In what is being seen as a significant battle won for Scottish nationalists, clerks at the House of Commons in Westminster agreed to stop using the word "separation" in titles of debates on independence. As a compromise, future debates on the effects of independence would be referred to as "post-2014".
The issue arose after a debate tabled by the Labour MP for Inverclyde Ian McKenszie - "The future of Royal Mail [postal service] in a separate Scotland", had its title altered by clerks to "The future of the Royal Mail in Scotland".
According to The Scotsman, the name was changed after the SNP Perth and North Perthsire MP Pete Wishart formally complained about the inclusion of the words "separate" or "separation".
A spokesperson for the Commons, told The Scotsman that the name was changed because a “separate Scotland is hypothetical”, and therefore fell outside the remit of ministers. Labour ministers who had previously protested against the clerks' decision had reportedly been told that the heading of debates are also neutral and the inclusion of the word "separate" was "leading" and "not impartial".
Labour MP Ian McKenszie said:
“The SNP don’t have the answers to the questions that people across Scotland are asking.
“I wanted to have a debate about what separation would mean for the Royal Mail – a service that people across Scotland rely on and one that employs 12,000 people.
“The SNP didn’t want to have this debate and threw a tantrum about the wording of the question. They wanted to get off the hook and change completely what the debate was about.
“We’re becoming used to this sort of behaviour from the Nationalists. They say they want to have a debate about the future of Scotland, then when they have the opportunity, they try to shut it down.”
“I’ve looked up ‘separate’ in the dictionary and it says ‘acting independently’. “Have they [SNP] decided this isn’t what they want anymore? Since the SNP like quoting Lincoln so much, maybe they’ll accept secession next time.”
SNP MP Pete Wishart said:
“Labour should start to behave like grown-ups and properly re-engage with this crucial debate about Scotland’s future.”"Labour have completely caved in on their silly pejorative language after ‘separating’ themselves from reason with their boycott of their own Royal Mail debate.”
“The House of Commons authorities quite rightly ruled that there are no ‘separate’ nations in the world and that no-one is advocating ‘separation’ for Scotland.
“Why do Labour find it so impossible to give independence its proper name?"
