Graham Simpson
Reform UK · Scotland
“We have a deluge of speculative applications for AI data centres across the country. We have heard already that the area that I represent, North Lanarkshire, is designated an AI growth zone.”
“[Made a request to intervene.] Murdo Fraser: Perhaps Mr Simpson has an explanation for that. Graham Simpson: I have personally congratulated Douglas Lumsden for winning that by-election. However, the only reason for the by-election was that I managed to get double jobbing banned.”
“If anything additional is needed—such as regulatory changes—as a result of this emerging technology, we need to be alive to that as well. I have been in post for three weeks in this area, but I want to ensure that this is taken forward. There is a great deal of interest in the issue across rural portfolios.”
“I move, That the Parliament recognises the importance of affordable bus services connecting people to employment, education and essential services; welcomes the success of the free bus schemes available to 2.4 million people, including all those aged under 22, over 60 and disabled people; believes that more can be done to make it easier a…”
“I want fare capping to succeed, as it has down south and as have similar schemes when tried elsewhere in Europe and indeed in these isles. The evidence is there already. In London, bus and tram travel is capped at £5.25 a day and £24.70 a week.”
“At the end, if franchising gets that far, there is the added hoop of having to get the whole scheme approved by an independent, unelected panel that is convened by the traffic commissioner for Scotland, who is a United Kingdom Government appointee. After years of effort, the whole thing could fall at that point, which is wrong.”
The complete record
Every one of 357 lines we hold for Graham Simpson, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 8.
“I congratulate Katy Clark on getting the bill to this stage, but I have to say that I feel for her after what she must have thought was quite a negative report from the committee, which arrived at the conclusion that the Government should legislate in this area. As I said earlier in an intervention, the Government had the opportunity, as it does with all members’ bills, to take on this bill; it chose not to. The member proceeded because the Government did not. That is perhaps not surprising, because we have a Government that is addicted to secrecy, so it has chosen not to legislate in an area that could herald a new era of transparency. The committee convener thanked Katy Clark for her valuable contribution.”
“The bill would also enable the Parliament’s committee system to act when the Scottish Government fails to do so. For example, that would mean that, if the Scottish Government failed to introduce proposals to extend freedom of information law to the whole care sector or, indeed, parts of it, or even one or two organisations, a committee could make proposals on that. I look forward to hearing members’ contributions. I will address some of the other issues that are connected with the bill, such as that of costs, in my closing speech. I move, That the Parliament agrees to the general principles of the Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill. 14:33”
“The bill includes provisions that were recommended by the Public Audit and Post- legislative Scrutiny Committee in the previous session of Parliament on a legal duty for proactive publication. That is in line with best international practice, was recommended by all four people who have held the post of Information Commissioner and is in accordance with codes of practice that are provided by the Information Commissioner. The bill includes a new offence of destroying records with the intent to prevent disclosure before a freedom of information request is made. That provision mirrors existing offences that relate to the period after a freedom of information request has been made. That power is needed and is supported by the Information Commissioner, but it has a high test of criminal intent and would be used only in extreme cases.”
“Does Katy Clark agree that the Government could have taken on the bill, as it could with any member’s bill? It chose not to, which shows that it has no appetite for this. Katy Clark: I fully agree with that. The committee backed bringing companies that are jointly owned by the Scottish Government and other bodies into the scope of freedom of information law and recognised that the First Minister’s veto power is unnecessary. Of course, the First Minister has refused to rule out using the veto in relation to various current court cases. The committee recognised the benefit of other provisions in the bill, such as those on statutory freedom of information officers and greater enforcement powers for the Information Commissioner.”
“However, in another context, a couple of years ago, we decided to make it a condition of any enterprise grant that employers must pay at least the real living wage. Many workers across the country are now able to live above the poverty line as a result of that change. We need to start making such fair work conditions mandatory criteria for the many contracts, grants and other ways in which the Government sends money out the door every year. We also need to recognise that, much as we would like to have the resources that are directly needed to hit our objectives on child poverty, the climate or anything else, realistically we do not have that resource available to us. The money that we are spending, however, could be used to far better value if we were to set conditions of the kind that I mentioned. 16:41”
“Alongside the budget, we secured a separate agreement with the Government on the conditions attached to college funding, which need to be explored in a much wider context. Scotland’s public finances are under huge pressure. If we want to hit our climate targets or our child poverty reduction targets, we require far higher levels of spending than are currently available to us—unless we change how we spend that money. We have set new conditions for colleges and universities on eliminating the use of inappropriate zero-hours contracts and tackling the gender pay gap. Huge amounts of public money go out the door to the private sector and large institutions such as colleges and universities every year, much of it with no conditions attached at all.”
“I point out that the most recent substantive study in the BMJ showed that, as of 2022, Conservative austerity at UK level had led to more than 330,000 excess deaths. If the Conservatives want to take ownership of possible cuts to the social security system, they need to acknowledge what the consequences of those decisions would be. The Greens went into the negotiations with more money for colleges at the top of our list of priorities, and I am glad that we were able to secure that. I recognise that it was also a priority of Lib Dem colleagues. The opportunity to study at college can be life changing for people. Colleges are essential to local economies and to our wider society. Miles Briggs: Will the member take an intervention? Ross Greer: I am afraid that I do not have time, Mr Briggs.”
“With the council tax surcharges on second and empty homes, as well as the increase in the additional dwelling supplement, we have raised hundreds of millions of pounds for public services, and that has resulted in there being thousands fewer second and holiday homes and, indeed, empty properties across the country. Thousands more homes have become available for people to live in. The progressive changes that we have made are helping to tackle the housing crisis. I want to take a moment to defend Scotland’s social security system—a system that means that Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty is falling rather than rising. Craig Hoy and his Conservative colleagues are calling on us to cut that system.”
“We are now touching on having £2 billion of additional revenue for our public services, such as our health service, as a result of the progressive income tax changes that we have made over the past decade—changes proposed by the Greens and accepted by SNP colleagues. We are a wealthy country, but that wealth is held incredibly unequally. Recent Scottish Government statistics show that the top 2 per cent have more wealth than half of the population, or 2.5 million people, combined. However, we are making some progress on fair redistribution of that wealth, and it is not limited to income tax measures. On council tax, I absolutely associate myself with John Mason’s remarks. However, the limited progress that we have made there has had an impact.”
“[Interruption.] In fact, if the member would like to own the racist comments made by his party colleague, he is more than welcome to intervene. Graham Simpson: Ross Greer ought to reflect on his insulting comments. Anyone who knows me knows that I am easy to deal with and I do not fit the description that Ross Greer has just given. He should apologise. Ross Greer: If the member has joined a racist party, he needs to own the decision he has made. He might be embarrassed about it, but he is unwilling to distance himself from it. Scotland has been on a journey on tax over the past 10 years.”
“I do not think that the budget does anything for hard-pressed people, and it does not help businesses. I will not support it. The Deputy Presiding Officer: We move to the closing speeches. 16:36 Ross Greer: I start by saying to Graham Simpson that, if he wants the Government or anybody else in this Parliament to speak to him, perhaps he should not have joined a party whose former Welsh leader turned out to be a Kremlin puppet and whose current star by-election candidate suggested that people born in the UK but with minority ethnic backgrounds are not necessarily British. Maybe he should take some responsibility for that. I want to talk about tax— Graham Simpson: Will the member give way? Ross Greer: No. Time is far too short.”
“I would have asked about business rates and pointed out that the budget does little for the hospitality sector, which is still on its knees. We have heard from Stephen Montgomery of the Scottish Hospitality Group that “The inflation-busting rises faced by licensed hospitality in Scotland are simply unaffordable and unacceptable.” I would also have asked what council taxes we might expect, because every year, under the SNP Government, local government has screamed that it does not get enough, and every year it has been right. This year, some councils are predicting that council tax could go up by as much as 8 per cent. John Swinney says that that is unacceptable, but he stayed silent on a similar rise in water charges by SNP-run Scottish Water. We are going to see council taxes soar and councils being trimmed to the bone.”
“I was not called to ask a question when the finance secretary gave her budget statement on 13 January. That was a pity, because it would have been the first time that she and I had engaged on the matter—or, indeed, on any matter. I did not have the opportunity to dance with Shona Robison, although it is never too late. What was not a surprise was that the Lib Dems would support the budget. That was never in doubt. What we have seen is a pre-election charade—and we will probably see a post-election one—from the Lib Dems. Had I been called, I would have asked about college funding. I would have pointed out that colleges have been underfunded for years and that the increase that was announced in the budget is just a case of playing catch-up and might not prevent colleges or campuses from closing.”
“I discourage you from embracing the Argyle Street ash, for its own safety. I now give the right of reply to Mercedes Villalba, who has around three minutes. 18:23”
“We joined hands and we hugged the ash tree. [Laughter.] We did—we hugged the ash tree. The sad part of that story is that the ash tree has subsequently died of ash dieback. However, there are better examples. The Argyle Street ash in Glasgow is currently the UK tree of the year. I went to see it last week, because it is in the running to be European tree of the year. I encourage everyone to vote for the Argyle Street ash. Although I am up against the time, I need to mention my other species: the magnificent bilberry bumblebee, which is hard to find but well worth the effort. I found more than one during an arduous trek up Ben Lawers with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in July 2021. The scheme is great, and I encourage new members and returning members to get involved. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Thank you, Mr Simpson.”
“I have asked about the cut in funding for the Future Trees Trust breeding programme for Scottish provenance ash; councils’ ash dieback recovery plans; the link between increases in plant imports and the rise of tree diseases such as ash dieback; and the ash dieback risk group. Ash is under threat, but there are some healthy ash trees out there. To be honest, my experience of ash trees has been a bit mixed. In August 2023, a group of species champions went on a trip to Scotland’s rainforest, by Loch Lomond. We took a boat over to the rainforest, and we walked through it. Somebody pointed up a bank to a big ash tree— the biggest ash tree that I have ever seen. As a man who likes to get his boots muddy, I was determined to go up and hug that ash tree, which I did with Monica Lennon and Mark Ruskell.”
“I also thank John Mason for bringing this debate to the chamber. It is always the best debate of the year because so many people want to take part. I have really enjoyed listening to other members and am delighted that I will be followed by Mercedes Villalba, who is going to tell us all about what she has done for Scotland’s road verges. I cannot wait. In the previous session of the Parliament, I was a species champion for the holly tree. It was decided—probably rightly—that I did not do enough for the holly tree, so I was ditched from it. This session, I champion the ash tree. I was determined to do better for the ash tree than I did for the holly, so I have asked a number of questions about ash trees—six in the past year.”
“If the cabinet secretary had seen evidence that every part of the hospital was safe, he would not need to seek the additional reassurance that he talks about. What is that evidence, and where is it? Neil Gray: I am clear that the hospital is safe. I am clear about that from the evidence that has been before me and from the information that has been led through the public inquiry and the additional inspection that I asked Healthcare Improvement Scotland to conduct. However, I recognise that there is a need for wider public confidence and for Parliament’s confidence in the safety of the hospital, and that is why I am respecting the will of Parliament in relation to the passage of the motion last week by seeking to provide additional oversight and assurance by establishing the oversight group.”
“Today, the Parliament has an opportunity to reduce harm, challenge misogyny and stand with survivors. Colleagues should reject the Government’s flawed logic and back the general principles of the bill. The Deputy Presiding Officer: I call Rachael Hamilton. You have one minute, please. 17:30”
“If the Government agrees with the intent behind the bill, it should be supporting it now, because we are voting only on the general principles, and those principles are sound. The legislation seeks to confront exploitation, reduce harm and deliver long-overdue protection for some of the most vulnerable people in society. It recognises a simple truth: that prostitution is not a harmless transaction but a system of commercial sexual exploitation that is driven overwhelmingly by male demand. It is not “work”, as Maggie Chapman would have us believe. By criminalising the purchase of sex, while removing penalties from those who sell it, the bill would shift responsibility to where it belongs: on to the men who—mainly—fuel the trade, not the women who are so often coerced, marginalised or trapped by their circumstances.”
“I am most grateful, Deputy Presiding Officer. The Government’s stance today is both bizarre and incoherent. At the start of the debate, the minister seemed to suggest that the Government actually agrees with the aims of the bill. She said that men should not be able to buy sex. However, the Government is arguing that there is not enough time to get the details right. That is irrelevant—the Government says that it will legislate anyway if it is back in Government, but it will not help the member in charge. That is a new and worrying tactic that is being employed to thwart members with sensible ideas. It is clear to me that the Government is acting in that way because it does not want Ash Regan to have any success, because she had the temerity to leave the SNP. That is not how to do legislation.”
“To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances it expects to be able to return Ferguson Marine to the private sector. (S6O- 05356)”
“The committee also considers that the period of exclusion would not be detrimental to the Parliament’s opportunity to consider the general principles of a member’s bill of which Ash Regan is the member in charge. Members may wish to note that the recommended sanction does not entail withdrawal of the member’s right of access to the parliamentary complex or to any parliamentary services or facilities, which includes the right to lodge both motions and questions over that period. With that, I will move the motion in my name.”
“In so far as section 9.1 of the code of conduct imposes a restriction on members’ conduct, it goes no further than is necessary for that purpose, and it would not prevent a member from expressing their opinion in relation to matters of public debate or indeed other elected representatives. The committee concluded that, in this instance, the breach was sufficiently serious to merit the recommendation of a sanction and, on the basis of the facts and circumstances of this case, it determined that the most appropriate sanction available to it was exclusion from meetings of the Parliament and its committees for two sitting days, those days being a Wednesday and a Thursday. The committee considers that period of exclusion to be proportionate, in that the recommendation of any sanction is an extremely serious matter.”
“Can the convener tell us whether Ash Regan ended up making a complaint? Martin Whitfield: I am unable to answer that question, because no complaint has come via the independent commissioner to my committee that I am aware of. However, section 9.1 is very specific, in that it is about not only the act of making a complaint, but the intention to do so. We see the reason for that if we go back to a previous parliamentary session and an earlier iteration of the committee that I have the pleasure to convene. It wrote: “The Committee condemns, in particular, any breaches which risk causing reputational damage to another member in advance of a proper investigation.” That is why the code of conduct makes reference to intending to make a complaint, because damage could be done without any complaint being taken forward.”
“Gillian Martin: Graham Simpson will just have to wait for the budget to see what else there is. The Deputy Presiding Officer: That concludes the item of business. Before we move to the next item, there will be a brief pause to allow front- bench teams to change. British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 Inquiry”
“In order to deliver all those welcome new jobs, the local college, Forth Valley College, needs to be in a secure financial position, but it is facing the prospect of having to close a campus. I want to see a budget settlement that ensures that no colleges close and no campuses close. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me? Gillian Martin: I was in Forth Valley College this morning, at the Grangemouth future industry board, and the principal was there, making the point that, in order to put as many people as possible through the skills uplift and training—as is required by the two announcements that we have made today, which will require specialised skills— there needs to be support from the Scottish Government. We have given support as a result of the skills intervention. Graham Simpson: What about Alloa?”
“However, unlike the Conservatives, who expressed regret about an ideological opposition to oil and gas, we expressed regret about the Conservative Party’s ideological opposition to credible climate policy. There would be immense opportunities for Scotland in relation to long-term jobs, energy security, the economy and environmental improvements if the Scottish and UK Governments pursued what we described in our amendment as an informed, worker-led and evidence-based just transition to a sustainable economy. We agree that the Scottish Government should finally publish its energy strategy and just transition plan, but it must include the continued presumption against new oil and gas exploration and production.”
“Globally, the oil and gas industry invests nothing more than marginal amounts in renewables and other transition technologies. Across the chamber, members have been trading quotes from the fossil fuel industry and its representative body as though they all believe that the Parliament is elected to represent them and their shareholders. As they express a shared anger at the lack of a just transition, all the other political parties are pointing fingers at each other, instead of looking at who the truly bad actors in this scenario are— those who have extracted vast profits from fossil fuels and who have zero interest in investing in the transition. The Green amendment, which was not selected for debate, also expressed regret.”
“At times, I have felt as though I am the only atheist in the room as holy war breaks out and religious schisms emerge. There has been so much performative disagreement between all the other parties when in fact they agree on so much. They all want to expand fossil fuel extraction; they just have different degrees of enthusiasm about how much they are willing to advocate for it. They are all slowing down and backtracking on climate policy and they all seem to share the common delusion, expressed by many members across the chamber, that the fossil fuel industry is investing in the just transition. Nothing could be further from the truth. The oil and gas industry is failing to invest in the solutions that will enable the transition. Three quarters of North Sea companies plan to invest solely in oil and gas production between now and 2030.”
“The SNP is currently demanding that Ed Miliband vastly increases the subsidies that are on offer to renewables. That is because, as the Tory motion rightly says, the SNP has an “ideological drive” to end production in the North Sea. It is a case of, “It’s Scotland’s oil, as long as you don’t touch it.” What renewables advocates do not tell us is that, since the subsidies are recovered through electricity bills, increasing subsidies means higher electricity bills for everyone, at a time when households are already feeling the pinch. So, well within my two minutes, I say that, despite the hypocrisy of the Tory motion, I will support it and reject the amendments. The Deputy Presiding Officer: We move to closing speeches. 15:43 Patrick Harvie: What a curious debate we have had.”
“What a disgrace the budget was. What a disgrace it was that Rachel Reeves did not listen to calls to scrap the energy profits levy. It appears that she liked what the Conservatives started and she is doubling down on it. Thousands of jobs are being lost in the North Sea thanks to the measure that was brought in under the Tories and made worse under Labour. Rachel Reeves should be ashamed of herself. She might have sounded the death knell for the oil and gas industry in Scotland, but the SNP cannot get off the hook, because its anti-oil and gas rhetoric has had an impact. The workers of Grangemouth, Mossmorran and elsewhere know who they have been let down by. The cost of living is among the top concerns of voters across the UK, but we would not know it from the utterances of ministers in Holyrood.”
“Households and businesses are already struggling with high energy bills, and offshore wind projects come with enormous costs. What assessment has the Scottish Government made of the impact on consumers of replacing affordable oil and gas with expensive and heavily subsidised offshore wind? Gillian Martin: Offshore wind may be subsidised at the moment, but it has the potential to be the greatest opportunity for energy security that the UK as a whole will ever have. It is strange to talk about subsidy without mentioning nuclear power, which is the most heavily subsidised form of energy in the whole of the UK. I will leave that there.”
“That will all be considered along with the potential modes for Clyde metro, including bus rapid transit, tram, tram-train and metro, which also relates to the question that Paul Sweeney asked. Climate Change Impacts (Nature-based Solutions) 3.”
“I agree with the cabinet secretary that the Clyde metro could be transformational, but we need to see more detail. She mentions that there could be some kind of update by 2027. Will that provide more detail on what routes there might be and the kind of transport that would be on them? Fiona Hyslop: The case for change, which strengthens the rationale for Clyde metro, will be set out with a vision and objectives. The development of potential network options to address problems and opportunities will also be identified in the case for change, as well as the emerging shortlist of network options, which is what Graham Simpson is asking for. Those will be taken forward for further development.”
“The Presiding Officer would then begin the recall petition process. That would be a four-week process for the electorate to indicate whether they consider that the member should be subject to recall. For a constituency member, if a threshold of 10 per cent of the electorate in that constituency signing the petition were met, the member would be removed from office. They would have the option of running in the resulting by-election to seek to regain their seat. For regional MSPs, my original proposal—the one in the bill that is before us—was to have a recall petition process across the region, which would require 10 per cent of the region’s electorate to sign a recall petition. In addition, at least three constituencies within that region would have to reach the 10 per cent threshold.”
“My bill would improve democratic accountability by ensuring that MSPs can be removed more easily if our conduct falls short of what our constituents could reasonably expect. The first part of my bill would introduce a recall system for the Scottish Parliament, drawing on the Recall of MPs Act 2015, but adapting those provisions to ensure that they work with our distinct electoral system. The bill sets out that any member will be subject to a recall petition if one of two trigger conditions is met. The first trigger is if the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee recommends to Parliament a sanction of 14 days or 10 sitting days, and Parliament resolves to sanction the member for that period. The second trigger is if the member is sentenced to prison for a period of up to six months.”
“I also thank the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee for its report, which I will come on to. I also thank the former Minister for Parliamentary Business, Jamie Hepburn, who is sitting in the chamber, for his positive engagement on the bill. If the Parliament does not get the bill over the line in this session, Scotland will be left as the only part of the United Kingdom without a recall system. That would represent a failure of Parliament that I do not want to see. We must collectively rise to the challenge. The Welsh are now edging ahead of us, having taken evidence from me as they thought about how they might tackle the issue. Last week, their Government introduced a bill that includes a recall process for all members of their Parliament.”
“It has taken a long time to reach today’s stage 1 debate on the Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill. I first suggested that we should do something in this area in the previous session of Parliament, following a number of conversations with my then party leader, Ruth Davidson. I got things formally moving on the bill at the start of this session, the end of which we are perilously near. The bill was introduced in December 2024 and has been at stage 1 for 11 months. It should not take this long for a member’s bill to be dealt with. In the past, we have seen bills fall due to lack of time. I can now, at last, say that I am grateful to the non-Government bills unit for its work on the bill so far. We still have a lot of work to do in a very short space of time.”
“The regulations on MPs and membership of the House of Lords set a short period of time after which those roles should end. The regulations on councillors set a slightly longer period of time. The reason for that is that we do not want a whole a raft of by-elections after a Scottish Parliament election, given that, in every Scottish Parliament election, a number of people who are elected as MSPs are also councillors. I think that the regulations are extremely sensible.”
“I want to speak briefly to three of the motions on SSIs that are before the chamber today. The regulations that are referred to in motions S6M-19444, S6M-19446 and S6M-19447 were laid as a result of amendments that I lodged, working with the Government, on ending the practice whereby members of the Scottish Parliament can also be members of Parliament, peers or councillors. There was unanimous backing for my amendments, and I worked very closely with the Government on them. That is what led to the laying of the regulations that are before us today. My position is that being an MSP is a full-time job, and we should not be juggling that with being an MP or being in the House of Lords—or, indeed, after a period of time, being a councillor.”
“If the bill needs to be refined—and Douglas Ross accepts that it needs refining—we do that at stage 2, even if it needs massive change. That is what the process is for. Recovery should be not a privilege but a right. If we can make housing and education legal rights, we can make recovery a legal right. I say to the members who are being instructed to vote no today that they should show some backbone, give people a fighting chance and support the bill at stage 1. Do the right thing. The Deputy Presiding Officer: We move to the closing speeches. Maggie Chapman will close on behalf of the Scottish Greens. 16:19”
“There is evidence that the Thistle centre has already saved lives and is continuing to do so. Rather than castigating those people who are working valiantly at the front line of the drug deaths crisis, we need interventions such as the Thistle to be rolled out right across Scotland. Graham Simpson: I have not seen any evidence that it is helping people to recover, and surely that is what we need to be doing. Eighty per cent of consultation respondents backed the bill, but the committee chose to hear mainly from those who oppose it, and they are the very institutions whose policies have failed. Here is the question: are we going to stand with failing systems or with the people who still believe that recovery is possible?”
“We have already heard mention of the Thistle drug consumption facility, and the question was raised whether anyone has actually recovered through going to that facility. I think that the answer is no, but I will tell you what we have nearby. I saw shocking scenes on social media— Alex Cole-Hamilton: Will the member give way? Graham Simpson: Allow me to finish this. I saw on social media shocking scenes near that facility just the other day, with needles scattered everywhere and a tree with needles stuck in it. We will call it the needle tree. It is a monument to despair and death, and that is shocking. I will take the intervention. Alex Cole-Hamilton: I am grateful to the member for giving way, but he will be aware that we were not pioneers in opening the Thistle centre. It is built on international evidence.”
“Drugs deaths are Scotland’s shame and today could be a day of shame for the Parliament if we vote the bill down at this point, because it is about something that the public believe should exist. If someone asks for help with addiction, they should get it, but right now that is not how our system works. That is why we have the worst drug deaths record in Europe. We have around 500 rehab beds in Scotland, but only 140 are funded and accessible. The rest belong to charities or private providers, and they are shared with people who are seeking help for alcohol. Meanwhile, 28,600 people are on long- term methadone or buprenorphine, so that is one publicly funded rehab bed for every 200 people on methadone, never mind people with an alcohol addiction or an addiction to other non-opiate drugs.”
“That bizarre and naive view says much about Scotland’s harm reduction lobby. Does the member accept that it is the dominance of that lobby and its ideology that is influencing and directing the SNP’s shameful vote today? Graham Simpson: I do not know whether that is true, but I take the point. The member might be on to something, because it is strange that the SNP is set to vote against the bill. All that we are voting for today are the general principles. It is the same as with any bill. If a bill needs to be changed, that is what stages 2 and 3 are for. Before I get into the meat of my speech, I want to say how powerful Annie Wells’s speech was. It was probably the best speech that I have heard from Annie Wells among a number of very powerful speeches that she has given. That was her best.”
“Many thanks indeed. I will not take six minutes, because I normally get two minutes these days, but I will take interventions—including from Mr Findlay, if he wishes to make one, because I was not able to take one from him yesterday. I thank Douglas Ross for bringing the bill to this point. A lot of work goes into bringing a member’s bill to stage 1. Douglas has worked with the very impressive Annemarie Ward, who is at the back of the chamber. We should congratulate her, too. Russell Findlay: Will Graham Simpson take an intervention? Graham Simpson: I would be delighted to. Russell Findlay: The boss of an anti-drugs charity once told me that a recent anti-drugs campaign run by the Scottish Government was a very negative vibe and that we should use more positive images of drug taking.”
“We should have been talking about how we build more houses and solve the problems in our communities. By peddling tropes and mistruths, the Conservatives are merely fuelling prejudices. Rhoda Grant was absolutely right: this debate has ultimately been about the Conservatives trying to position themselves to the right of Reform, and that is pretty deplorable. 15:49”
“That would leave us as the only country to do so apart from Belarus—there are folk from Belarus here today—and Russia. Does Mr Johnson think—as I do—that it would be wrong to leave the ECHR? Daniel Johnson: I will reflect on that point. What happened to the party of Churchill, who made the speech in 1948 in which he called for a charter of human rights? What happened to the party that signed up to the ECHR? Indeed, what happened to the party of Harold Macmillan, who believed that we solve problems by building houses? The most unfortunate thing about this whole debate is that there are things that we need to talk about in relation to migration and solving the housing emergency in Scotland. However, by conflating those issues, the Conservatives have let the SNP off the hook.”
“Ultimately, the debate has gone to a very worrying place by conflating the housing emergency in Scotland with illegal migration. That is not helpful. It is not helpful for discussions about migration and it is not helpful for discussions about the housing emergency. Above all else, Mr Findlay said that he wants a straightforward and commonsense debate. If he wants that, why did the Conservatives introduce a debate on social justice? If they were so confident talking about migration, why did they not introduce a debate on migration itself? The email that came round from business managers said that this would be a debate on social justice. That speaks volumes. Kevin Stewart: Mr Johnson is making good points. One thing that has hardly been touched on is that the Tories wish to leave the ECHR.”