Scotland within the UK

I thank the hon. Lady for the very constructive tone of her response. Working with people across ...

Does the Secretary of State accept that throughout the House many believe that further devolution...

I have said many times that the completion of the job of devolution in Scotland and the process w...

Scotland has decided and spoken, and it is now the accepted sovereign will of the Scottish people...

On the hon. Gentleman’s latter point, I think I have already made that clear. I very much hope th...

rose—

rose—

Ah! Two distinguished Liberal Democrat knights in heated competition—what a delicious choice! I c...

Does my right hon. Friend understand the general welcome there has been in Scotland for the fact ...

My right hon. and learned Friend is entirely correct about that. This should be something that do...

Does the Secretary of State agree that the Smith commission process will require compromise and g...

I think Lord Smith has already made it clear that he is not going to deliver independence by the ...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that we ought to learn some lessons from this near-death experien...

There are indeed many lessons to be learned from this, and their full extent will probably not be...

The Secretary of State is, of course, right: the referendum was an incredible, transformational e...

May I say again that I welcome the participation of the hon. Gentleman’s party in the Smith proce...

Should we not all be grateful to the Scottish National party for having called the referendum? Ha...

There are, indeed, occasions when we should be grateful to the Scottish National party; they are ...

As a Labour nominee to the Smith commission, may I welcome the Secretary of State’s constructive ...

I wish the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues well on the Smith commission; he has a job of work t...

The Secretary of State is to be commended for introducing the Command Paper in such a timely fash...

I have thought of little else in the past few weeks. I know that when referendum processes are un...

It is clear that Scotland will now get what Scotland wants, and so England must get what England ...

In relation to the work of the Cabinet Committee, there is not of course a time scale, except tha...

The Secretary of State knows that, with the advent of devolution under the previous Labour Govern...

No.

Further to that question, I note that the Secretary of State has made it clear that implications ...

That remains the position of my party.

May I first welcome my right hon. Friend’s Command Paper? As somebody who led our party in the co...

It is an important point that devolution has in every case been accompanied by electoral reform, ...

I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. I welcome more the resounding result of our Scottis...

Lord Smith has been charged with building a consensus in relation to further powers for the Scott...

Will my right hon. Friend assure me that the business community on both sides of the border will ...

Indeed, the voice of business is very important in this process, as it was throughout the referen...

Will the Secretary of State confirm that the decisive no vote was not a vote for the status quo, ...

I am happy to give the hon. Gentleman that assurance, which I have already given on two or three ...

Today’s Command Paper does not contain a section dedicated to the supervening question of the pos...

I would be more than happy for the hon. Gentleman to engage directly with Lord Smith. Indeed, I w...

In his statement, the Secretary of State said:

“It is important that everyone now accepts t...

Demands for a further referendum would have an exceptionally damaging effect on Scottish business...

As my right hon. Friend congratulates the people of Scotland on the 85% turnout in the referendum...

I fear that my hon. Friend does not quite reflect the intricacies of the settlement in the United...

A key principle during the referendum debate was the delivery of fairness in Scotland. I was plea...

The secretariat for Lord Smith’s commission is already supported by civil servants from the Scotl...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that one of the holes in the current devolution settlement, as so...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. The completion of the job of devolution requires the Sc...

Does the Secretary of State agree that the high level of participation among ordinary members of ...

Having a short process such as the one we have outlined allows early delivery of those powers, an...

Does the Secretary of State agree that part of this settlement needs to be a public spending agre...

Part of the vow made by the three party leaders was that there would be no change to the Barnett ...

With the Wales Bill about to proceed to the other place, what improvements will the UK Government...

I am afraid that the answer to that question will have to be delivered by my right hon. Friend th...

I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement, and may I echo his call for all of Scotland, whet...

I echo that sentiment, and having campaigned on a number of occasions with my hon. Friend in his ...

I am mindful of the previous hon. Member’s contribution. At the risk of sounding partisan, we see...

I am sure there are good reasons why hon. Members are here or not, and they can explain that for ...

The Secretary of State is absolutely right that the vow must be made good on, but the devolution ...

To make any change of that sort, it will be necessary for the parties to build consensus and to d...

Given the enthusiasm of the Scottish electorate during the referendum campaign, how will the Secr...

I will be more than happy to play my role in the process that the right hon. Lady outlines. There...

I am told that on all sorts of measures Kettering is the most average borough in England. I would...

The flow of money between the different parts of the United Kingdom comes and goes at different t...

In relation to greater devolution, one proposal that my party made was for the devolution of hous...

Time will tell exactly what the change to universal credit achieves. On the devolution of housing...

The Secretary of State will be aware that very late in the campaign all three party leaders promi...

May I gently correct my hon. Friend on one point? The proposals of the three parties that support...

These powers are, of course, extremely important, but may I join colleagues on the Opposition Ben...

I certainly join the hon. Lady in congratulating 16 and 17-year-olds on the enthusiasm and vigour...

I commend the Secretary of State for being able to take the heat out of a situation better than a...

The hon. Gentleman commends me on taking the heat out of the situation. I wonder if that is perha...

The people of Scotland have made a positive choice to stay in the UK. There is clearly support fo...

I cannot restate too often the importance of building the broadest possible consensus. It has tak...

I wish the Secretary of State well in completing the process of devolution to Scotland, but it ca...

I reiterate that I hesitate to use terms such as “in tandem” because they might suggest a link th...

I strongly support more powers for the Scottish Parliament, but as the Secretary of State has sai...

I have already made it clear that I am something of an enthusiast for that process, having been t...

I do not think that it is lost on the Secretary of State, or on any of the hon. Members in this H...

I have already made it clear that I expect the leadership of the Scottish National party—in whate...

I am absolutely certain that the events in Scotland will lead to further devolution in Wales and ...

Lord Smith is not an hereditary peer. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Yeovil (Mr Laws) has...