§ Mr. Robert McCartneyTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list the strategic and economic interests which require the maintenance of the Union between Scotland and England and which do not apply to the Union with Northern Ireland. [7202]
§ The Prime MinisterI firmly believe that the maintenance of the Union is strongly in the interests of each part of the United Kingdom, as well as of the United Kingdom as a whole, but there are no strategic or economic interests which could override the democratic wishes of the people of each constituent part of the United Kingdom in relation to their place within it.