British citizen five minutes ago, are equally British citizens, equally subject to the protection of law, equal in front of the law and equally part of our democratic society. We should all give that message, and everything my hon. Friend does to encourage that I fully support.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP) [V]]

LEAP Sports Scotland, in my constituency, does fantastic work to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in sports and to break down barriers. It has been among many non-academic groups that have benefited from the wide opportunities afforded by Erasmus+ and is most concerned that it would lose out under the Turing scheme. So may we have a debate on facilitating Scotland’s continued participation in Erasmus+ as has been afforded to the people in Northern Ireland?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

There will be opportunity to debate the Turing scheme when we come back and discuss global Britain, and to think about how much better it is for the whole country to look globally rather than at the narrow European sphere. It has to be said that the Scots have led the world in this; over centuries, Scottish explorers and adventurers—great figures from Scotland—have done so much in their travels abroad, and I hope that that will continue under the Turing scheme.