Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party). It was answered on Tuesday, 24 January 2006 on behalf of the Scotland Office.

Devolution

Question: Can the new Advocate-General rule on which Minister is responsible for responding to the ridiculous proposal from Labour and Liberal councillors on the Forth Estuary Transport Authority to increase the tolls to a massive £4? The Secretary of State for Scotland says that he is against it, but the First Minister merely wants to delay it until after the by-election. Who will respond with regard to the £4 imposition proposed by the Labour and Liberal parties? Will the new Advocate-General also—

Answer: It seems to be true that the nationalists and Liberals are fighting each other for second place in the by-election. Given that it is now clear that the existing Forth bridge will not last as long as people thought, that it would be ridiculous if Fife were left without a bridge, and that most reasonable people think that there ought to be a bridge between Fife and the central belt, it is interesting that the Greens are the only party that says that it is against it, and the Scottish National party wants to go into coalition with the Greens. Therefore, if one votes SNP or Green, one is voting for there not to be a replacement bridge.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 441 c1292-3
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Bridges Devolution Scotland Tolls Forth Estuary Transportation Authority Advocate General for Scotland
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk