Scotland’s Constitutional Future Debate

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Department: Scotland Office

Scotland’s Constitutional Future

Jim McGovern Excerpts
Tuesday 10th January 2012

(12 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Michael Moore Portrait Michael Moore
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I hope that the Scottish National party will engage with this. I am pretty sure that it will because when it gets the chance to study the detail, it will see that what we are offering is a very reasonable process by which we can get rid of the legal uncertainty and have a fairly conducted and decisive referendum.

Jim McGovern Portrait Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)
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Further to an earlier question about the manifesto, is the Secretary of State aware that nowhere in the SNP manifesto, as far as I am aware, does it say that a referendum will take place in the second part of the Parliament? It says only that a referendum will take place. It constantly tells us that it has an overwhelming mandate to hold a referendum in the second half of the Parliament; that is strictly not true.

Michael Moore Portrait Michael Moore
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The manifesto was clear. It was about a straightforward question on independence, not about the timing. We believe this should happen sooner rather than later, and I look forward to the responses that we get from people across Scotland.