Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Angela Crawley

Wednesday 29th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)]

3. If he will make an assessment of the impact of the Union on Scotland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Iain Stewart)]

The United Kingdom is the most successful political, economic, social and cultural union the world has ever seen, and is the foundation on which our citizens and businesses are able to thrive. This Government are committed to protecting and promoting its combined strengths, building on hundreds of years of partnership and shared history, because when we work together collaboratively, as one United Kingdom, we are safer, stronger and more prosperous, better able to draw on the skills of our great shared institutions and better able to respond to challenges, such as the pandemic and supporting families with the cost of living.

[Angela Crawley]

Last year, the Scottish Tory manifesto stated that a vote for them was a vote to stop an independence referendum, yet they achieved only 22% of the vote. Does the Minister accept that the people of Scotland have a right to have a vote on 19 October 2023 because their campaign message has failed?

[Iain Stewart]

The constitutional issues were so far down the list of people’s priorities when that poll took place. What the people of Scotland want are their Governments, whether that is local, Scottish or UK, to be working together on addressing the issues that matter to them and responding to the big challenges we face as a country and a world.