LABOUR SUPPORT FOR REFERENDUM ON SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE

That this House welcomes the remarks of the leader of the Labour Group of MSPs, Ms Wendy Alexander, that Labour `will not vote down the opportunity for Scotland to speak' in a referendum on Scottish independence on the BBC Scotland Politics Show on 11th May, which confirms the statement of the Chairman of the Labour Group of MSPs, Mr Duncan McNeil, that `we are now in a position where, as a group, we will not vote down any Referendum Bill that comes into the Parliament' reported by the Scottish Press Association on 6th May; further welcomes this confirmation that an independence referendum is a matter for the Scottish Parliament to decide; believes that these clear statements mean that Labour MSPs cannot oppose the Scottish Government's proposed independence referendum bill in 2010; and invites Labour hon. Members to endorse the position of Ms Alexander and her colleagues in the Scottish Parliament.