Brown denies referendum reality again
Speaking after the Prime Minister today denied again the reality of an independence referendum in Scotland, SNP Westminster leader, Angus Robertson MP, said Gordon Brown needed a referendum reality check.
Mr Robertson said:
"Prime Minister’s Question Time is starting to look like Gordon’s Groundhog Day. Gordon Brown clearly needs a referendum reality check.
"While Wendy Alexander’s position changes more quickly than traffic lights, at least the Prime Minister’s approach of denying everything is consistent.
"Clearly, while Wendy Alexander has shown an embarrassing inability to control events, Gordon Brown has shown an abject failure to follow them.
"Despite Gordon Brown’s denials, the one thing that is clear is Labour's concession of the right of the Scottish Parliament to consult the people on independence for Scotland, and the entire Labour Group at Holyrood insisted that they would not stand in the way of a referendum bill
"The SNP will deliver our manifesto pledge to bring forward a Bill for an independence referendum in 2010. If Labour have now dumped their commitment not to stand in the way of a referendum, then they will pay a heavy price at the next election for denying the people the right to choose their own future."
Note:
A transcript of the Prime Minister’s exchange with David Cameron is detailed below:
David Cameron: Another day, another complete failure to be straight with people. Let’s try another one. Last week, the Prime Minister claimed that Wendy Alexander wasn’t calling for an early referendum on Scottish independence. Will he now admit that she was calling for an early referendum and that on this issues they simply don’t agree; can he take this one chance to be straight with people?
Gordon Brown: Mr Speaker, I wrote to him last week immediately after Question Time to point out when he challenged me that there is no plan for legislation for a referendum in Scotland. There is no plan in Westminster otherwise we would have heard it and there is no plan to put legislation through the Scottish Parliament now or in the immediate future. Now, I thought the Conservative Party would want to join together with the Labour Party in supporting the Union. I thought they’d want to support the integrity of the United Kingdom against the Nationalist Party. But all we have is petty points scoring when what we actually want is defence of the Union. It’s about time the leader of the Conservative Party did it.
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