Oral Answers to Questions

Stewart Hosie Excerpts

Wednesday 24th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[David Mundell]

My hon. Friend makes a pertinent point. This party and this Government have been committed to the devolution settlement and to making it work. There is one party in this Parliament that would destroy devolution, and that is the SNP.

[Stewart Hosie (Dundee East) (SNP)]

7. What recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the effect on Scotland of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

[Douglas Chapman (Dunfermline and West Fife) (SNP)]

12. What recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the effect on Scotland of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)]

I have had regular discussions with the Prime Minister on a range of matters related to exiting the EU. It is essential that we respect the result of the 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU.

[Stewart Hosie]

A no-deal Brexit combined with ending free movement of people, which is the inbound Prime Minister’s prospectus, would restrict Scottish business and the public sector from recruiting the staff they need, yet the Secretary of State has welcomed the appointment of the inbound Prime Minister. Can we conclude then that he is prepared to throw business and public services under a bus simply to protect his own career?

[David Mundell]

What amounts to throwing Scotland under a bus has been the actions of the SNP throughout the Brexit debates in this Parliament—voting three times against an agreement that would have allowed Scotland to leave the EU on an orderly basis and largely in accordance with its own document, “Scotland’s Place in Europe”.