We received a petition asking:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to require that any Minister of the Crown, or member of the Westminster Union Parliament, who has signed the Scottish Claim of Right be asked to renounce their pledge which requires that in all their actions and deliberations the interests of the Scottish people shall be paramount.”
Details of Petition:
“The Scottish Constitutional Convention held its inaugural meeting on 30 March, 1989 in Edinburgh. It adopted a declaration, which was signed by all its members. This was a “Claim of Right”, which stated: “We, gathered as the Scottish Constitutional Convention, do hereby acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of Government best suited to their needs, and do hereby declare and pledge that in all our actions and deliberations their interests shall be paramount. We further declare and pledge that our actions and deliberations shall be directed to the following ends: To agree a scheme for an Assembly or Parliament for Scotland; To mobilise Scottish opinion and ensure the approval of the Scottish people for that scheme; and To assert the right of the Scottish people to secure the implementation of that scheme.” The petitioner finds it very difficult to understand how a Minister of the Crown, or any member of the Westminster Parliament, is able to reconcile their obedience to the Claim of Right with their duties and responsibility to act impartially in the interests of all the citizens of the UK.”
· Read the petition
· Petitions homepage
Read the Government’s response
You refer to the declaration and oath given at the end of the inaugural meeting of the Scottish Constitutional Convention in 1989. The Scottish Constitutional Convention was an association of Scottish political parties, churches and other civic groups that developed a framework for Scottish devolution. The Claim of Right, signed by members of the Convention, stated that Scotland was constitutionally entitled to determine the best framework of government to suit its people, and advocated that Scotland should have its own legislative body within the framework of the United Kingdom.
The Government continues to support the devolution settlement in Scotland. We believe devolution is the right form of governance for the United Kingdom; it delivers for all the people of the United Kingdom, providing the right balance of responsibility, accountability and representation.
Ministers’ obligations are set out in the Ministerial Code. They must also comply with the requirements which Parliament itself has laid down in relation to the accountability and responsibility of Ministers. Members of both Houses take a statutory oath of allegiance, with Members of the House of Commons subject to a Code of Conduct setting out obligations to respect the public interest, including “a general duty to act in the interests of the nation as a whole; and a special duty to their constituents”. There is no question of any participant in the Scottish Constitutional Convention, whether or not they are now a member of the Government, having a conflict of interest.
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