HC Deb 08 December 1993 vol 234 cc307-8
9. Mr. McAllion

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has held with the Coalition for Scottish Democracy in relation to its demand for a multi-option referendum on the government of Scotland.

Mr. Lang

I have had no discussions with the Coalition for Scottish Democracy, whatever that body may be.

Mr. McAllion

That is a pity, because a Secretary of State who governs Scotland by quango, without the support or consent of the people, desperately needs to talk to people who understand what democracy is all about. Will the right hon. Gentleman try to explain the riddle of why the Government support the Unionist status quo in Northern Ireland, on the ground that it is supported by parties with 67 per cent. of the popular vote there, but oppose the break-up of the Unionist status quo in Scotland despite the fact that that is supported by parties with 75 per cent. of the popular vote in our country? Is not the Government's support for self-determination for the Province of Northern Ireland while denying self-determination to the nation of Scotland based not on any political principle but on the grubby political fact that they need the votes of Ulster Unionists to save them from a general election and from the votes and the judgment of the people of this country?

Mr. Lang

I do not think that such simplistic comparisons do anything to add enlightenment either in Scotland or in Northern Ireland. Part of the nature of the United Kingdom is its diversity. What is important is that we maintain its unity. I am content and satisfied that the arrangements that Scotland has in the United Kingdom Parliament offer the best protection for Scotland's future in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Bill Walker

Does my right hon. Friend agree that people who stand for election to this Parliament and come here should recognise that it is this Parliament to which they were elected and that their allegiance should not lie elsewhere unless they have declared that fact clearly, as a few do? Should not those who come to Parliament without declaring that allegiance, and then attempt to destroy it by means of bogus vehicles and sounding operations, recognise that that was not how they were elected to this place?

Mr. Lang

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I hope that the changes recently proposed in the White Paper affecting the handling of Scottish business in the House will be able to make progress early in the new year.

Mr. John D. Taylor

Following the comments of my Unionist friend the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. McAllion), and as we in England, Northern Ireland and Wales have a legitimate interest in any constitutional changes in Scotland—indeed, we are concerned about the value of such changes—can the Secretary of State assure the House that if a referendum were held in Scotland an identical referendum would be held elsewhere in the United Kingdom?

Mr. Lang

The right hon. Gentleman knows better than most the differences between the different parts of the United Kingdom. However, as his question is hypothetical, no answer of mine could have any substance.