Meeting of the Parliament 31 January 2024
It was no surprise to me that people in Scotland expect and believe that this Parliament should have responsibility for such matters. The manifesto on which Ash Regan and I stood said that people in Scotland should be provided with the opportunity to have their say on the future of this country, and the UK Government should respect that.
I am also committed to—this, too, derives from the manifesto on which Ash Regan and I stood—continuing to provide the people of Scotland with the information that they need to make an informed decision. Thus far, we have published nine “Building a New Scotland” papers, which cover a range of subject matters. We will continue to take that work forward. Indeed, just yesterday, we debated the paper on the European Union, and Tory, Labour and Liberal Democrat members voted against the simple proposition that Scotland would be best served by being part of the EU. That is further evidence of why Scotland would be best served by being an independent country.