Lord Wallace of Saltaire
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Constitution Inquiry
Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts(3 years, 4 months ago)
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Lord True (Con)
My Lords, the Government will continue to apply the law of the land until the law of the land is changed.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)
My Lords, the commitment to constitutional integrity and the absolute sovereignty of the UK Parliament comprise a piece of legal purism which I think the Government would criticise if the European Commission displayed such a tendency. Does the Minister recognise that the commitment to absolute UK sovereignty was what led to the division of Ireland? Does he not accept that insistence on it with regard to Northern Ireland and Scotland now is likely to lead to further division?
Lord True (Con)
No, my Lords, I do not agree. We currently have a constitutional settlement in which there are reserved and devolved matters. I think we all believe that devolution has benefited the United Kingdom, and the Government’s priority—as the priority of all of us should be—is to make that work in amity and with commonality, as we were reminded earlier.