Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Patrick Grady Excerpts
Wednesday 8th September 2021

(3 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Stephen Flynn Portrait Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) (SNP)
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3. What recent assessment his Department has made of the strength of the Union.

Patrick Grady Portrait Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)
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4. What recent assessment his Department has made of the strength of the Union.

Alister Jack Portrait The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alister Jack)
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My assessment continues to be that the United Kingdom is the most successful political and economic union that the world has ever seen. It is the foundation on which all our citizens and businesses are able to thrive. The United Kingdom Government are committed to protecting and promoting the strengths of our United Kingdom.

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Alister Jack Portrait Mr Jack
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As the hon. Gentleman knows, that is under review. We want Acorn to be one of the tier 1 projects, and we are pressing for that. I think he should press for his colleagues and his Government in Scotland to support the oil and gas industry.

Patrick Grady Portrait Patrick Grady
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How is the Union strengthened by the increasingly divergent franchises on these islands? Scotland’s Parliament was elected in May with an electorate including 16 and 17-year-olds, refugees and EU nationals, while his Government’s Trumpian Elections Bill wants to suppress and restrict voter turnout. Surely that only increases the legitimacy and mandate of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government, and makes this place even more detached from voters in Scotland.

Alister Jack Portrait Mr Jack
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I think the coalition with the Greens shows very clearly to everyone that one thing that the SNP failed to achieve in May was an outright majority.