Labour Policy On Devolution

EDM number 555 in 1995-96, proposed by Alex Salmond on 01/03/1996.

That this House notes the comments made at the launch of the agenda for the Scottish Labour Conference by the Scottish Labour Party's General Secretary Mr Jack McConnell on 27th February that a two year timescale to establish a Scottish Assembly is unduly 'pessimistic'; recalls his earlier statement in the Daily Mail on 3rd January 1996 that 'within a year of Labour being elected to power there will be a Scottish parliament.'; further notes the statement by Labour's Scottish spokesperson, the honourable Member for Hamilton at the Scottish Local Government Information Unit Conference on 16th February that the whole process would take a full two and a half years, a year for the legislation and a further 18 months to hold elections and set the assembly up; is concerned at the contradictory pronouncements of Labour politicians on the timescale for establishing a Scottish Assembly; and calls on the Labour leadership to stop sending confused signals to the Scottish electorate and to clarify their position on what is supposed to be their 'flagship policy' in Scotland.

This motion has been signed by a total of 4 MPs.