HC Deb 24 November 1975 vol 901 cc481-3
40. Mr. Canavan

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he will make a further statement about the Government's plans for devolution.

The Minister of State, Privy Council Office (Mr. Gerry Fowler)

I would ask the honourable Member to await publication of the White Paper on 27th November.

Mr. Canavan

Will my hon. Friend at least tell the dithering devolutionaries within the Cabinet that it is about time they got their heads out of the sand if we are to have the Scottish Assembly off the ground by 1977? But, bearing in mind that a Tory Government would probably scrap devolution plans entirely, does my hon. Friend agree that even to contemplate voting with the Tories tomorrow night to try to bring the Government down would be a piece of arithmetical and political stupidity, particularly on the part of the Scottish National Party?

Mr. Fowler

I was not aware that any of my right hon. or hon. Friends were dithering. As for the arithmetic of the Scottish National Party, we can only judge it by its calculations on oil.

Mr. Donald Stewart

Will the Minister accept that, by defaulting on their promise for a devolution Bill the Government have added another betrayal to the long and consistent list of Labour Party betrayals of promises? Although the delay is backed by the Conservative and Liberal Parties it has created a sense of outrage in Scotland. Will the Government now live up to their obligation to present a Bill in the present Session?

Mr. Fowler

I have said before in the House that the Scottish National Party behaves in such a way as to suggest that it believes that if it were to repeat monstrous untruths regularly enough, they would become true. The Government have not defaulted on any promise regarding devolution: they stand by their manifesto commitments. A Bill will be introduced during this Session and if it proves impossible to make further progress with it in this Session, it will be reintroduced at the beginning of the following Session.

Mr. Joseph Dean

Bearing in mind that on the last occasion devolution was debated in the House the time was taken up almost entirely by Scottish and Welsh Members—[HON. MEMBERS: "The hon. Member was not here."]—I was, for two days—will the Lord President ensure that hon. Members representing English constituencies will be heard in the forthcoming debate?

Mr. Fowler

That question is a matter for you, Mr. Speaker. I am sure that you will observe a proper balance. When devolution was last debated—31st July—not only was the debate taken up by Scottish and Welsh Members, but many of those hon. Members opposite who are sitting on the third Bench below the Gangway made constituency speeches quite irrelevant to the subject of devolution.