Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts
Wednesday 6th July 2016

(8 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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David Mundell Portrait David Mundell
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The hon. Gentleman may not have read the ballot paper, but the question was not about Scottish independence. It was about whether voters in Scotland wanted the United Kingdom to remain in the EU. I was a part of the 1.6 million people in Scotland who voted to remain in the EU, but I did not do so on the basis that Scotland would then be dragged out of the United Kingdom if I did not get the decision I wanted.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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11. With over 1 million people in Scotland voting to leave the European Union last month, what is my right hon. Friend’s assessment of the rush for a second independence referendum on the Union?

David Mundell Portrait David Mundell
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It is important that we respect the views of people we do not agree with. It has become evident that the Scottish National party cannot respect the views of the 2 million people who voted to remain in the United Kingdom in the 2014 referendum and it does not respect the people who voted to leave the EU. I do not agree with the people who voted to leave, but their views need to be respected.