8 December 1976
The Shadow Cabinet after its regular Wednesday meeting today, issued the following statement.
‘The position of the Shadow Cabinet of the Conservative Party remains the same as that stated at Perth in May to the Scottish Conservative Party Conference when Mrs Margaret Thatcher gave the following two pledges:
We will, therefore, as Willie Whitelaw made clear, oppose any Bill based on their (the Government’s) White Paper or which goes further than their White Paper.
At the same time, it remains our policy, which this Conference supported yesterday, that there should be a directly elected Scottish Assembly.
The Government’s Bill does not depart materially from the White Paper. Therefore, we shall carry out the first pledge by voting against it. We do so because we oppose the method of devolution proposed in it. Our belief in the principle of devolution and the need for a directly elected [end p2] Assembly for Scotland, as expressed in our second pledge, remains unaltered. .”
Margaret Thatcher