THE SNP have blocked a motion seeking to agree the membership of a select committee after accusing the UK Government of hijacking it with Conservative MPs.
Patrick Grady said MPs from his party share "concern and disappointment" about the proposed appointment of the Scottish Affairs Committee, and urged Downing Street to "think again" about its composition.
The SNP MP added that the proposed membership "defies democracy" and accused the Tory government of "rewarding the failure of the Conservative Party in Scotland".
"Since 2015 the membership of the Scottish Affairs Committee like its counterparts for Wales and Northern Ireland has been drawn entirely from members representing constituents in that relevant nation and it has consistently over the years reflected broadly the outcome of the General Election and political balance in Scotland – but that is not the case with the composition being proposed this evening," Grady told MPs.
He added: "Tonight we are being asked to approve two Labour members, one Liberal Democrat members, three Scottish National Party members, again, including the chair, and five Conservative members.
"Five Conservative members on a committee for a party that only has six members in the country that the committee is interested in.
"An increase in the number of places from four to five despite the fact that the Conservatives lost more than half their members of Parliament in December's election.
"It will be the largest number of seats held by a single party on this committee since the 2010 parliament and the largest number of seats that a governing party has had since the 2005 parliament.
"This seems an awful lot like rewarding the failure of the Conservative Party in Scotland at the last election."
READ MORE: Anger over Tory plan for Scottish Affairs Committee seats
Grady added that the UK Government should "think again" and "think very seriously about the message they are sending here to voters in Scotland" with the proposed membership of the Scottish Affairs Committee.
"How does this committee make up reflect the precious union and the respect agenda? Where is the partnership of equals?" he asked.
"The Government really does have to consider what it is doing tonight," Grady said.
As the motion ran out of time to be voted on, it will have to be tabled again by Conservative MP Bill Wiggin on behalf of the Committee of Selection.
The motion will have to be passed before the Scottish Affairs Committee can be formed.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel