THE SNP have launched a blistering attack on Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg after he suggested having MPs sit in a devolved nation’s parliamentary building for two weeks out of every year.
As part of a strategy to save the Union, Rees-Mogg said that Westminster MPs should sit for a fortnight in either Holyrood, Stormont, or the Senedd, with the building changing annually.
The top Tory reportedly said the idea would serve to bring government closer to the people.
Under Rees-Mogg’s proposals, the MPs would sit in the devolved nations’ capitals in September of each year, after the summer recess but before the break for party conferences.
However, as Green MSP Ross Greer pointed out, Holyrood sits in September.
Other logistical issues include the size of each assembly. The Commons has 650 MPs, Holyrood has 129 MSPs, Stormont has 90 MLAs, and the Senedd has 60 MSs.
As such, Wales’s parliamentary chamber would need to be more than ten times its current size in order to accommodate every MP.
READ MORE: Revealed: How the UK Government is preparing to stop an independence referendum
Rees-Mogg has reportedly put the idea to the Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, who was not sold.
The SNP’s longest serving MP, Pete Wishart, said the idea showed that the Tories’ arrogance “literally knows no bounds”.
Wishart, who has Rees-Mogg’s position as Leader of the House of Commons in the SNP’s shadow cabinet, went on: "Not content with taking away powers and funding from the Scottish Parliament, Rees-Mogg and the Westminster Tories are now setting their sights on taking over the building itself - even though MSPs will be sitting.
"The idea is not only utterly laughable but it demonstrates just how out of touch the Tories are – their arrogance when it comes to Scotland literally knows no bounds.
“It's clear that the only way to properly protect our Parliament and powers is to become an independent country.”
Commenting on the idea on Twitter, Greer said: “By Holyrood I can only assume he means the Palace, which they're welcome to. We are in session every September.”
The idea is just one of the many proposals for preserving the Union which the Tories are taking into active consideration.
When Michael Gove and Alister Jack want to talk through ideas to prevent Scottish independence, they do so over a cigarette “literally by the bike sheds”, a source told the Telegraph.
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