Graham Leadbitter
Main Page: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)Department Debates - View all Graham Leadbitter's debates with the Scotland Office
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Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The UK Government are committed to deepening devolution across Scotland, working in partnership with the Scottish Government to push power out from Holyrood and into the hands of local communities. The Prime Minister has made an open and genuine offer to the Scottish Government, to work together collaboratively to design a new model of regional economic empowerment that is right for Scotland.
Graham Leadbitter
The Prime Minister was unequivocal last month when he told the House that “exactly the same situation” for a referendum applies in Scotland as in Northern Ireland. The legal mechanism for a referendum on Irish unification is detailed in the Northern Ireland Act 1988, but there is no equity across these islands for an equivalent law for Scotland. When will the Secretary of State deliver on the Prime Minister’s words, and bring forward legislation to amend the Scotland Act 1988 and enshrine the people of Scotland’s equal right to choose their own future?
Mr Alexander
The Prime Minister on these Benches was making a very basic and clear comparison, which is that there is no consensus in favour of a border poll in Northern Ireland, and there is certainly no consensus in favour of a referendum in Scotland.