Commons Sense

House of Commons · General Debate

Scottish Affairs Committee

21 February 2023 · 2 other contributors

Opened by David Linden Lab Gorbals

Scotland

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

David Linden raised concerns about scottish affairs committee in the House of Commons. Other MPs contributed to the debate.

Key points

  • The British Labour party has been unable to fulfil its obligations to provide a member for the Scottish Affairs Select Committee.
  • Labour has only one member present on the committee despite having 196 MPs in the House of Commons.
  • A seat on the committee was given to the Liberal Democrats instead.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

David Linden Lab Gorbals

The motion is about the British Labour party's inability to fulfil its obligations to this House, particularly regarding their presence on the Scottish Affairs Select Committee. With 196 MPs in the House of Commons, Labour has been unable to provide more than one member for the committee and instead gave a seat to the Liberal Democrats.

Other contributors (2)
  • Thangam Debbonaire Lab Bristol West

    The right of political parties to nominate Members for Select Committees is based on the composition of the House, and Labour has nominated two members for the Scottish Affairs Committee: Andrew Western from Stretford and Urmston, and Christine Jardine from Edinburgh West. The SNP's criticism is unwarranted as they have previously given a place to an SNP member.

  • David Linden Lab Gorbals

    On a point of order, David Linden confirmed that the debate was forced into a division to allow Labour and Conservative Members to go into the same Lobby together.

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