European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock Excerpts

3rd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 16th May 2018 Lords Chamber

My last point has already been made by the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Wallace, and I have probably made it far too often and bored the House—but it would be so much better if our debates on these issues could be illuminated by hearing the views of the governing party in Scotland, directly by being here. This is a paradigm case. Members of the governing party in Scotland are asking us, when Mr Russell writes to us, to take account of their views—but we do not have the opportunity to cross-examine and interrogate them and work out how strongly held or how soundly based those views are.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

The noble Lord is very well-meaning in what he suggests. However, is he aware that Mike Russell actually agreed to the same proposal from the United Kingdom Government that the Welsh Government agreed to? He went along with that and then went back up to Scotland and was told by Nicola Sturgeon that it would not be approved because she did not like it. She runs it: not Mike Russell. How on earth can the United Kingdom Government—as noble Lords know, I am no fan of the United Kingdom Government on most things—legitimately deal with someone who says he goes along with it and then goes back up to Edinburgh and gets overruled by his First Minister?

[Lord Kerr of Kinlochard]

The noble Lord probably knows more about it than me. I only know what I read in the UK press, which is almost nothing, and in the Scottish press. But my point is a slightly different one. I thought I would be attacked by the noble Lord on slightly different grounds. I want SNP representation in this Chamber. On previous occasions the noble Lord has reminded me that it is entirely the theology of the SNP that prevents it being represented in this Chamber—and he is completely correct about that. I do not understand why the SNP, represented in the other place, adopts towards this House the policy that Sinn Féin adopts towards the other House. I do not understand it at all. The onus is of course on members of the SNP to change their minds if they wish to take part in our debates, but I would ask the Minister to say what some of his colleagues in the past have said: if SNP MPs were to change their minds, the Government would be delighted to see them represented in this place.