Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Iain Stewart Excerpts
Wednesday 12th October 2016

(8 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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David Mundell Portrait David Mundell
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My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. There seems to be a very strange contradiction here: Members on the SNP Benches are rightly concerned about Scotland’s continued trade with the EU, but they disregard the fact that Scotland’s trade with the rest of the United Kingdom is four times as much as with the EU, and that a million jobs in Scotland are dependent on our trade within the United Kingdom—that is the union that matters to Scotland.

Iain Stewart Portrait Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)
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Given the importance of that single market to Scotland, does my right hon. Friend agree that the last thing that the Scottish economy needs is the perpetual uncertainty of another independence referendum?

David Mundell Portrait David Mundell
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If anyone actually listens to businesses in Scotland and, indeed, to the people of Scotland, it is quite clear that people do not want another divisive independence referendum in Scotland—other than individuals who are obsessed with independence. We need to listen to business, take a second independence referendum off the table and concentrate on getting the best possible deal for Scotland and the UK from these negotiations.