European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

2nd reading: House of Commons & Programme motion: House of Commons
Tuesday 22nd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

Last week, the Queen’s Speech was the most important thing to the Prime Minister, and today and previously we have been given all sorts of assurances. It almost felt as though if someone had asked him today whether he would assure them at the Dispatch Box that the moon is made of cheese, he would have given that assurance. His assurances, the Queen’s Speech—it means nothing.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I just say to the hon. Gentleman that if he continually intervenes, he will be preventing others from speaking. That may not bother him, but I am just letting him know.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Monday 10th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

In calling the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil), I am calling no less a figure than the Chair of the International Trade Committee.

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

That is much appreciated, Mr Speaker. This cuts across the Department for International Trade, of course, and I have a constituency interest.

The Minister talks about a year-long engagement. She told me the very same last May. She said that the Home Office would reflect and ask industry for its views. We hear the same rhetoric today. It is quite simple: she should go to her boss, the Home Secretary—a man who needs to show leadership at the moment—and ask him to lift his pen and get fishing boats working on the west coast of Scotland. It will happen that easily. Get it shifted, make it happen, and make it happen this year. We do not want another year-long engagement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Thursday 25th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Mr Philip Dunne—not here. Where is the fella? I hope he is not indisposed. We will have to proceed.

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

Free trade agreements are, of course, needed, and the EU has some very good ones, which is why the United Kingdom Government are copying them. But trading on World Trade Organisation terms is very expensive. What is the Secretary of State doing to dispel the notion that is abroad, particularly in his own party, that leaving the EU and trading on WTO terms is a good idea? If it was, every country would be walking out of their trade blocs and every country would be ripping up trade agreements. It is a very silly and very dangerous idea, and I hope he is doing his best to combat it.

Sittings of the House (29 March)

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Thursday 28th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

Absolutely. My hon. Friend makes a good point. In a number of business questions sessions, I and other Members have asked the Leader of the House for time to make progress on the Refugees (Family Reunion) (No. 2) Bill—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Gentleman was led astray from the path of virtue when his hon. Friend exhorted him to list matters that it would be worthy to debate tomorrow. I can advise the hon. Gentleman on that matter: the sittings of the House motion specifies the purpose for which the House will meet, and an amendment to it specifies a purpose for which it should not meet. It is clear from the motion what it is about, and this debate is not an opportunity to dilate on a vast range of other matters, which may be of interest to the hon. Gentleman but which are not consistent with the terms of the motion. If I have somewhat truncated the hon. Gentleman’s speech as a result, I am sure he is sad, but that is the reality.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

I was rather enjoying your own speech there, Mr Speaker.

To finish, I want to underline the humiliation that is the House of Commons turning up at the demand of the EU. I wonder if the 50ps might get melted down tomorrow and turned into something a little more useful. God bless ya.

Amendment (a) agreed to.

Main Question, as amended, put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House shall sit on Friday 29 March 2019 but that sitting shall not be used for proceedings on consideration of the Overseas Electors Bill.

Business of the House

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 27th March 2019 Commons Chamber

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

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Before the hon. Member for Watford (Richard Harrington) intervenes, which he should of course have the opportunity to do, we will take a point of order from the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil).

--- Later in debate ---

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

Given that there are 16 motions to deal with this afternoon, if a Member was to get up now and ask that question be now put, so that we could increase the time for the motions, how might the Chair react to that question?

[Mr Speaker]

There is no need to move the closure because this is a time-limited debate, and the time limit will be well known to the hon. Gentleman. If he can just contain his impatience, there will be salvation at hand in due course.

European Union (Withdrawal) Act

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Monday 25th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point of order. In fairness, and speaking off the top of my head without the opportunity to consult and without advance knowledge of what the hon. Gentleman would say, I am not sure that that is quite right in procedural terms, because the effect of tonight’s vote on the amendment in the name of the right hon. Member for West Dorset and then in support of the main motion, as amended, is that what the right hon. Gentleman has commended to the House will have precedence on Wednesday. It does not, however, knock out other Government business of itself; I think that other Government business would follow. So although the hon. Gentleman might want a business statement by the Leader of the House or a response from the Prime Minister, in procedural terms neither of those things is required tonight—he might want it, but neither is required tonight. Perhaps I can leave it there.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Given that, these days, extensions are in vogue, if the 24 hours of Wednesday are not enough to sort out what the mind of this House is—work that probably should have happened two and a half years ago—will it be possible to extend the work that should be happening on Wednesday into further days so that we do find out definitively what the heck they think in here?

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point of order, but I think the best answer to that is, let us take one step at a time; let us see where things go in the consideration by the House of the business. I think I should leave it there. I thank colleagues for their interest and participation in this series of exchanges.

UK’s Withdrawal from the European Union

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Thursday 14th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. It is laudable to donate money to charity, but is it in order to be gambling? Are we turning the House of Commons into a casino?

[Mr Speaker]

Despite the seriousness of the situation, we should not altogether lose our senses of humour. I think the observations of the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) and those of the shadow Secretary of State should be taken in that vein.

UK’s Withdrawal from the European Union

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 13th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

No, nay, never—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The Secretary of State has made the position clear. Let me conduct the very briefest tutorial for the benefit of the illustrious Chair of the International Trade Committee of the House of Commons. It is unseemly, to the point of being disorderly, to try to speak one’s intervention by mouthing it before permission has been given to undertake it. It is a point that is so blindingly obvious that, as I often observe, only an extraordinarily sophisticated person, possibly from Na h-Eileanan an Iar, could fail to grasp it. Secretary of State.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

On a point of order—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Secretary of State.

[Michael Gove]

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Once again, I am grateful that you are in the Chair.

The Labour party is now committed to a second referendum, but many of its leading spokespeople have made clear what they thought of a second referendum in the past. The shadow Education Secretary said that it would be a mistake and would show disdain for democracy. Indeed, the shadow Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry), when asked about a second referendum, said, “No, we don’t think that’s right. If we went for a second referendum we would be saying to people, ‘We think you’re stupid. We think you made the wrong decision. We’re going to do something else.’” Now that she embraces a second referendum, I am afraid that having once sneered at the flag of St George, she now confirms that she wants to tell the British people that they are, in her view, wrong and stupid. That may be a view popular in Islington South, but it is not the view of the Government, who are determined to honour the votes of the British people and who will not dismiss their sovereign decision as either wrong or stupid.

Business of the House

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 13th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

If the hon. Gentleman does not mind—and I am always interested to hear his views—I would prefer to conclude the exchanges on the emergency business statement and if he is still keen to raise his point of order then I shall be happy to hear him.

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

When we were in talks with the Prime Minister before—probably a month or six weeks ago—she was absolutely adamant that it was no deal, her deal or revocation. Now the Government have pivoted to extension. So why is there this change of position? Why did they not stick to no deal, her deal or revocation? Her deal is dead so it is now between no deal or revocation.

European Union (Withdrawal) Act

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 12th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

These are important matters and, although the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) is a self-effacing fellow, he is an important man.

[Mr Speaker]

The hours will be different, because we start earlier on a Thursday, but I will apply the same logic and, I hope, sense of reasonableness and desire to accommodate colleagues. I have not yet come to a particular view about the precise deadline for Thursday, but it is something I am happy to discuss privately with the right hon. Gentleman and other colleagues if they so wish. I will have the same consideration in mind. The House’s interest must be served, and I should seek to facilitate what Members want. I hope that is helpful.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. As Chair of the International Trade Committee, it is clear to me that Brexit now seems to be a busted flush, but it leaves us all in a very serious situation. The one option that the Prime Minister did not mention, but she mentioned it in private before, is that surely the Government must now move quickly to revoke article 50, as it is only 17 days away, or face self-inflicted economic damage and calamity to all our traders and businesses. Surely the way to leave with a deal is to maintain the deal that the UK currently has and revoke article 50. Can we see that before the House as an option for MPs to vote on in the 17 days of seriousness we now have before us?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman chairs an important Select Committee in this place, the International Trade Committee. His brow was furrowed, he had a look of great seriousness and I thought he was going to make a purely procedural point. It is partly a procedural point but, if I may say so, it is also a political point, to which the answer is that there will be an opportunity for an amendment to be tabled to any motion on the prospective extension of article 50. The opportunity is there for colleagues, and, if an amendment is tabled and garners significant support, that will be a factor in the mind of the Chair in deciding whether to select it. It is open to him to table such an amendment, and I have a feeling he will go beetling around the House in hot pursuit of colleagues who share his views on this matter.

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 6th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I say to the right hon. Gentleman and for the benefit of those interested in this matter, first, that he has made his point with vigour and insistence, very much in the mould he has fashioned since his election to the House. No one could be in any doubt about what he believes; it is one the record. Secondly—I do not know if this will be welcome to him, but it is the honest answer from the Chair—there has been no procedural impropriety or breach of order. There is nothing untoward, in parliamentary terms, about how the Prime Minister has conducted herself. I recognise that it is disagreeable to and strongly objected to by him and his colleagues here assembled, but that, I am afraid, is in the nature of political debate and disagreement. As to when he will have a chance further to pursue his disagreement with the Prime Minister, I think that opportunity will arise ere long.

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

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

I hope the hon. Gentleman has a genuine point of order. He is certainly wearing a fabulous tie. Whether his point of order is of equal quality remains to be seen, but I will give him a chance.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

I accept the compliment about my tie, which is reciprocated.

The truth is that what the Prime Minister said is not the situation in Scotland. There is a mandate for independence. She said there was not a mandate, but there is. That is a fact.

Stronger Towns Fund

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Monday 4th March 2019 Commons Chamber

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

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I call Douglas Chapman.

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 29th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Again, if I may very politely say so, I think the hon. Lady’s point of order, although it contains what is ostensibly an inquiry, is one in which she is making her point rather than seeking anything from me. The short answer to her is that, as I said a moment ago, there will be further debate. Members must speak and vote as they think fit. All these matters will be thoroughly aired in the days and weeks to come, and I am sure we all look forward to that—the hon. Lady from her vantage point and I from mine.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I hope you can advise. The House seems to have found itself in a contradictory position. First, it wants no deal off the table; and secondly, it does not accept the deal that the European Union is putting forward. Is it not the case that the United Kingdom Parliament is now at the mercy of the European Union, because if we are in a situation where no deal is off the table and we are not accepting the deal the EU is offering, where do we go from here?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman may wish to offer the views that he has just expressed to the news outlets that operate in Na h-Eileanan an Iar, and I rather suspect that that is what he will want to do. Local newspapers and radio stations will doubtless be very interested in the views that he wishes to express, but they are not matters of which I can treat now. The House has decided what it has decided—[Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman is saying that these matters are in contradiction of each other or have to be weighed against each other, but of course it is not a matter for the Chair to offer an exegesis to the House on the way in which it has voted. Members will make their own assessment. We know what statute says and we know what expressions of opinion have been recorded by the House today. The hon. Gentleman, although his brow is furrowed, is a perspicacious fellow, and I am sure he will get his head around these matters in the hours, days and weeks to come. We look forward to that with eager anticipation.

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 15th January 2019 Commons Chamber

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

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Just before Christmas I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister asking if she would be respectful of the mandate in the Scottish Parliament for a second independence referendum by agreeing to a section 30 order. The response came about a month later, and I have to say that it was not respectful of UK member Parliaments at all—in contrast, of course, to the European Union. Indeed, the response was not from the Prime Minister, but from the Secretary of State for Scotland. This is an example of the Government arbitrarily changing the rules—something they complained about last week. Should the Prime Minister herself not be responding to these things or, in an innovation, has she passed to the Secretary of State for Scotland the power to grant a section 30 order for a second independence referendum?

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the hon. Gentleman both for his point of order and for his characteristic courtesy in giving me advance notice of it. However, what I have to say to the hon. Gentleman might disappoint him. The hon. Gentleman is perfectly at liberty to put his inquiry to the Government Department of his choice, and indeed the most senior Minister of all, but it is the entitlement, constitutionally and procedurally, of the Government to decide by what route a reply is provided. Although there is some consternation etched upon the contours of the hon. Gentleman’s face that he got a reply from the source he did not want and not the source he did want, I am afraid that he will have to live with that and bear it with such stoicism and fortitude as he can muster.

European Union (Withdrawal) Act

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 15th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

My response to the hon. Lady is as follows. First, there may well be an opportunity for her to air her own thoughts on the situation we face and the suggested way forward in the course of debate. As the Prime Minister referred to in her point of order, that prospect is potentially unfolding. That is one opportunity for the hon. Lady.

The second would be the discussions to take place in coming days. I dare say that the hon. Lady will want to take the chance to participate in them. More widely, where there is discussion about Parliament’s role, what it might do and what options it might have, I think I can predict with complete confidence that the hon. Lady will have a view about that, and that view, which is important, will be heard.

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

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister spoke about the will of Parliament, and we have to investigate that further. When can we test the will of this House on the choices that are now left—no deal versus revoking article 50? Can we test those in the House, bearing in mind that in Scotland the European Union is more popular in the polls than the United Kingdom, as the Prime Minister should know?

[Mr Speaker]

There will be plenty of opportunity for testing in the days ahead.

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 9th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The answer is that I have discussed the matter with the Clerk of the House. [Hon. Members: “Ah!”] Order. The Clerk offered me advice, and we talked about the situation that faces the House today. At the end of our discussion, when I had concluded as I did, he undertook to advise me further in the treatment of this matter—that seems to me to be entirely proper. That is the situation, and I think that is what colleagues would expect.

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

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Just before I begin, I wish Michel Barnier a happy 68th birthday today. The contention in which this amendment is held is surely all the justification required for Members to vote on it and to decide one way or the other, and you are correct in what you are doing.

[Mr Speaker]

Thank you.

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 18th December 2018 Commons Chamber

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

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I think we should keep the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil) waiting, because the hon. Member for Wells was first.

[Mr Speaker]

Such self-denial and courtesy—quite legendary!

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

Further to the point of order from the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Mr Leslie), Mr Speaker. Is it possible for a Back-Bench MP to table a motion of no confidence in Her Majesty’s Opposition, given the mess they have made of tabling a motion of no confidence? They have confused even their own Back Benchers over the difference between a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister and a motion of no confidence in the Government. They have made an utter shambles of the entire process. So can we have two motions of no confidence: one in the Government and one in that lot over there?

[Mr Speaker]

The short answer to the hon. Gentleman is that I am not aware of any precedent for what he cheekily suggests. However, I would say to him that it is perfectly open to Members to table early-day motions. He is nothing if not an adroit and assiduous Member of the House and, if my memory serves me correctly, he is not entirely unfamiliar with that device.

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Monday 17th December 2018 Commons Chamber

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

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I will come to the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil). I am saving him up. I do not want to squander the hon. Gentleman too early.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

My sense is that for the date upon which the House sits to be changed would very likely require a conversation; I am speaking, I say to the right hon. Gentleman for the avoidance of doubt, off the top of my head, but that almost certainly would require a conversation and agreement between the usual channels. If there were such an agreement, nothing is impossible.

The right hon. Gentleman will know that there is a supply of Opposition days, but the Government will normally give an indication of when there will be an Opposition day, and that is usually a matter of negotiation between the two sides; it is not something on which the Speaker can rule. But I do not say that what the right hon. Gentleman is suggesting is impossible; what I am suggesting is that there seems to be some distance to travel between his aspiration and its realisation.

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

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Further to the point of order of my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Joanna Cherry) about the Prime Minister’s response to my question in her statement, as the Prime Minister has inadvertently overlooked the facts of the matter in terms of the UK withdrawal from the EU Bill of the Scottish Parliament, when does convention in this House suggest that the Prime Minister be expected to correct the record as a courtesy to the House so as to be accurate, particularly given the office she holds in the United Kingdom?

[Mr Speaker]

If an error is judged to have been made, the correction should be made with dispatch. In other words, if a Member believes that he or she has erred, there should not be delay; the record should be corrected without delay.

Exiting the European Union: Meaningful Vote

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 11th December 2018 Commons Chamber

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

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

I hope it is a genuine point of order, and not a point of frustration.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

Is it in order for Father Christmas to save Brexit?

European Union (Withdrawal) Act

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 4th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I distinctly heard Donald Tusk say at the weekend that the options are no Brexit, no deal or this deal, so to say that it is a binary choice is not right.

[Mr Speaker]

We are extraordinarily grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his elucidation, but that intervention suffers from one notable disadvantage: it was not even tangential to a point of order. His intervention and points of order are not even nodding acquaintances, in my experience.

--- Later in debate ---

[Patricia Gibson]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Members of the same party do not need to bicker as to whom the Leader of the Opposition is giving way to. I think it is the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil) who has been invited to intervene. Just before he does, I remind colleagues that it is legitimate to use mobile devices without impairing decorum, but it has just been brought to my attention that there is a very widespread use of them, and I gently remind colleagues that they most certainly should not be taking photographs in the Chamber. [Interruption.] Yes, I know exactly what I am doing and saying, and upon what advice. It requires no comment or contradiction, simply a recognition of the validity of the point.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

The Leader of the Opposition talks about respecting the referendum. Fair enough—that is his point of view. I have a different perspective in Scotland. Will he respect the mandate of the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament’s will to have a second independence referendum? How far does his respect go?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 11th September 2018 Commons Chamber

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

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

No, no, no. Bishop Auckland and Na h-Eileanan an Iar are both admirable places, but last time I looked neither was situated in the east midlands, to which this question is devoted.

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 17th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I do not think it is a point of order. It has to be said that that does not put the hon. Gentleman in a particularly exclusive category, as most attempted points of order are in fact more attempted than points, if I may say so. What I would say to him by way of response, and I appreciate the sincerity with which he raises the issue as a former Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, is as follows. Money akin to Short money, representative money, is paid to Opposition parties represented by Members who have chosen not to take their seats in respect of costs incurred exclusively in relation to the party’s representative business. That was, as I suspect the hon. Gentleman knows, decided by the House in November 2005. I had no role in that matter, other than as a Member of the House. I had no greater role than anyone else. As the Speaker, I have no role in changing that arrangement or, alternatively, upholding it. It is the property, if I may say so, of the House. If the hon. Gentleman has concerns about the administration of this arrangement, or about the fact of payment or particular payments, he should direct his concerns to the Accounting Officer of the House who, as I am sure Members will know, is also the Clerk of the House. I well understand the hon. Gentleman’s unhappiness on this matter, but he should communicate with the Accounting Officer about it.

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

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Following on from the point raised by the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Nick Boles) on the recess, this is meant to be the UK Parliament but it slavishly follows the English school holidays in its recesses. Do you know of any people so cruel in all of Europe, Mr Speaker, who keep their children in school until the middle of July, a month after midsummer? Indeed, should we not follow the Scottish example and have earlier recesses? I think the temperature in July is affecting Government minds.

[Mr Speaker]

That is a debatable matter, but the point of view the hon. Gentleman expresses is one that he is known to adhere to and which he loses few opportunities to express, as the cheeky smile on his face readily testifies he knows.

If there are no further points of order and the appetite has been satisfied at least for now, we will come to the 10-minute rule motion for which the hon. Member for Clacton (Giles Watling) has been so patiently waiting. I hope and anticipate a thespian performance by the hon. Gentleman.

Trade Bill

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

3rd reading: House of Commons & Report stage: House of Commons
Tuesday 17th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

The hon. Gentleman is fantastic in making the fundamental point that the rest of the world is in regional trade agreements. He is just about correct. Only five countries are not in regional trade agreements, which is what the UK is heading towards: East Timor, Somalia, South Sudan and, we think, Mauritania—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We do not have time for these long interventions. Short question, one sentence. Thank you.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

Does the hon. Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy) think it is incumbent on the UK to think again about being in that company?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 11th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Angus Brendan MacNeil.

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

indicated dissent.

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman is gesticulating from a sedentary position in respect to some other question that we have not reached, but might, and on which he may or may not be called.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

I see it is a five-way contest in the SNP ranks, but we have got to hear from the Select Committee Chair, and I hope he will be brief.

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

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker—you are a great man indeed.

Devolving powers over work visas would make a tremendous difference to the fishing industry and get people in from non-EEA countries such as, in particular, Ghana and the Philippines, who are very valued in Scotland. Will this Government get on with their job, stop the Brexit soap opera, lift the pin, get the men in, get the boats fishing, and get taxes being paid—and move now?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Thursday 28th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman can always shoehorn in his concern on any question, and the Chair is accommodating of him. I hope that his mood will improve as the day proceeds.

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

An important issue connected with trade deals is actually a Home Office matter, I refer to the issue of visas. Whether the trade deals are with developing countries or with Australia and New Zealand, the big thing that they talk about is not two-year visas but five-year visas. What work is the Minister doing with the Home Office to bring some sense into this area? Incidentally, that is also needed on the west coast of Scotland in relation to fishing.

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 12th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I think that it is better if we—[Interruption.] Order. I am saving the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford) up; it would be a pity to squander him too early in our proceedings—[Interruption.] Order. The hon. and learned Member for Edinburgh South West (Joanna Cherry) should calm herself. I will hear fully from the right hon. Gentleman when he is ready. All I am suggesting to colleagues—it is hardly a controversial proposition—is that it might be tidy if we first dispose of the remaining amendments in the group. I will hear the right hon. Gentleman either before or after the second group of amendments, the choice being his. The idea that that should evoke headshaking and disapproval is frankly beyond credulity. The leader of the Scottish National party, whose point of order it is, seems perfectly content with that proposed arrangement, and I am grateful to him for his nod from a sedentary position in confirmation of that important fact.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

rose—

US Steel and Aluminium Tariffs

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Monday 4th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

Put him in the bunker!

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil) is chuntering from a sedentary position about putting something in a bunker. I am not going to comment on that. It is not for me to pronounce on the merits or demerits of the matter, but I simply say, with due affection to the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann), that it is always interesting to hear from him on the golfing situation, and we have done so today.

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

1st reading: House of Commons
Wednesday 23rd May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I hope that these matters are always treated with the utmost seriousness and that responses to parliamentary colleagues are both timely and substantive. I say to the hon. Gentleman, without fear of contradiction, that that notion of a timely and substantive response should apply both in relation to parliamentary answers to parliamentary questions and in relation to correspondence. I was not familiar with all the details of this matter, although the hon. Gentleman has apprised me of some of them, but it is of course important that these matters are addressed fully.

A moment ago, we heard from the Father of the House—perhaps I may respond on this point because it is quite an important one for all of us. A former Father of the House, Sir Gerald Kaufman, when he did not receive substantive replies to questions or letters, was given to tabling a written question on the matter, inquiring when he would receive a substantive reply. If I remember correctly, Sir Gerald was inclined to say that that was an extremely effective technique. I volunteer that advice gratis to the hon. Gentleman.

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

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I will come to the hon. Gentleman, but I call Mr Simon Hoare.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

I rather fear that I am not able to help. I do not want to make too many declarations on the Floor of the House. Suffice it to say that I am not myself technologically sophisticated. I think I owe it to the right hon. Lady to disclose that candidly to her. I am not saying that I have not the slightest idea what she is talking about, but I am not closely familiar with the detail, and when it comes to this filter or that filter, it all seems very confusing to a simple chap like me.

I would say to the right hon. Lady that these are serious matters. PICT of course ceased to exist about three years ago, but the Parliamentary Digital Service—I think that is what she means—does try to assist. I think there are ways of dealing with this outside the Chamber, but knowing the right hon. Lady as I do, I feel sure that if she is not satisfied on this matter ere long, we will all be hearing more about it and I will doubtless be hearing more about it. [Interruption.] Indeed, the right hon. Lady will probably send me an email. It is always a pleasure to hear from her both in the Chamber and outside it, but in all seriousness, people are aware of this and I will try to ensure, as of now, that there is some progress and that Members are satisfied, because they should not be obstructed in the discharge of their parliamentary duties. I thank her for raising what she has raised.

It is a case of patience rewarded for the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil).

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. That was excellent pronunciation, as ever. In the north-west of Scotland, fishing boats have been sold, processing jobs lost and exports lost because the Home Office will not provide visas for such work in Scotland or Northern Ireland. All of that is happening to keep the Home Office happy, essentially. We need seasonal workers from non-EEA countries urgently, otherwise we will only have European Union fishing boats around our waters. How can I best get this matter on the record and raise awareness of it? I seek your advice and guidance.

[Mr Speaker]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, he has achieved his objective with immediate effect. His words will have been heard on the Treasury Bench and will be recorded in the Official Report by the dedicated and expert staff of the House. He can therefore go about his business with an additional glint in his eye and spring in his step, which might otherwise have been lacking. If he feels that he has not exhausted his energies on this matter, he can of course seek a debate in the Chamber or in Westminster Hall. Who knows? The hon. Gentleman might be successful.



Bills Presented

Non-Domestic Rating (Nursery Grounds)

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Secretary James Brokenshire, supported by the Prime Minister, Mr David Lidington, Secretary Greg Clark, Secretary Michael Gove, Mel Stride and Rishi Sunak, presented a Bill to make provision for buildings used as nursery grounds to be exempt from non-domestic rates in England and Wales.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time tomorrow, and to be printed (Bill 214) with explanatory notes (Bill 214-EN).

Ivory

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Secretary Michael Gove, supported by the Prime Minister, Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary Boris Johnson, Secretary Penny Mordaunt, Secretary Matt Hancock, Andrew Leadsom and Dr Thérèse Coffey, presented a Bill to prohibit dealing in ivory, and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time tomorrow, and to be printed (Bill 215) with explanatory notes (Bill 215-EN).

Private Members’ Bills: Money Resolutions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Thursday 10th May 2018 Commons Chamber

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

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar is gesticulating in a mildly eccentric fashion. My interpretation of his strange hand signals is that he is indicating a desire to catch an aeroplane. We acknowledge that fact and wish him well on his journey. We would not want to deny him the opportunity to expatiate.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

Not just one aeroplane but a second aeroplane on to Benbecula, too. Hence the nerves.

Many people watching will think of this as quite archaic. Money resolutions should really follow automatically. It is also archaic that private Members’ Bills have to queue to go into Committee. It is time to modernise the process. We should not be having this urgent question. Night should follow day, as the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) said, and money resolutions should come forward, especially for the Refugees (Family Reunion) (No. 2) Bill to give child refugees the same rights as adult refugees.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Thursday 26th April 2018 Commons Chamber

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

I got a text message this morning stating:

“If there is any glimmer of hope from Gove I won’t sell.”

That was from a fisherman on the west coast who is short of crew. Now that he knows that the Home Office has run a hostile policy to migrants and migrant workers, he is hoping that he will not be forced to sell, so what will DEFRA do to ensure that the west coast fishing industry, and I believe the fishing industry in Northern Ireland, is not forced out of business? There is a real need for the Home Office to give fishermen pieces of paper to keep the Home Office happy. In other words, we need non-European economic area fishermen—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We have got the gist of the hon. Gentleman’s inquiry.

Petition

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Thursday 26th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

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

Kerslake Arena Attack Review

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 28th March 2018 Commons Chamber

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

A school friend of mine, Roddy MacLeod, and his wife Marion lost their daughter Eilidh in the attack at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. Also from the Isle of Barra was 15-year-old Laura MacIntyre, who, incidentally, was a good friend of my middle daughter. She was terribly injured but is making a good recovery. She is walking and back at school, and she is as witty as ever. Roddy and Marion welcome the recommendations in the report and wholeheartedly agree on the individual acts of heroism on that night that were praised in the report. They have said quite heroically themselves that they hope that such reports will help to inform individuals and heads of service for the future.

I echo the points that have been made about the printed newspapers in particular. I was personally asked by a relative to rush to the house of a distraught grandmother, who felt further panicked by a journalist at the doorstep. Fortunately, the journalist had gone, and was probably only doing the bidding of the editor quite reluctantly. On the whole, the media were good that week—we have to acknowledge that—but can we please encourage the ending of the practice of door-stepping, particularly of the terribly bereaved? It is not pleasant and it is very distressing.

[Mr Speaker]

It is a very important question and I think a single-sentence reply will suffice.

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 10th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. It would not be a full day without a point of order from the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil).

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

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. May I congratulate you once again on your pronunciation of “Na h-Eileanan an Iar”, which was absolutely perfect?

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Both the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister talked about “the NHS” today, seemingly unaware that in fact there are four NHS services in the UK. I seek your guidance on what can be done to insist on knowledge and accuracy from the most senior parliamentarians in the Chamber, or is the Chamber indeed just the English Parliament?

[Mr Speaker]

If I did not know the hon. Gentleman as well as I do, I would think that he was being mischievous, but I cannot imagine that he would behave in that way. However, I am on the one hand flattered by his exhortation, and on the other hand at least a tad intimidated, for the idea that the Chair can be expected to insist upon knowledge and accuracy on the part of any Member or among any group of Members is an unrealistic ambition on the part of the hon. Gentleman. That is not a matter for the Chair. Members take responsibility for their statements in this House, but in so far as the hon. Gentleman was seeking to draw attention to what he regards as the singularity of the Scottish health service, I think he has accomplished his objective.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

Plurality.

[Mr Speaker]

Or even the plurality of services, as he witters from a sedentary position. I think he has accomplished his objective.

Economy and Jobs

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Thursday 29th June 2017 Commons Chamber

[Neil Gray]

I will give way one last time.

[Mr Speaker]

There is a considerable shortage of time, so the intervention must be brief.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

Perhaps my hon. Friend will remember the years past when people here used to deride Iceland and Ireland, post-crash. They are very quiet now, when those countries have three to four times the growth of this country. Of course, Iceland and Ireland did not choose the mega-austerity cult that the Tories here at Westminster have chosen.

Education and Local Services

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 27th June 2017 Commons Chamber

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

I hope that it is a point of order, rather than merely a point of frustration.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

Is it in order, Mr Speaker, for Front-Bench Government spokespeople to put questions to Back-Bench Members of the Opposition? They are there to defend their record; it is not for the Opposition to do so.

[Mr Speaker]

There is nothing disorderly about it. It is not in that sense, I must tell the hon. Gentleman, narrowly analogous to Question Time. At Question Time, I have said now and again to Ministers that it is not for them to ask questions; they are there to answer questions. A debate is a more seamless enterprise, as I think the hon. Gentleman, who is an experienced denizen of the House, must know. It is perfectly in order for the Secretary of State to pose an inquiry to a Member, just as it is perfectly in order for another Member wholly to disregard it. I call the Secretary of State.

Early Parliamentary General Election

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 19th April 2017 Commons Chamber

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

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Two colleagues wish to speak. They can help each other.

Article 50

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 29th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr MacNeil) is a jovial jackanapes, so I think we should put him out of his misery and hear from the feller.

[Mr MacNeil]

You already have—

[Mr Speaker]

We have already heard from the feller—I had forgotten. I do apologise. [Hon. Members: “More!”] No, once is enough. I call Dr Rupa Huq.

House of Lords Reform and Size of the House of Commons

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 19th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr MacNeil]

My hon. Friend has mentioned that there are 61 peers from Scotland but the number of MPs is going down. Is that not simply more grist to the mill and another reason why people will, this time, vote for independence in the second referendum that will come within two years of the triggering of article 50?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) has been generous to a fault in giving way, and I think that that is appreciated by the House. May I very gently make the point that 11 Back-Bench Members wish to contribute, and the Chair will be looking to call the Front-Bench wind-ups at approximately 6.40 pm? There will have to be a very tight time limit on Back-Bench contributions, a fact of which I know the hon. Gentleman will wish to take account in the continuation and conclusion of his eloquent contribution.

Point of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 15th December 2015 Commons Chamber

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

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Ah! The day would not be complete without a point of order from the hon. Gentleman.

[Mr MacNeil]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I wonder whether you can help me by telling me what can be done when the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, which is in my view not actually independent but very partial, is obstructing an MP from doing their work? My situation involves complex travel arrangements and IPSA is obstructing my travel movements. Is there anyone who is genuinely independent who I can deal with to get beyond the kangaroo issues of IPSA? I am wasting a lot of time and effort, as are my staff, in dealing with IPSA and getting absolutely nowhere.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am very disturbed to hear that. The hon. Gentleman might be aware—if he was not, he now will be—of the existence of an informal grouping within Parliament, which includes the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), to which he could usefully make representations about the particular situation that he faces. I hope that he will understand that this is not something of which I can treat here and now in the Chamber.

[Mr MacNeil]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

No follow-up would ordinarily be required, but the hon. Gentleman is champing at the bit and I will give him one last chance.

[Mr MacNeil]

I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker. I was on that panel, with the honourable member for Gainsborough, during the last Parliament, but I am not aware of its continued existence in this Parliament.

[Mr Speaker]

My understanding had always been that there was an opportunity for Members to make such informal representations. The Chair cannot deal with specific cases at all, and the Chair is in no position authoritatively to comment on particular circumstances from the Chair, especially when given no advance knowledge of them. If the hon. Gentleman wishes to pursue the matter further, he can usefully do so outside the Chamber.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 9th December 2015 Commons Chamber

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

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

On the subject of Welsh, rather than Gaelic, I call Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil.

[Mr MacNeil]

Tapadh leibh, Mgr Speaker, airson an cothrom seo a thoirt dhomh. May I ask that the respect being shown to Welsh also be shown to Scottish Gaelic?

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 1st December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The short answer is that it does have to be tabled by the close of business tonight and, yes, that motion will be amendable. I hope that is helpful.

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

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. First, for your information, let me say that the fleet-of-foot Scottish National party is already tabling an amendment to the motion. I have two points about order that I hope you can help me with. First, have Prime Minister’s questions been cancelled at such short notice before? Secondly, does such a step need the consent of the House?

[Mr Speaker]

The short answer to the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr MacNeil)—I am advised by the right hon. Member for Gordon (Alex Salmond) that I have pronounced that correctly, and I would not dare argue with him on that matter—is that, yes, such a proposition from the Government of course requires the assent of the House and that motion 6 is before the House, so I think we are fairly clear about that. The hon. Gentleman asks me whether this has happened before. He is quite an experienced denizen of this House and he will know that there are precedents for most things. The short answer is that, yes, Prime Minister’s questions have been cancelled—relatively recently, in fact—at relatively short notice before. He can consult the record, but I think it related to marking the unsurpassed tenure of Her Majesty the Queen. That was the occasion, at least most recently; there are precedents for these things.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 4th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Angus Brendan MacNeil

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

Me?

[Mr Speaker]

Yes, it is you, Sir.

Delegated Legislation

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Of course, in common with most attempted points of order, this is a not a matter for the Chair. That said, I can confirm that the House of Lords has communicated by message that it has resolved that a Joint Committee should be appointed to consider the Government’s proposals on English votes for English laws, a resolution to which it desires the agreement of the Commons. This message will be printed in the Votes and Proceedings in the usual way. There is nothing for me to add at this stage, except to say that the hon. Gentleman looks duly satisfied that he has made his point and it is on the record.

On a point of order, I call the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar.

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

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker—excellent pronunciation, yet again. On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Following the point of order last night from my hon. Friend the Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) asking that the furniture be altered in this House so that the real Opposition could actually be in a place of opposition, is it in order that the party should change the seating instead, so that the actual Opposition—the SNP 56—sit in the right place, in opposition to the Tory party?

[Mr Speaker]

I do not want to be accused, least of all by the hon. Gentleman, on this, the last day before we rise for the summer recess, of lacking a sense of humour, but I think he might be being just a tad facetious.

After my little effort—well intentioned, though perhaps inadequate—to name his constituency, I should just say, in all humility, that I am quite open to lessons, either from him or from any of his colleagues arrayed across the Opposition Front Bench, in pronunciation or elocution, if they think that I would be a suitable pupil. We will leave it there for now.

English Votes on English Laws

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Thursday 2nd July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr MacNeil) must calm himself. He is an aspiring statesman. He must simmer down.

[Mr MacNeil]

We will let you have full fiscal autonomy.

[Mr Speaker]

Ah! A long time to go.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Thursday 25th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Patience rewarded. I call Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil.

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

Thank you for the encouragement, Mr Speaker. On the environment, since the Secretary of State said what she did about onshore wind, the industry needs to know what the Government intend for feed-in tariffs, contracts for difference and islands with regard to onshore wind.

Point of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Thursday 18th June 2015 Commons Chamber

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

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Last week, I asked twice about onshore wind—once directly of the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the Floor of the House, and once in last week’s business questions requesting a statement on support for renewables. This morning, a written statement came out with appearances in the media, and they have added to the confusion. Even a few minutes ago in this morning’s business questions, Tory Back Benchers were seemingly clueless about what the announcement might mean for projects in the pipeline especially. What powers do you have to frogmarch DECC Ministers here to show respect to the House and those in the onshore wind industry, both those in jobs and investors?

[Mr Speaker]

I fear that the hon. Gentleman invests me with powers that I do not possess. I am not in the frogmarching business. There are procedures for bringing Ministers to the House with which the hon. Gentleman, as an experienced hand, is well familiar, and he can seek to deploy them if he thinks it appropriate. Whether a Minister makes a statement in the House today on the matter in question is a matter for the Minister. I heard the exchanges, and if the hon. Gentleman, who is a dextrous and versatile operator in this House, remains dissatisfied, he well knows that there are means by which he can continue to raise the matter on the Floor of the House.

Scottish Representation in the Union

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 4th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr MacNeil]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

I hope that it is a point of order, but go on. Briefly.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr MacNeil]

Mr Speaker, will you give me some guidance on the difference between a debate and a lecture? Should a Member who has promised to give way not give way?

[Mr Speaker]

Let me make two points. It is very simple. First, the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown) is perfectly in order. Secondly, the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr MacNeil) is bearing more than a striking resemblance to an over-ebullient puppy dog. That is not something we want to see in this Chamber. He should take an example in statemanship from the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) and calm himself.

[Mr Brown]

I will give way to the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr MacNeil).

Devolution (Scotland Referendum)

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 14th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

I hope it is a point of order.

[Mr MacNeil]

The annunciator reads, “Devolution (Scotland Referendum)”, but at the moment we are debating English votes for English laws. Why are we not having a debate about the subject set out on the annunciator?

[Mr Speaker]

I can observe the annunciator just as well as the hon. Gentleman. I simply advise him that the title of the debate is, “Devolution following the Scotland referendum”. The debate is about devolution. Nothing disorderly has happened. The Leader of the House is entirely in order—[Interruption.] No amount of hand gesturing, waving and excessive excitability on the part of the hon. Gentleman will change the fact that the debate is perfectly in order.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr MacNeil]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Before the hon. Gentleman intervenes, let me remind him that he embarked on an apprenticeship to become a statesman. That apprenticeship still has a considerable distance to travel. I simply appeal to his more public-spirited instincts, and advise him now to assume the posture of a statesman.

[Mr MacNeil]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Your words of guidance are for ever precious.

The right hon. Gentleman has referred to the Westminster elites. Well, we did see them in Scotland before the “vow”, but we need to ask where they are today. The Conservatives would not tell us where the Prime Minister was; can the right hon. Gentleman tell us where the Leader of the Opposition is this afternoon?

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 9th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I can only say to the hon. Gentleman, notwithstanding the expression of shock upon his countenance, that absolutely nothing disorderly has taken place here. The hon. Gentleman is an experienced—I will not say “old hand”, but he is an experienced hand. He knows that, periodically, Prime Minister’s questions take place with the principals absent, and that in those circumstances it is quite common for the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) to represent the Government, and very common for the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman) to represent the Opposition. The hon. Gentleman may disapprove of that state of affairs, but nothing disorderly has happened.

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

Further to the point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

I do not think that the day would be complete without a point of order from the hon. Gentleman.

[Mr MacNeil]

I am very grateful, Mr Speaker; thank you very much. I wondered whether any of the procedures of the House can prevent Members—in this case, party leaders—from breaking the rules of purdah outside the House.

[Mr Speaker]

No. Nothing.

Well, I think that the House is satisfied for the time being—or, at any rate, that the appetite for points of order has been satisfied.

Bills Presented

Recall of Elected Representatives

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Zac Goldsmith, supported by Mr David Davis, Anne Marie Morris, Mr Andrew Mitchell, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nick de Bois, Mr Frank Field, Kate Hoey, Caroline Lucas, Roger Williams, Jonathan Edwards and Mark Durkan, presented a Bill to make provision about the recall of Members of the House of Commons; to allow for the extension of such provision to other offices; to provide that the recall of elected representatives in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland be a devolved matter; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 6 March 2015, and to be printed.(Bill 88).

Affordable Housing Contributions (Ten Unit Threshold)

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Tim Farron, supported by Annette Brooke, Sir Nick Harvey, Jeremy Lefroy and John Woodcock, presented a Bill to give local planning authorities the power to determine the requirements for affordable housing contributions from sites of fewer than 10 units as part of planning obligation agreements under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 6 March 2015, and to be printed.(Bill 90).

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 2nd July 2014 Commons Chamber

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

13. With the renovation costs of the Westminster Parliament expected to be £400 million a year every year for 10 long years, Professor Patrick Dunleavy said yesterday at the London School of Economics that the set-up costs for an independent Scotland would be £200 million and not the £1.5 billion that is on the Treasury website. Will the Secretary of State see to it that that figure is corrected and that the Westminster Government apologises both to Professor Dunleavy, an expert in this area for 30 years, and to the people of Scotland for that error and misinformation? [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Gentleman is talking out his colleagues.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 26th March 2014 Commons Chamber

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

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Na h-Eileanan an Iar is some distance from south-east Wales, but let us hear Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil.

[Mr MacNeil]

Surely tourism in Wales would be helped by action on VAT, as in the Republic of Ireland, and that would also help my constituency of Na h-Eileanan an Iar.

Banking

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 15th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr MacNeil]

Does the Minister agree that, as with the debate on the bedroom tax before Christmas, this debate is really one about the symptoms of inequality in our society. Since the 1970s, we have seen 80% of the gains in productivity going to the top 1%—an inequality level roughly equivalent to that of the 1920s. Governments all over Europe and in the United States are not getting to grips with inequality and the hampering of life chances that it is causing. What does the Minister think should happen? The bankers should not receive the bonuses they are getting and people should not have their life chances halted by the bedroom tax. Are this Government going to do anything serious on this issue?

[Mr Speaker]

I assume that the hon. Gentleman will not seek to make a speech in the debate, on the grounds that he has already done so.

Business of the House

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Thursday 11th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

It sounds like there is scope for a debate, if in fact we have not already had it.

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

May we have a debate on the dangers and evils of imperialism and annexation of another country’s territory, whether it be Saddam Hussein in Kuwait or, at the other end of the spectrum, the Westminster Government who, as the front page of The Guardian reports, are bullying Scotland as part of “project fear”? Free peoples across the world will condemn that and stand with Scotland in the name of freedom.

UK Border Agency

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 26th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Gentleman is always a most courteous Member, but his question suffers from the notable disadvantage that the Home Secretary has absolutely no responsibility for the matter in question. She is responsible for the Government’s policy but does not have any responsibility for the policy of the Opposition.

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

As the Home Secretary’s colleague, the Minister for Immigration, knows, I have been dealing with the case of Gordon Murray, a local councillor and college lecturer from Stornoway, who is trying to get his pregnant Chinese wife and unborn child from China to the Hebrides before she is unable to fly. The Minister has been very helpful—Gordon Murray and I are grateful for that—but he was bequeathed a system that is excessively bureaucratic and intimidatory and, in this case, is still cruelly dividing this family. Can we have, as Mr Murray has asked, a system that puts people’s needs at the centre rather than numbers and quotas?

Nuclear-powered Submarines

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Monday 18th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I was advised that the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr MacNeil) came into the Chamber at three minutes past 4, which is very late—

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

indicated assent.

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman should not be nodding his head in that fashion: he is not helping his own cause. I am going to work on the charitable assumption that my informant was misinformed, because the hon. Gentleman was busily offering me protestations of innocence only a few moments ago. I think that the mantras of MacNeil had better be heard, for what it is worth.

[Mr MacNeil]

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. According to Professor Steven Pinker, since 1945 it has been the major nuclear powers that have been involved in conflicts, yet the non-nuclear neutral states have not. Why is their deterrent so much better?

Shipbuilding

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Monday 19th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Prisk]

I will make progress, if I may.

The Technology Strategy Board is helping to co-ordinate a future technology road map, and UK Trade and Investment has now, as I understand it, made marine a priority sector in our trade and inward investment programmes, which I find extraordinary. It is putting marine right where it needs to be, shipbuilding included.

Next month, my Department will be hosting an exhibition at Victoria street for the UK marine industries, where we can at last showcase some of the brightest and best products and services in the industry. I extend an invitation to the hon. Member for Glasgow North West and all other Members of the House.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I apologise for interrupting the Minister, but may I gently say to the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr MacNeil)—

[Mr MacNeil]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Gentleman sought to intervene on a number of occasions. He was perfectly entitled to seek to intervene, just as the Minister was entitled to decline to take the interventions. The use of electronic devices in the Chamber is supposed to be undertaken without impairing decorum. To seek to intervene one minute, and then very ostentatiously and blatantly—

[Mr MacNeil]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. To seek to intervene one minute, and then very ostentatiously and blatantly to be fiddling with such a device is a discourtesy, and I simply ask the hon. Gentleman not to do it. There is nothing more to say on the subject.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 25th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil. [Interruption.]

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

Q2. It seems, Mr Speaker, that the SNP gets more reaction from Labour than their own Leader does. Does the Prime Minister agree that in Scotland the people are sovereign, and therefore for improvement they have the right to determine their own constitutional future as they see fit?

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 9th March 2011 Commons Chamber

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

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. On yesterday’s Order Paper, a debate was scheduled on coastguards, one of two debates that I had planned to speak in—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Before the hon. Gentleman completes his point of order, may I appeal to hon. and right hon. Members who are leaving the Chamber to do so quickly and quietly so that we can proceed with subsequent business, including the point of order.

[Mr MacNeil]

On yesterday’s Order Paper a debate was scheduled on coastguards, one of two debates that I planned to speak in tomorrow. Today, it is not on the Order Paper. I found out about the change yesterday in a series of Chinese whispers and I was livid, Mr Speaker. I have not heard of a debate being changed at 48 hours’ notice. Coastguards are dismayed that the bread-and butter-issue of jobs is being overlooked in this House. Coastguards have been badly treated by the Committee, which is an alleged Back-Bench Committee, made up of Conservative, Liberal and Labour Members who have utterly dismayed me in their treatment of the coastguards. The name “Back-bench Committee” is utterly wrong. It has made this change on a whim, Mr Speaker—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I have got the point. First, on a point of fact, people can raise points of order and with those points of order I will deal, but we are not referring to the work of an alleged Back-Bench Committee. The Backbench Business Committee is established, it is functioning in an orderly way and it is chaired extremely assiduously and conscientiously. I will not have aspersions cast on the work of the Committee. I will not have that in this Chamber.

On the point of order, let me simply say to the hon. Gentleman that I am grateful to him for giving me notice and I understand his extremely strong feeling on this matter on behalf of his constituents and on behalf of others as well. I understand that the coastguards debate is now scheduled for a three-hour debate on Thursday 24 March—

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I see other members of the Backbench Business Committee bidding to catch my eye. I just said that I am not going to have a protracted exchange on this; that would not be right or a proper use of the time of the House. I think I can say, and will command general assent for this proposition, that we have had a very clear and gracious response from the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee. Other Members may agree with it or they may disagree with it; such is the stuff of democracy. But a point of order was very properly raised by the hon. Gentleman; I have responded to it; the hon. Lady has said her piece. It is not a continuing debate. The position is clear, and that is the end of the matter.

[Mr MacNeil]

rose—

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

If, on an unrelated point of order, Mr Jim Shannon wishes—

[Mr MacNeil]

Come on!

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I have made the position very clear. It is no good the hon. Gentleman shaking his head. He asked his question, in order, he raised the point of order and I have responded to it. There has been a further come-back on the point of order. I think most Members of the House would accept that the matter has been properly aired in the Chamber this afternoon.

On an unrelated point of order, Mr Jim Shannon.

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 1st February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point of order. It has been characteristically courteously noted by the Foreign Secretary on the Front Bench. I am happy to look into the matter on this occasion.

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

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Last Thursday in Transport questions, I asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government’s serious proposals concerning the coastguard were accompanied by a proper risk assessment. He replied:

“Of course the proposals have been risk-assessed.”—[Official Report, 27 January 2011; Vol. 522, c. 436.]

However, I was told in Stornoway yesterday and at a briefing in the House of Commons this afternoon by the chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency that no formal risk assessment has been done on the Government’s serious proposals for the reorganisation of the coastguard. Those proposals worry people in my constituency quite a lot, given the weather and the volume of traffic. Can we have the Secretary of State for Transport back in the House to clarify exactly what is happening and, with a bit of luck, to bring forward the risk assessment that he said had been done?

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point of order. He has placed his concerns on the record. There are established procedures for the correction of ministerial statements or answers if and when it is necessary.

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 18th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

No. I have had no indication of an intention by a Minister to make a statement. If the hon. Gentleman is dissatisfied and he thinks that a procedural impropriety has taken place, first he may find other means through the Order Paper to pursue his concerns and to air his grievances; secondly, he might want to draw the matter to the attention of the Procedure Committee, which is looking into issues of this kind.

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

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Today we were told through the media that there would be no movement on a rural fuel derogation, which would have taken 5p off a litre in certain areas. In my Hebridean constituency, people have paid up to £1.45 a litre, which includes the recent, quickly implemented, VAT rise.

Only 100 days ago, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury told a Lib Dem conference that

“I can announce to you today that with my approval, Treasury officials have started the process of engaging with the European Commission on our detailed plans”.

Can we have these announcements in Parliament, and get the relevant Treasury Minister to the Dispatch Box, so that we have a full and clear picture of what this Government are doing and a timetable set out, so that they do not shilly-shally for four years like the previous Labour Government?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman has made his point with great force, but it is not a point of order for the Chair. I will leave it there today.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Tuesday 9th November 2010 Commons Chamber

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

Following the sad death of Linda Norgrove in Afghanistan, her family have started the Linda Norgrove Foundation—the website is lindanorgrovefoundation.org —in her memory to help to raise funding for women, families and children in Afghanistan so that they can access education, health care and child care, as well as scholarships for women so that they can go to university. Her family were heartened by the attendance of the Minister with responsibility for Afghanistan at her funeral. I know that we have both been struck by the—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. This is an extremely sensitive matter, and I was aware of the interest of the hon. Gentleman, but he must bring himself to a question straightaway.

[Mr MacNeil]

Will the Minister support the setting up of the foundation and encourage and back its arrival on the public scene?

Points of Order

Debate between Angus Brendan MacNeil and John Bercow

Wednesday 23rd June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point, and I understand his frustration, but I have already ruled on this. The House can always look at these matters. I would gently say to him that it would be unwise for the Chair to speculate on the ridiculous.

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

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. Could you tell me, and the House, why some Back-Bench Members are more equal than others in respect of membership of the Committee?

[Mr Speaker]

I am a little concerned that the hon. Gentleman is trying to continue the debate. I cannot believe, knowing his normal regard for order, that he would do that, but I have a worrying hunch that he might be making a first attempt. He has made his point, and I think that we will leave it there.