Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 21 Mar 2012 Scotland Bill
"My Lords, I want to ask my noble and learned friend a question to which I do not know the answer, so maybe he will be able to help me. The noble Lord, Lord Reid of Cardowan, talked about the need for a UK-wide referendum to deal with issues such …..." Earl of Mar and Kellie - View Speech
"My Lords, I am most grateful for that advice. Does the noble Lord, Lord Reid, believe that Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have devo-max?..." Earl of Mar and Kellie - View Speech
"I suppose I should continue to look for advice: did they? I also note that Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have almost complete autonomy, including on foreign policy and the Treasury. The only thing they do not provide overall is their own defence...." Earl of Mar and Kellie - View Speech
"Indeed. Let us try to identify what we are talking about. The Scottish Crown Estate is a pre-union institution. It was put together over many hundreds of years, developed particularly by King James IV, and one of the things that Scotland brought to the union. Therefore the reference to a …..." Earl of Mar and Kellie - View Speech
"No, I do not. No matter what the noble Lord says, the Scottish Crown Estate existed. I was going to make a point about the BBC. That is undoubtedly a British, 20th century creation, and therefore the idea of a BBC Trust member for Scotland is quite appropriate, but I …..." Earl of Mar and Kellie - View Speech
"My Lords, one of the curiosities of the current rail franchising process is that while the British Government and, presumably, the Scottish Government cannot offer to run the railways directly, there is no opposition to foreign national Governments—through, for example, Deutsche Bahn or SNCF—running franchises in the United Kingdom...." Earl of Mar and Kellie - View Speech
"My Lords, is this not a matter of Scottish democracy? I suggest that in 2016, the Labour Party in Scotland needs to come forward—providing it is prepared to put up with the description of being nuclear Labour—with the type of policy that will presumably be substantially different from the policy …..." Earl of Mar and Kellie - View Speech
"My Lords, does the clause in any way inhibit Scottish universities’ polar research? My noble friend has been to the Antarctic. In 1902, William Speirs Bruce led the Scottish national Antarctic expedition in the steam yacht, “Scotia”, its research ship. The “Discovery” was built in Dundee. Speirs Bruce also explored …..." Earl of Mar and Kellie - View Speech
"My Lords, when we considered the then Scotland Bill 12 or 13 years ago, the late Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish complained that the failure of the Scottish National Party to seek to appoint any Peers caused the Scottish debate to be similar to trying to debate with Banquo’s ghost. I …..." Earl of Mar and Kellie - View Speech