Lindsay Hoyle
Main Page: Lindsay Hoyle (Speaker - Chorley)Department Debates - View all Lindsay Hoyle's debates with the Scotland Office
(4 weeks ago)
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Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)
The Scottish Secretary will be aware that no NHS board in Scotland has met its target for starting cancer treatment within 62 days since 2012, that Public Health Scotland data shows that one in seven Scots are on an NHS waiting list, and that the Scottish Government’s own figures show that home completions fell by 10% in the year to March—and do not even get me started on lifeline ferries to our islands. Does the Scottish Secretary agree that it is time for the SNP Scottish Government to start talking about delivery and acting on delivery, and to stop talking about division?
Mr Alexander
There is a serious point to start the answer, which is that I have always believed that to be pro-Scottish, you do not need to be anti-English. We should be bigger and more generous than that. We are all immensely proud of Steve Clarke, Andy Robertson and the achievement of getting to the world cup. I think we could look across the North sea to Norway for a demonstration of grace in the circumstances in which they left the tournament. Be assured that I wish our friends, our neighbours and our sometimes rivals well this evening at 8 o’clock.
Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)
I welcome the Secretary of State’s reassurance on the constitution. The people of Scotland do not want another divisive, distracting and damaging referendum on ripping our country apart. That said, this Labour Government do have a bit of a habit of changing position on certain issues, with 25 U-turns in only two years. So can I ask the Secretary of State to confirm that, whatever else changes and whoever holds the keys to Dover House this time next week—and even if it is the one and only thing they stick to—there will be no referendum and no consideration of one? Will the Government dismiss out of hand immediately any move towards breaking up of our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Mr Alexander
Yes. Ours is a politics of solidarity, co-operation and togetherness. We had a manifesto commitment not only opposing independence, but opposing a further referendum, and we stand by that mandate.
Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)
Some 54% of Scots now back nuclear power, and the SNP tells them that they cannot have it. In May, over half of Scots—57%—voted for parties committed to the Union. Now, I know that some parties might describe that as nearly 60%, but it is definitely a majority. However, the SNP’s answer, as we are hearing, appears to be another referendum. There is a pattern whereby a majority of Scots disagree with the SNP, and the SNP decides the majority is wrong. Will the Secretary of State back the single transferable vote so that Scots get what Scots vote for?
Kirsty McNeill
It is not a question of using devolution as a shield; it is a question of proper accountability. Farming is a devolved matter, and the SNP Scottish Government have not delivered for Scotland’s farmers. Take the Scottish Government’s future farming investment scheme: in some areas, rejection rates for ineligibility were as high as 94%, which is a typical example of the overly bureaucratic nature of SNP policies. [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. Mr Doogan, we do not need an ongoing shouting match from your sedentary position.
Pamela Nash (Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke) (Lab)
By ending Tory austerity and increasing the settlement to the Scottish Government by nearly £12 billion, this UK Labour Government have provided adequate funding for the SNP to properly resource Scotland’s rural economy. Does the Minister agree it is time that Scotland’s rural industries were properly recognised and got the support they needed from the Scottish Government?