David Mundell
MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale · Conservative · United Kingdom
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Allin-Khan. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Naushabah Khan), not just for her thoughtful contribution but for securing this debate. It is so important that we take every opportunity we can to shine a light on this conflict.”
“Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds). I am sure that the new Minister, whom I welcome to her post, will do likewise. Nevertheless, as I said, Sudan remains chronically under-reported.”
“I absolutely agree. I—and the Minister, I am sure—would like the Quad that was established to be more effective in relation to the involvement of the United States and neighbouring countries, with those neighbouring countries playing a positive role rather than supporting the protagonists in the conflict. As the right hon.”
“As UN Security Council penholder, the UK has a distinct moral and diplomatic duty to lead these negotiations at the upcoming UN General Assembly and press relentlessly for a humanitarian truce, a permanent ceasefire, robust civilian protection, civic engagement and unhindered aid access.”
“I recognise that the Minister and her colleagues in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office must navigate delicate regional dynamics, but the Government must not shy away from forcefully challenging the covert actions of some of our Gulf allies in Sudan, both publicly and in private diplomacy.”
“We saw the horrific realities of the crisis just two weeks ago with the totally unacceptable attack on a World Food Programme convoy in Kordofan. Civilian personnel were injured and lifesaving aid was destroyed.”
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“I welcome the amendments, even though I do not propose to support them. I welcome them because they allow me to tell the Minister that it is perfectly possible to support devolution and the evolution of devolution without supporting every measure that is proposed. During the course of today's proceedings, we have heard ridiculous attempts to rubbish the commitment of my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) to devolution, not only in Wales but in Scotland. The Opposition understand that what we have now is asymmetric devolution, which means that not every provision of the Scotland Act will be replicated for Wales. I do not share the views of the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Öpik) on the way in which energy provisions are working in Scotland.”
“The hon. Gentleman is expressing his political views in respect of the nuclear industry, but in Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom where nuclear power stations exist, many communities would welcome a new development. It is a misuse of constitutional powers to block UK Government policy in that regard. Earlier, the Minister dealt with the powers relating to the police force and the England and Wales jurisdiction. From my brief experience of Wales questions, it is clear that many colleagues favour closer links between police forces in the north of Wales particularly and in parts of England. Measures that restrict such a possibility should be resisted. We shall therefore oppose the amendments.”
“It is much better to have rigour within the legislation and to make it clear that such mistakes would not be tolerated by the process. I would therefore like to hear an explanation from the Minister of why the provision is necessary, and in what circumstances he envisages its being used.”
“I beg to move amendment No. 168, in page 51, line 21, leave out subsection (4). With any legislation, it is important that any suggestion that measures can be carried out retrospectively should at least be put to the test, and that we be given an explanation of why such measures are needed. Retrospective legislation is always to be avoided. The example given in the explanatory notes to show why the provision is needed is: "where there has been a legal challenge to the validity of an Assembly Measure based on doubt as to whether its provisions relate to a relevant matter, an Order in Council may restore legal certainty about the Measure by amending a matter to remove any ambiguity." That form of explanation leads us to the view that such uncertainties and ambiguities might arise.”
“On the understanding that the Minister regards that as a serious and sincerely made point, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“I do not doubt the Minister's sincerity, but his responses to the queries raised by other hon. Members have made it clear that he cannot give us the assurances that he has been asked for. As the explanatory notes make clear, the nature of the clause is such that it offers the opportunity simply to reaffirm things that have already been done. That is unsatisfactory. I therefore ask the Minister to reflect on the clause and the genuine concerns that have been expressed by hon. Members from a number of parties. I shall not press the amendment to a Division, but I ask him to understand the seriousness with which we regard the clause and its potential, particularly in changed political circumstances, to cause severe difficulty and to undermine the devolution settlement in Wales.”
“May I begin in the new way by agreeing with the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr. Donohoe)? On fuel prices, does the Secretary of State agree with the conclusion of the report by the Select Committee on Trade and Industry on gas supplies that the Government are not doing enough for businesses and the vulnerable? Given the severer climate in Scotland, what is he going to do about that?”
“Given the likely impact on fuel prices, jobs and the wider Scottish economy of the Chancellor's £2 billion smash-and-grab raid on the oil industry, did the Chancellor consult the Secretary of State on his proposals, and if not, why not?”
“In light of the interesting question asked by the hon. Member for East Lothian (Anne Moffat), can the Secretary of State explain to the House what the Government would do if a politically motivated Green, Liberal Democrat or, worse still, Scottish National party-influenced Executive blocked the building of a nuclear power station in Scotland?”
“I want to mention a specific point about the regulations that apply to Postwatch, and in my case to Postwatch Scotland, which arose when I was taking up an individual case. The residents in the upper Tweed part of my constituency have an ML12 post code, which relates to the post town of Biggar, and although there have been no issues such as those set out by the hon. Gentleman about delivery problems, there have been numerous other problems such as identification with the wrong local authority region, being omitted from telephone directories and the effect on insurance costs. Postwatch is unable to support a referendum among local residents if it does not solely relate to the quality of the postal service. That is a deficiency in the regulations.”
“Those of us who represented the south of Scotland know that Christine Graham, of whom I am a great admirer, is one of the most redoubtable opponents of wind farm policy in the south of Scotland.”
“I condemn Greens for not speaking out against the large-scale wind farm developments that industrialise the countryside. The proposed Clyde wind farm near Abington in my constituency, for example, would have required more quarrying and concrete than the construction of the M74 motorway. I am at a loss as to how that can be regarded as environmentally friendly. Our Green friends believe that the production of those massive turbines is a physical manifestation of their progress in making the Green argument. At least they are consistent, unlike the Scottish National party, which always tells us of its support for Scotland becoming a hub for renewable industry in Europe and the world, but opposes every single wind farm development that comes along. That is simply unsustainable.”
“The plant will provide for the needs of some 70,000 homes and displace the emission of 140,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas annually. I very much welcome such renewable developments. What I do not welcome is the industrialisation of the Scottish countryside by large-scale wind farm developments which, regrettably, are the obsession of the Scottish Executive. Because my constituency borders the M74, which is the line of the national grid, we are inundated with applications. In fact, there are currently applications for 421 turbines, which are each of the scale of Big Ben, within a 15 km radius of the latest proposed development at Limmer Hill in South Lanarkshire. That is simply unacceptable. Fortunately, in this House we do not have the lunacy that we had from the Green politicians in the Scottish Parliament.”
“I have a strong constituency interest in the energy industry. My constituency encompasses most of the issues that are covered in the report. In the northern end are some of the largest open-cast mining developments in Europe, and clean coal technology should not be forgotten in the debate. I am not, as sometimes portrayed, against open-cast mining. I welcome SPP16, the Scottish Executive's new planning policy on open-cast, but those, such as Scottish Coal in my constituency, who operate open-cast mining must pay more attention to the concerns of residents and communities such as Douglas, Glespin and Rigside. The Lockerbie area in my constituency is about to get the largest biomass station in the United Kingdom. E.ON is at present constructing it, and I welcome that station and the power that it will produce.”
“I do not know whether it has something to do with keeping the Liberal Democrats happy, but I do not think that many people in this Chamber would regard it as a priority. Nor do I know whether it is to do with newspaper talk of a possible coalition with the Greens after 2007. However, Mr. McConnell must present a more positive tone in his discussion of the nuclear industry.”
“Fortunately, Scottish Parliament Labour Members such as John Home Robertson and the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Allan Wilson, came on board. Even Liberal Democrats such as Jamie Stone made the case for nuclear power. I am pleased to see the emergence of a Scottish Parliament nuclear group. The dinner held jointly by the Westminster all-party nuclear energy group and the Scottish Parliament group was a positive step forward. One of the main impediments to the nuclear industry in Scotland comes sadly from our First Minister, Mr. Jack McConnell, who only last week in the Scottish Parliament was back to his more negative pronouncements on the nuclear industry.”
“I am not familiar with the individual circumstances of the hon. Gentleman's constituency. We have made it clear that we are not opposed to every wind farm development, but we are absolutely opposed to large-scale wind farm developments. We are dispelling the metropolitan belief that wind farms somehow provide small communities with cheap or free electricity, when in fact their scale overwhelms small communities to no economic benefit. I may feel on my own as the sole Conservative Scottish MP at Westminster, but I felt very much on my own six years ago in the Scottish Parliament, as one of the few proponents of the nuclear industry. In the Scottish Parliament it was an unpopular stance. Then, as now, I believed passionately in the nuclear industry, and I made that case.”
“It is clear that my constituents, reflecting broader public opinion on this issue, would welcome new nuclear development at the Chapelcross site. One of the things that I should like the Minister to take forward from today's debate and convey to the Prime Minister is that although I welcome his review—it is a pity that we are constantly in a cycle of reviews and that some of these decisions were not taken six years ago—I want him to be clear that despite what he may hear from SNP members, who are determined to use this issue as a constitutional bulwark, and despite what he might hear coming out of the Scottish Parliament, many people in Scotland are positive about future nuclear development. If we are to have further nuclear power in the United Kingdom, at least one of those sites should be in Scotland.”
“I agree with my hon. Friend. I have evidence for that in my constituency at the Chapelcross nuclear power station, which has been a centre of expertise, not just for the nuclear industry, but in terms of the amount that it has contributed to the local economy and development in that area. When people ask, "Where will we build the new nuclear power stations?" I have a clear answer, as do my constituents and the Nuklear 21 trade union group. We will build them on existing sites, such as Chapelcross, Torness or Hunterston, where the communities clearly understand the benefits that these stations have brought the community. For example, some £29 million a year over the equivalent of 50 years has been brought to Lower Annandale.”
“However, as the Committee identified in its original report, we face the danger of the lights going out. It would be unacceptable to the public in Scotland and throughout the UK if politicians were still debating this issue as the lights went out.”
“Indeed, the hon. Gentleman is right, and if he had listened carefully to what I said, he would know that it is the tone of Mr. McConnell's approach to the nuclear issue that needs to change. Mr. McConnell needs to make it clear that if the UK Government determine that we will have future-generation nuclear power, such a power station would be welcomed in Scotland. That is what I want to hear Mr. McConnell say. It is a red herring to suggest that we cannot proceed with planning for new nuclear power stations at the same time as the waste committee is meeting and making its deliberation. That is wasting time on these issues. We have a debate, which is welcome. I would welcome a further report by the Scottish Affairs Committee on all the issues that are likely to come up today.”
“Mr. Amess, I am being characterised in all sorts of ways this afternoon, and being given designations that are not necessarily accurate. The reason that no-one is proceeding now with nuclear development is that it clearly does not have general Government support. Indeed, in Scotland it clearly does not have Scottish Executive support, because noises are not being made to support and promote the industry. As I have just said, if Mr. Jack McConnell stands up and says that he would welcome and, indeed, encourage new nuclear development in Scotland—with all the jobs and economic development that such a station would bring to the area in which it was located—then we would see a seminal change regarding the industry.”
“I am seeking to conclude my remarks, to allow others to speak on this important topic, but I will take an intervention from the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (Mr. Brown).”
“I must advise my constituent that it has not been as significant as the failure of the Government, since 1997, to back the industry fully. But I assure the hon. Gentleman, and all my constituents in Annan, that I am in the front line of making the case for the nuclear industry. I hope he will continue to work hard within his own party to persuade the doubters. I also hope that proceeding with new nuclear power across the United Kingdom, including Scotland, will not fall foul of certain members of the Labour Party not being keen on that development. I am sure that we will hear a positive endorsement of the nuclear industry from those Members, which the Minister may take back to the Prime Minister.”
“Can the hon. Gentleman clarify one point? Should the Liberal Democrats be in the Scottish Executive when the UK Government determine to follow a nuclear energy policy, will they accept that legitimate decision given the constitutional settlement?”
“I am sure that my hon. Friends will be pleased to know that I am supportive of the open-cast development at Glenmucklock near Kirkconnel in my constituency. I am, indeed, supportive of the open-cast industry, as the hon. Member for Lanark and Hamilton, East (Mr. Hood) just said. When Labour Ministers in Scottish Parliament considered the SPP16, they were not convinced that the open-cast industry would be massively devastated by its introduction. Is the hon. Gentleman aware of any evidence to suggest that it would be?”
“As I understand it, the debate is about meeting Scotland's energy needs. The hon. Gentleman has spoken for 10 minutes, and it would be quite helpful if he would set out how the SNP would meet Scotland's energy needs. Adam Ingram, a colleague of his who represents the South of Scotland in the Scottish Parliament, is strongly opposed to open-cast mining. His colleagues are also opposed to wind farm developments, and his party is clearly anti-nuclear. No technology has been presented to us that will materialise in the next couple of years and meet Scotland's energy gap—unless the hon. Gentleman is saving that for the 2007 elections.”
“Does the Minister accept that many people, such as Mr. Gary Wall in my constituency, carry out legitimate bird import and breeding activities? When a ban is implemented, I hope that the interests of those people will be taken into account, because—as CITES accepts and the Minister has just suggested—they are carrying out important conservation activities.”
“Is the Leader of the House familiar with the concept of the Sewel motion—the mechanism by which the Scottish Parliament remits its legislative competence on devolved issues to the House? Is he aware that the Parliament recently produced a report on that mechanism? Has he read it, and will he give us a statement as to why, in this area, he is happy to rely on an unwritten constitution on a very important issue, whereas in so many other matters, he wants to regulate?”
“I note the Secretary of State's response, but can he tell me what evidence there is that smoking is less dangerous in England than in Scotland? If there is no such evidence, why should my constituents who operate pubs and clubs across Dumfriesshire bear the commercial downside of this differential smoking policy, when smokers can simply go a few miles down the road to Carlisle for a night out?”
“Does the hon. Gentleman accept that his arguments would have more credibility if the current Minister for Education and Young People, Mr. Peter Peacock, had not stood in the Moray constituency in the highlands and islands? Labour Members who serve on the Scottish Parliament's corporate body and in most senior offices in the Parliament sought to deal with such issues, but they have not done so. Surely the resolution to the list situation is a job description for list Members, which currently does not exist. As a result, list Members are either carrying out a range of matters, which the hon. Gentleman has described, or doing very little indeed.”
“Is the Leader of the House aware that the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution found that relationships between the House and the Scottish Parliament— and, indeed, between the United Kingdom Government and the Scottish Executive—were based purely on good will rather than on any proper and identified procedures? Will he make a statement about that, setting out how the Government intend to deal with the matter?”
“Does the Minister agree that the celebrations of the Union of the Crowns in 2003 were somewhat disappointing and missed out on a lot of the tourist potential that could have arisen in constituencies such as mine? Will he ensure that the Act of Union is properly celebrated and that the politically correct brigade will not get their way and downgrade this important event?”
“Does the hon. Gentleman share my concern for a constituency that is covered by the ITV Border region, which, as I understand it, would be the first to switch over in the region? There is a low level of public awareness about the switchover and about what individuals will have to do to continue to have television reception after it happens.”
“That short message, which concludes the Back-Bench contributions, is one of the most important things that we can take from our debate. People can set themselves free if we give them the opportunity to do so.”
“My speech will only take a minute. I want to pass on a message from Steven Nyuon, who came to speak at the 60th anniversary service for Christian Aid held in Dumfries. Some of the people at the service said that it recognised failure, because Christian Aid was set up in 1945 with many of the same goals for making poverty history that 60 years later have still not been achieved, but Steven, a Sudanese gentleman, gave us hope—the sort of hope that we have heard from others today. He did not say, "Give us money," or "Change the world." He said, "Give us the tools to help us set ourselves free." He gave a simple example: the fishing rods and nets that had been used in his part of Sudan to build businesses and feed people.”
“However, devolution is a process, not an event. The inevitable next steps are to replace the system of nods and winks between the Labour party in Edinburgh and the Labour party in London with protocols and procedures between the Parliaments and Governments that will stand up to scrutiny and that will work when we have Governments of different political persuasions in Edinburgh and in London as we surely will. It is with some sadness that I will be leaving the Scottish Parliament and the many friends and colleagues with whom I have worked there over the past six years. However, I look forward to the new challenges, which are already evident to me as the new Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale.”
“One of the roles that I hope to play in this Parliament is to persuade the Government to make a quick and positive decision on nuclear power so that Chapelcross can play host to a new nuclear power station, which would be most gratefully welcomed by the community and the local work force. As I have said, I am the first serving Member of the Scottish Parliament to be elected to this place. The Scottish Parliament has had a difficult birth and continuing growing pains, and faces many challenges if it is to live up to the expectations of the people who voted for its establishment in 1997. However, we should never forget that it is the settled will of the people of Scotland that the Parliament should exist in its present form, and there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that they have changed their view on that matter.”
“He has much still to give to the Conservative party, Scotland and the House, and I very much welcome his continuing role as chairman of our party in Scotland, carrying out the structural and organisational reforms that our Unionist party needs to adopt to succeed in the future in Scotland and across the United Kingdom. When asked which single issue is of particular importance to my constituency, I often reply that it is energy policy. At the northern end of the constituency are the largest opencast developments in Europe. At the southern end is the Chapelcross power station, which is being decommissioned.”
“Peter's win in Galloway and Upper Nithsdale in 2001 was a remarkable achievement. If its boundaries had been retained, he would have been elected with a greatly increased majority, due in no small part to his diligence as a hard-working constituency Member, speaking out on issues that really mattered to the people in his far-flung constituency. Those issues included the lack of dental services—the registration of dentists being one of the health matters reserved to the House—the future of the King's Own Scottish Borderers and fuel duty. Peter also made an enormous contribution to political debate, both in the House and in Scotland in his role as shadow Secretary of State for Scotland.”
“In fact, because my constituency is newly created, three of the four predecessor Members are still Members of the House. Indeed, I have the pleasure of being the Conservative MP for the hon. Members for Dumfries and Galloway (Mr. Brown) and for Lanark and Hamilton, East (Mr. Hood). The hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Mr. Moore) would have been a constituent but he moved a few weeks ago. I am sure that the two things are not related. Like many Members on the Conservative Benches, I was greatly saddened that my friend Peter Duncan was not successful in his attempt to return to the House. As many Members representing constituencies in England will find, changes proposed by the boundary commission can be harsh to even the most hard-working Members.”
“Biggar has an interesting motto to which all of us from small towns can subscribe: "London's big but Biggar's Biggar". Many people living along the A702 believe that its designation as the main trunk route between the M74 and Edinburgh is unsustainable, and I hope to persuade the Scottish Executive that they must take action on that matter. Biggar and the areas of south Lanarkshire that fall within my constituency have not had the benefit of Conservative representation since the election of 1959 when Patrick Maitland was defeated by Judith Hart. West Linton and Peebleshire have not had the benefit of Conservative representation for 40 years since the death of Colonel Donaldson. However, in accordance with convention, I shall pay tribute to more recent Members rather than those long past.”
“I am also pleased to be playing a part in the A76 corridor action group, lobbying for improvements to Scotland's forgotten trunk road, which will play a vital part in the regeneration of the area. In the east of the constituency lies the community of Langholm, which is steeped in rich border history and the history of the border reivers. Unfortunately, of late we have a new border reiver in the form of the Environment Agency, which has tried to introduce rod licences on the Scottish section of the River Esk—as unwelcome as any cross-border raids of the past. As a Member of the House, it is my intention to try to bring that matter to a resolution. In the north and east, the constituency follows the A702, passing through communities such as Biggar and West Linton.”
“The one thing that I can say about William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Robert Burns is that all those great Scots at least passed through my constituency. The constituency begins at the English border at Gretna, now as famous in Scotland for its football club as for being a location to marry. The constituency stretches along the route of the M74 beyond Coalburn. To the west lie the communities of Thornhill, Kirkconnel, Sanquhar and Upper Nithsdale, which still has unemployment rates well beyond the national average. I am committed to working with our local MSP, local councillors and relevant organisations to increase employment opportunities in the area.”
“I prefer the boundary commission's own explanation that it wanted to bring together those diverse and disparate small towns and areas to create a constituency that would require its Member of Parliament to focus on rural issues. That is certainly the commitment I make to my constituents. The constituency covers about 2,000 square miles and takes in the river valleys of the Annan, the Esk, the Clyde, the Tweed and the Nith. It contains about 100 communities. If I were to follow the example of other Members and list the merits and concerns of those communities I should take up all the time remaining for our debate this evening, so I can only summarise my remarks about a part of Scotland that has great scenic resonance and history.”
“I aspired to the recognition and affection that one of my predecessors, Sir Hector Monro, received from his former constituents. Some 22 years after he ceased to represent the Thornhill area of Dumfriesshire, people still come up to shake his hand. It is my honour and privilege to have been elected as the first Member of Parliament for the newly created constituency of Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, to which I have often referred by the acronym DCT—although people then think that I am talking about some unfortunate medical condition. Some have suggested unkindly that my constituency was created just to bring together the bits that the boundary commission for Scotland had left over after it had created the 58 other constituencies.”
“I am especially pleased to follow the hon. Member for City of Durham (Dr. Blackman-Woods). Although I suspect that we will disagree on many issues in years to come, I agree with her about the beauty and scenic majesty of her constituency, as I pass through it on the train from Edinburgh to London. I was also pleased to hear today the maiden speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Wyre (Mr. Wallace). I also had the pleasure of hearing him make his maiden speech in the Scottish Parliament in 1999. I was also pleased to hear the maiden speech by the hon. Member for Brent, South (Ms Butler), who gave us all considerable encouragement that if we are able to do our job well we will be routinely embraced by our constituents in the street.”