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Energy Bill

I thank those who joined in on this short discussion. It is extremely reassuring to know that the present Government in Westminster have drafted the Bill in that way not because that is how they want it but because they feel that they cannot do otherwise. I was a little depressed by what the noble Lord, Lord O’Neill, said. He knows a thing or two. I listened to him with great care. He spoke about nuclear power in Scotland as if it applied just to Scotland. Everyone in Scotland wants the Scottish economy to grow; I doubt that anybody does not want to export energy—I am sure that the noble Lord does. To say that because we have two nuclear power stations we may not want to replace them is pretty bland. I rather hoped that we might have a number of nuclear power stations in Scotland, for which we are eminently well placed. I hope that the noble Lord does not really feel that Scotland has to be singled out in this way. I was grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Palmer, for what he said. I am a little discouraged: I hoped that it might be possible to make the change. It may still be possible, but I have not done the sums about how a vote would go. I just hope that the Liberal Democrats may recover from their surprising point of view, because it is very anti-Scotland. Scotland cannot survive in this way. I am grateful to the Minister for what he said. Clause 42 agreed to. Clause 43 [Approval of a programme]: