Mr Douglas Alexander
MP for Lothian East · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“I am glad to see that SNP Members are staying classy, as usual. On the matter of personnel choices, I am not sure that my first go-to source would be the First Minister, because of course he appointed Peter Murrell to be the chief executive of the Scottish National party. [ Interruption.”
“The SNP seems to respect every vote, apart from the constitutional referendum, in which 84% of the Scottish people exercised their democratic choice. The hon. Member she says that devolution is all the rage. With respect, some of us were early adopters.”
“I am not sure whether paying generous tribute to the right hon. Gentleman for his question and the wisdom thereof will impair my prospects. Of course, devolution provides us with the tools, but one of the great tragedies of the last two decades in Scotland is that, regardless of whether it is the education system—where we used to be the e…”
“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who is a tireless advocate for the people of Fife and, indeed, for its outstanding college. Our officials are in discussions with both the colleges sector and the Scottish Government, and hope that they will match the £10 million of funding that this Government have committed so that we can get on with bui…”
“There is a serious point to start the answer, which is that I have always believed that to be pro-Scottish, you do not need to be anti-English. We should be bigger and more generous than that. We are all immensely proud of Steve Clarke, Andy Robertson and the achievement of getting to the world cup.”
“Let me assure my hon. Friend that we are committed to bringing economic opportunity to every part of Scotland. Unlocking the economic potential of sites exactly like the ExxonMobil Bowling terminal is how we can achieve that for communities and deliver the high-skilled jobs that people want.”
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“The intensification of fighting near the capital Tripoli has led to calls for an urgent and immediate ceasefire and the Libyan Cabinet submitted its resignation en masse to Parliament, which is today taking refuge in a ferry in the city of Tobruk after being forced out by the Tripoli militias. The UK Government issued a joint statement on 25 August saying that outside interference in Libya would exacerbate divisions and undermine Libya’s democratic transition, but given the deteriorating security situation, I am sure the Foreign Secretary would agree that if the opportunity for real political reconciliation is to be seized, the UK, along with our allies France, Germany, Italy and the United States, have a responsibility and role to play.”
“I wish to make some progress, because I am conscious that many hon. Members want to speak. As I said, the north African region was the birthplace of the Arab uprising, and across the region countries are still struggling to address the consequences. Of course, although some might face similar problems, each north African state is different and distinctive. In Tunisia, the Government and the people continue to work towards a political settlement that can move the country forward. High unemployment and sporadic violent clashes on the streets continue, but the prospect for long-term political reconciliation remains strong, and the international community must unite around supporting elections to take place later this year. The situation in Libya stands in marked contrast to the story of Tunisian progress.”
“I hope I have got the gist of my hon. Friend’s point about the lifting of the blockade. Of course we want that, but in reality it will happen only with the agreement of the Israelis, who are ensuring that the blockade is in place at the moment. That therefore requires it to be part of a process, leading to the kind of meaningful negotiations of which I have spoken. After a previous conflict, one reason why I travelled to Gaza and Israel was to urge the lifting of the blockade, which at the time was affecting humanitarian supplies—not just access for humanitarian workers, but the most basic essentials of life in Gaza. Similarly, we need a dynamic process whereby we can get the blockade lifted and return to a greater degree of normality in Gaza, while at the same time have the kind of meaning negotiations of which I have been speaking.”