Anas Sarwar
Scottish Labour · Scotland
“Before I begin, I join others in condemning the appalling anti-Muslim attack in Edinburgh. No Scot should live in fear and every Scot should live in safety. Our thoughts are with those who were injured and with the wider Muslim community. I put on record my thanks to all the emergency services that responded so quickly and effectively.”
“It says that the “sector faces significant challenges”, that the Government “lacks a clear plan”, that reforms have “not been adequately resourced” and that there is a risk that it “will not achieve the intended outcomes.” In 2022, Audit Scotland concluded that the Scottish National Party Government had “not provided the necessary leaders…”
“Seven months after a national review into maternity services was committed to, Professor Christine McCourt has finally been appointed as its chair. Although that is welcome, more urgency is needed. Earlier this month, Healthcare Improvement Scotland published its report into the Queen Elizabeth university hospital.”
“I put on the record my thanks, and the thanks of the Scottish Labour Party, for the work done by Dorothy Bain KC as Lord Advocate over the past five years. Dorothy Bain is a highly regarded professional who has given dedicated service to her country and her profession, and we thank her for that service.”
“The law must serve the public; it must not serve the convenience of institutions, the comfort of ministers or the interests of those who are already in positions of power.”
“Ruth Charteris is someone whom I like, respect and hold in high regard, as I do her predecessor, and I have no doubt that she will do the job to the best of her ability and to the standard that the people in this country expect.”
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“George served diligently, including as Deputy Presiding Officer and later as Presiding Officer, but his time in this Parliament was only one tiny part of a remarkable career. George’s remarkable life took him far from his Clackmannanshire home to places around the world, from America to Armenia, always in the service of others. After graduating from the University of St Andrews, George embarked on a career in journalism, in the course of which he worked for the BBC and Granada Television, as well as many of Scotland’s flagship newspapers. Given that he was a person of strong political convictions, it was not long before George made the move into front- line politics. George was a committed Scottish nationalist.”
“On behalf of the Scottish Labour Party, I want to associate all my colleagues with the First Minister’s comments and put on record our deep sorrow at the passing of Sir George Reid, who was a public servant of remarkable skill, intelligence and commitment. George Reid led a life that was dedicated to serving the people of our country and committed to making Scotland a better place. Many MSPs will have warm memories of George’s time in this Parliament. Although that will be especially true of Scottish National Party members, that will not be exclusively the case. I know from lots of stories from those who served alongside Sir George how respected he was across every party in the Parliament.”
“I welcome this week’s news about the furlough scheme at the Alexander Dennis bus manufacturing sites in Falkirk and Larbert. That will provide welcome respite for the workforce, and Governments continue to work to secure a future for ADL at those sites. However, what guarantees has the Scottish Government secured that, if contracts come, Alexander Dennis will keep those sites open and maintain the jobs that are currently in Scotland? The Government has now reopened phase 2 of the Scottish zero-emission bus challenge fund with public money, but what guarantees can the First Minister give that that will lead to Scotland’s buses being built in Scotland?”
“The Scottish National Party has a soft-touch approach to crime in our country. Since the last election, shoplifting is up 124 per cent. Shop staff are going to work fearing for their safety, and communities are being undermined by criminals who feel that they can get away with it. Will John Swinney and his SNP Government apologise for effectively legalising shoplifting in Scotland?”
“This summer, I travelled to every part of our country and, in every community, the people I met had one clear priority: fixing our national health service. However, this morning, John Swinney showed that fixing the NHS will never be his priority. Instead, he is trying to use independence to hide from his failures and is desperately trying to cling on to power, but it is not going to work. Over this summer, we have seen NHS waiting lists soar to include almost 900,000 Scots. More than 100,000 Scots have been waiting more than a year to be seen on the NHS, there are record levels of people paying for their own procedures due to this Government’s failures, and Scotland still has the highest rate of drug deaths in Europe. Do Scots not deserve a First Minister whose number 1 priority will be fixing our NHS?”
“I want us to act with as much solidarity and agreement as we can, because only by the collective endeavours of us all can we possibly apply pressure on the Israeli Government and Prime Minister Netanyahu to reverse this disastrous course and protect the people of Gaza. They have suffered unbearably, and it must come to an end.”
“I agree with his description of Hamas as a terrorist organisation that is not interested in peace, and I agree with his call for there to be an international focus on the use of international institutions to deliver peace, freedom and security in the middle east. The steps taken by the United Kingdom Government have been welcome. I have set out in my statement where I believe they should go further but, where they have come, they are welcome. We are actively engaged with the UK Government on the transport of some children from Gaza to the UK, and Scotland will play a part in providing healthcare to support those children and their families. We are having constructive discussions about the ability to support students from Gaza to come to Scotland and the UK as a consequence of the arrangements that are being put in place.”
“Does the First Minister agree with the actions taken by the UK Labour Government to remove the block on the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice; to remove the block on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East— UNRWA—and restore its funding; to introduce project pure hope to evacuate injured Gazan children and treat them here in the UK; and to sanction Israeli ministers who have incited settler violence? This has gone on too long. The world has failed. The illegal occupation and genocide must end now. The First Minister: I very much welcome the comments made by Mr Sarwar. I agree with his characterisation of the situation in Gaza.”
“Let me also be clear that Hamas is a terrorist organisation that committed brutal atrocities on 7 October 2023, and it, too, has no interest in peace. The people of Palestine and Israel deserve to live in peace, freedom and security. Diplomacy, international engagement and building partnerships to work towards peace matter. That is why I welcome the significant decision by the UK Government that we will recognise a Palestinian state before the UN General Assembly this month—a move made alongside allied nations such as France, Australia, Canada and Belgium.”
“The situation in Gaza is beyond intolerable: the deliberate starvation of children, the killing of innocent civilians trying to access aid and the collective punishment of a population with tens of thousands being killed and schools, hospitals and lives being destroyed. We need the bloodshed to stop right now. There must be an immediate ceasefire, the free flow of humanitarian assistance, the release of hostages so that they are back with their families where they belong, and a pathway to a two-state solution with lasting peace. I am clear that Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal and is clearly breaching international law. He is more interested in staying in power and out of jail than in peace, and he must be held to account and face justice for his actions.”
“That is the new direction that Scotland needs—new thinking, new ideas and new leadership, not the same old arguments from the same old knackered SNP. I move amendment S6M-18671.2, to leave out from “welcomes” to end and insert: “notes that the Scottish National Party (SNP) administration has overseen the development of a housing emergency, allowed NHS waiting lists to soar, leading to a two-tier system with those who can afford to pay going private, been forced to scrap its legal climate change targets due to its own inaction, wasted billions of pounds of public money through incompetence and bureaucracy, and stood by while school standards declined; recognises that SNP incompetence means that people in Scotland are not feeling the benefits of the £5.2 billion in additional funding delivered by the UK Labour administration, which is working to restore public services and kickstart economic growth, and believes that Scotland is a country that is full of potential but that it is being failed by the SNP administration, and that, at the election in 2026, people in Scotland can choose a new administration that shares their ambitions and works to deliver the services that they deserve.” 15:42”
“Ask the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse who helped to beat the SNP. Ask the people in Barrhead who helped to beat the SNP. I promise that, in Scotland next year, they will help us to beat the SNP all over again, because, after nearly two decades, Scotland is crying out for a new direction. People want a Government that will fix public services and get the basics right. They want a Government that shares their ambitions for Scotland’s future. We will tackle the housing crisis by actually building the homes; we will get our businesses growing by backing entrepreneurship; we will stop the antisocial behaviour in our schools by banning mobile phones, supporting teachers and supporting our communities; and we will fix our NHS by taking on the bureaucrats, empowering doctors and pulling out all the stops to clear the backlogs.”
“That is why he wants to make the election about independence— not because he believes that he can achieve it, nor because he thinks that the SNP can win a majority, but because he thinks that it is the only way that he can keep enough people together to sneak over the line and cling on to power. It is cynical, it is desperate and it is John Swinney all over, but I do not believe that it will work, because Scots are canny and can see right through it. [Interruption.] John Swinney shouts about focus groups, but the focus groups say, “You guys are out and getting beat,” because whether Scots voted yes or no, people have had enough. They want a Government that gets back to basics—that fixes the NHS, schools and transport—and they know that the SNP is failing on every measure. John Swinney wants to talk about focus groups.”
“We all know that John Swinney has only one priority in the next eight months—to somehow try to cling on to power—and he is going to use the independence card to keep his knackered, failing Government in power. He is not interested in improving people’s lives today, fixing services tomorrow or making Scotland a better place any time soon; he is just desperately talking about independence—but why is he doing it? John Swinney is many things, but he is not daft. He has been in this game a very long time and he knows that he cannot stand in the election on his record, because Scots have had enough.”
“A generation of young Scots feel totally frozen out of the housing market, with home ownership an unattainable dream. Again, the responsibility for that lies with John Swinney and this SNP Government. Just this morning, the human cost of SNP failure was demonstrated again. There have been 1,017 deaths from drug abuse in the past year and 6,000 such deaths since the drugs crisis was declared. The rate of drug deaths is still three times higher in Scotland than in the rest of the UK and is the highest rate in Europe. Every single one of those deaths is avoidable—precious lives lost needlessly because of the scourge of drugs. Again, some of that relates to this Government cutting the number of rehab beds, cutting our hard-pressed police and so much more. Again, the responsibility lies with John Swinney and this SNP Government.”
“The poverty-related attainment gap stubbornly persists, teacher numbers have been decimated across Scotland, and teachers, pupils and parents are fearing for their safety as discipline breaks down in schools across Scotland—and again this Government turns a blind eye. John Swinney mentioned tackling child poverty, but we all know that we cannot properly tackle poverty unless we address the structural issues, one of which is the need to ensure that people have safe and secure homes to live in. Under the SNP, for too many Scots, that is not the case. We are in the midst of a housing emergency. Record numbers of homeless children are being left to spend their nights in hotels and bed and breakfasts, and house building completions are at a record low.”
“Does Anas Sarwar support his UK Government colleagues’ reducing the number of health and care visas being approved by 77 per cent over the past year? How does he think that that and threatening the deportation of social care workers in Scotland will help health and social care services in Scotland? Anas Sarwar: There we go again—the same old playbook: blame somebody else. The harsh fact is that 40 per cent of the hip and knee replacements that happen in our country happen in the private sector because of this SNP Government’s incompetence. Our schools are also feeling the strain after two decades of the SNP.”
“A and E waits remain dangerously long, and former routine services such as dentistry and hip and knee replacements are slowly being privatised due to the failure of the SNP to provide the level of services that people need. The health secretary is saying, from a sedentary position,“No, they’re not.” However, every single week, Scottish families are forced to empty their savings or remortgage their homes to pay for medical treatment, and the responsibility for that lies with John Swinney and the SNP Government. Neil Gray: Will Anas Sarwar give way? Anas Sarwar: If the health secretary wants to stand up and apologise, he is free to do so. Neil Gray: As I pointed out to Jackie Baillie earlier, the rate of private operations in the health service is 54 per cent lower in Scotland than in the NHS in England.”
“Our figures are the result of the actions that this Parliament and this Government have taken to keep children out of poverty. Why cannot Mr Sarwar see the value of that impact on the lives of children in Scotland? Why is he prepared to support a Labour Government that is pushing child poverty in the opposite direction to the one that it should be going in? Anas Sarwar: I welcome the Scottish child payment, which we have continually supported. However, this Government is failing to challenge structural poverty, which I will come on to in a moment. Let us take our public services. On John Swinney’s watch, our public services are in utter disarray. Almost 900,000 Scots are on NHS waiting lists and more than 100,000 Scots are waiting more than a year for treatment. The number of cancer deaths is rising.”
“The guy has been in the Government for almost 20 years and, over all that time, throughout his entire career, he has pleaded powerlessness over his inability to improve Scotland. His answer to every hard question remains the same: he blames somebody else or talks about independence. But while he continues to beat that drum, the people of Scotland are paying the price of his and his Government’s inaction. This Government’s inaction is clear for all to see, across all of John Swinney’s stated, claimed priorities. The First Minister: In my speech, I quoted the statistic that if Scotland had the same level of child poverty as the rest of the United Kingdom, 90,000 more children would be living in poverty in Scotland today.”
“I welcome all members back to the chamber for the new session. It may be a new session, but, for this knackered SNP Government, it is the same old script and the same old tired voices. No matter how much John Swinney shouts about hope and delivery, the truth is that he is hopeless at delivery—and Scotland can see it. As much as he tries to reheat and rehash the same old playbook, the difference now is that Scots can see right through him. John Swinney talks of his priorities for Scotland, but, in his own motion, he claims that the only way that he can deliver on those priorities is—surprise, surprise— through independence. I want to give John Swinney credit, however. He is a politician of rare consistency.”
“Presiding Officer, I join others in thanking you for your service and wishing you all the best for whatever comes next, although I fully expect that, over the next 10 months, you will continue to hold us to behaving with proper decorum in the Parliament and to tell us off from time to time. Just this week, we have seen that house building has fallen to its lowest level since 2012; rates of sexual violence and domestic abuse are rising; delayed discharge is at a record high; almost one in three Scots is forced to go private to get healthcare; and cancer waiting times are the worst on record. Has the guy who claimed to be steadying the ship become the captain of the Titanic?”
“Last week, John Swinney claimed that he became aware of the issues that Alexander Dennis is facing a few weeks ago and that he was doing what he could to help the company, but that is not true. Almost a year ago, John Swinney received a letter, directly from the company, that set out how his decision to buy buses from China instead of Scotland was putting the company and jobs at risk. He did nothing for the skilled workforce. Last week, as usual, John Swinney tried to find someone else to blame for his own failure by talking about United Kingdom procurement laws. Those laws did not stop the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, buying Scottish buses, but, somehow, they stop the Scottish National Party Government doing so. Since that warning almost a year ago, how many buses has the SNP Government ordered from Scottish companies?”
“The First Minister: Listen, Mr Sarwar can conjure up all the stuff that he wants—he can go through his press cuttings and practise them in the mirror in the morning to see how they sound—but I will be focused on delivering answers and solutions for workers who face difficulty in the country. While Mr Sarwar postures, I will deliver for the workers of Scotland. Universal Free School Meals (Expansion) 3.”
“John Swinney and the SNP are out of ideas, out of steam and out of time. Failing to support Scottish manufacturing jobs is only one example. After 18 years in charge, there are falling education standards; rising violent crime; a deepening national health service crisis; more lives lost to drug deaths; and billions of pounds of money wasted. Every day, Scots pay the price for SNP incompetence and are expected to be thankful for it, so it is no wonder that, as shown in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scots are seeing through the spin and are voting for a new direction. However, it is not only the public who are doing that. One SNP MSP said of John Swinney that “There is no energy, no fire, no boldness, no long-term vision.” They are right, are they not?”
“Indeed, in a joint letter to the company, the secretary of state and the Deputy First Minister say: “Our governments continue to work closely together on a range of shared issues to support domestic industries in Scotland, and we are keen to work closely with Alexander Dennis at this challenging time.” That is us indicating that we will do everything that we can to find a way through the 2022 act provisions so that the Government can continue to both operate within the law—as we must do—and support manufacturing in Scotland, which is my priority. Anas Sarwar: If John Swinney cannot figure out a way to order buses in Scotland, I suggest that he picks up the phone to call Andy Burnham and see how he managed to do it, because there are almost five times as many bus orders from Manchester as from Scotland.”
“In his comments the other day—this is material to the answer that I just gave Mr Sarwar—Paul Davies, the president and managing director of Alexander Dennis, said this about bus orders: “The stark reality is that current UK policy does not allow for the incentivisation or reward of local content, job retention and creation, nor does it encourage any domestic economic benefit.” That is the implication of the 2022 act. What I and the Deputy First Minister are doing—this is what is commanding my attention and my focus—is considering how we can find a way in which we can remain legally compliant with the 2022 act and overcome these obstacles. In that endeavour, we are engaging very closely with the United Kingdom Government. I welcome the fact that we have engaged with the UK Government.”
“The First Minister: The Alexander Dennis workforce will not be surprised that what I am doing is focusing on the situation that it faces. Let me tell Mr Sarwar what the Government has done—what it has done over many years—to support Alexander Dennis. We have provided £58 million of funding for zero-emission buses since 2020, through the Scottish ultra-low emission bus scheme. Scottish Enterprise has also supported Alexander Dennis with £30.3 million in research and development support as a contribution to its research and development activity. That has been part of the partnership between the Scottish Government and Alexander Dennis.”
“All that the SNP Government wants to do is to manufacture grievance and all that it offers is waste and incompetence. It has the powers and the money, but, as always, it wants to blame someone else. That is weak, failing leadership from John Swinney. Even his own MSPs are now openly rebelling against him, with senior figures saying that he has two weeks—[Interruption.] They groan in private; let them groan in public now. Senior figures say that he has two weeks to come up with a new idea—[Interruption.] The Presiding Officer: Let us hear one another. Anas Sarwar: —to save his job. If he has not come up with a good idea to improve Scotland in 18 years, what chance does he have of coming up with something now?”
“Having said all that, I want to make it clear to the Alexander Dennis workforce and to the Parliament that the Government is engaging very closely and firmly to see what we can do to help with the situation and to avoid any of the negative implications that yesterday’s announcement suggested might occur. Anas Sarwar: That was a rather weak response from the First Minister. If the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, can find a way under the existing legislation to procure more buses than Scotland has, why can the SNP Government not procure more buses? It is another example of weak leadership from John Swinney. When Scotland needs buses, the SNP Government buys from China; when Scotland needs steel for bridges, it buys from China; and when we need ferries, it buys from Poland and Turkey.”
“Over a series of years, we have supported Alexander Dennis in the development of its facilities in Larbert and Falkirk, and we have assisted it in its research and development activity. Since 2020, through the Scottish zero emission bus challenge fund and its predecessor the Scottish ultra-low emission bus scheme, Alexander Dennis has secured more zero- emission bus orders than any other single manufacturer. Under the existing arrangements, to the extent that is permissible, Alexander Dennis has secured more zero-emission bus orders than anybody else. Most bus orders are procured by private organisations in Scotland that are run by commercial operators in a deregulated market. Any decisions that the Government takes must be consistent with the United Kingdom Subsidy Control Act 2022, which is a material issue in this matter.”
“The First Minister: Before I address Mr Sarwar’s question, I would like to take the opportunity—as it is the first opportunity that I have had since the Parliament reconvened this week—to welcome Davy Russell to the Parliament as the member of the Scottish Parliament for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, and to wish him well. On the important question about Alexander Dennis that Mr Sarwar put to me, I am deeply concerned about the situation. The issue has been occupying a great deal of my, the Deputy First Minister’s and United Kingdom Government ministers’ focus and attention since we became aware of the situation that has been developing over the past few weeks and which ultimately has led to the decision that was announced yesterday. The Scottish Government has engaged with the company.”
“Members will be deeply concerned about the planned job losses at Alexander Dennis in Larbert. Our thoughts are with the workforce. Alexander Dennis is an industry leader in bus manufacturing, and that news was not inevitable— it is another result of Scottish National Party failure. Under the SNP, the Scottish Government is procuring more buses from China than it is from Scotland. The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has bought almost four times as many buses from Alexander Dennis as the SNP Government has. That is shameful. Why does the SNP always put foreign businesses and manufacturers before Scotland’s workers?”
“Having your baby in neonatal intensive care is a terrifying experience for any parent. Families whose babies are being cared for by doctors and nurses at the Wishaw neonatal unit know that their child is being treated close to home in one of the best neonatal departments in the country. That unit treats many of the sickest babies every year, and it has allowed new parents in Lanarkshire to stay close to their families and support networks during some of the most difficult and emotional times of their lives. The Wishaw neonatal unit has won awards for the standard of care that it delivers, and even people in this chamber have relied on it in their time of need, so why does the Scottish National Party want to downgrade that life-saving unit?”
“Another week and another set of damning statistics demonstrate the Scottish National Party’s mismanagement of our NHS. There are now 860,925 people on an NHS waiting list, which is one in six Scots. Of those people, 105,953 have been waiting for more than a year, and more than 13,000 Scots have been waiting for more than two years, which is the highest number ever recorded. There is a human cost to that. Just one example is Tracey Meechan, who has waited more than 100 weeks to be treated for an ovarian cyst. She is living in pain, has constant anxiety, is desperate to work but cannot and is unable to do as much with her children as she wants. Why are hundreds of thousands of Scottish patients such as Tracey paying the price for SNP failure?”
“Like millions across Scotland, I was devastated to hear of the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Kayden Moy over the weekend. Kayden was a beloved son from East Kilbride whose young life, which was full of promise, was stolen in an instant. Tragically, his is not the first such death, and many parents fear that, due to a culture of violence that is going unchallenged, it will not be the last. Just one day before Kayden’s death, another young man was stabbed, this time at Portobello. The statistics are damning. The number of young people being caught with knives is rising, with a 15 per cent increase among 11 to 15-year- olds in only five years. Many parents are rightly worried. They fear that their children are not safe and are asking how this Government has allowed the situation to get so out of control.”
“Island communities need ferries. I think that the First Minister is missing that point. The MV Glen Rosa ferry, which was due more than half a decade ago, has been delayed by another nine months, with costs rising by up to £35 million. With the Glen Sannox, which was launched almost seven years late, the cost of the two ships is now more than £460 million. That is nearly five times the original contract price. The fact that the new vessels do not fit at the preferred port of Ardrossan makes the matter even worse. In the same week, it has been revealed that cancellations due to repairs on the ageing CalMac fleet have risen by a staggering 531 per cent. So much for steadying the ship. Why is John Swinney unable to get a grip on this crisis?”
“On this day, we remember them, we thank them and we pledge to carry their values forward. We think not just of those who lost their lives in that war but of those who are losing their lives in wars today. We resolve to deliver a fairer, more peaceful and more just world. 15:53”
“The national health service, stronger pensions, new towns, slum clearances and new rights for workers were all delivered in the spirit of victory that people had worked so hard to deliver. Across the world, the need for a new order was clear. The United Nations was established to promote peace across the world and to uphold the ideal that nations can resolve their issues through dialogue instead of violence. That was the lasting message of VE day—the demand for peace, justice and solidarity across the globe. That is why, today, on the 80th anniversary of VE day, we must all recommit to those ideals. No matter what walk of life people come from, their faith, their nationality or their vision for the broader world, we all have a shared aspiration for peace, dignity and freedom across the globe.”
“In all our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. Everyone, man or woman, has done their best.” He was right. The workers in the shipyards, the women of the land army, the soldiers on the front line, the air raid precautions wardens, Home Guard volunteers and doctors and nurses—the people of the United Kingdom in their collective will and our allies, all united behind the just cause of victory—had proven triumphant. As that victory was celebrated, the hope for a new and fairer future for our country was born. The comradeship, self-sacrifice and unity of the war years had shown the world the potential that the people of the United Kingdom held. At home, the construction of a new social and political order—one fit for our heroes—began in earnest. Coming out of the war, we developed a proper welfare state.”
“As the victory was celebrated in the streets of Scotland and the UK, details slowly began to emerge from liberated concentration camps on the continent. The world learned the truth about the greatest crime ever perpetrated in human history: the systematic attempt to eradicate the Jewish people. Six million people were dead, and many more disabled people, LGBT people, trade unionists and minorities were killed by the apparatus of the Nazi state. The clock had struck midnight in the story of human history, but, through collective will and the united endeavour of people across the world, that evil had finally been defeated. As people across the country celebrated that final victory, the Prime Minister addressed the nation. He said: “God bless you all. This is your victory! ...”
“I will never truly know how many of my family members were lost or how many made contributions. That is the case, I imagine, for communities right across the globe. However, thousands of young men from different faiths travelled halfway around the world to answer Britain’s call in its hour of need. We might not know their names or where they came from, but they, too, must never be forgotten. That is why I am proud to join campaigners in calling for a permanent memorial to the soldiers of the British Indian Army in Glasgow, the city that so many of those soldiers’ descendants now call home, because the great victory over fascism is their victory, too. Six years of total war had left our country and the entire continent of Europe on the brink of the abyss.”
“The struggle against tyranny was global. Some 15 million allied personnel from Europe, North and South America, Australasia, Asia and Africa gave their lives. I want to remember all those from across the globe who stood against fascism, including members of my family who served in the British Indian Army and who fought on the front lines to protect our liberty. I hear tales about the British Indian Army only from my sole remaining grandmother, who talks often about her cousins who fought in that war and, tragically, lost their lives. Similar to the First Minister’s reflections, that makes me think about how fortunate we are that we pay service to remembrance and that we have proper records of those who have lost their lives. In many parts of the world, no such records exist, and people hear tales only because of surviving family members.”
“Throughout Europe, from the rubble-filled streets of Paris to the bombed-out shipyards of Clydebank, and from the devastated villages of Poland and Ukraine to the still-smouldering ruins of German cities, an entire continent was finally at peace. In the United Kingdom, we celebrated at last the victory that so many had thought would never come and the victory that, sadly, so many did not live to see. Six years of bloody fighting, from the fields of France to the deserts of north Africa, had taken the lives of almost 400,000 British soldiers—400,000 sons, brothers and fathers who would never return home; 400,000 lives that ended early in the fight against Nazi tyranny. At home, almost 70,000 British citizens— sons, daughters, mothers and fathers—were lost through blitz and bombing, hunger and disease.”
“Eighty years ago today, the German instrument of surrender was signed by representatives of Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the United States and the Soviet Union in the ruins of the city of Berlin. With that document, the darkest chapter in the history of Europe finally came to a close. As the First Minister has pointed out, while fighting would still rage on in the jungles of Burma and the islands of the Pacific, for the first time in almost six years, the guns fell silent over the continent of Europe. The Nazi tyranny that had tried to subjugate an entire continent and eradicate an entire people had finally been defeated.”
“Does he think that Shelter Scotland should find something else to moan about?”
“This week, after 18 years in office, the Scottish National Party conceded that it has no plan, is out of steam and has lost its way. John Swinney announced a bland and unambitious programme for government that does nothing to address the issues that Scotland faces. There is no plan to fix the national health service crisis that the SNP created, no plan to deal with the falling standards and soaring violence in our schools that the SNP is presiding over, and no plan to end the scandal of 10,000 homeless children on John Swinney’s watch. When a member of this Parliament raised the issue of homeless children, John Swinney shamefully told them to “find something else ... to moan about”.—[Official Report, 6 May 2025; c 29.] In a damning assessment, Shelter Scotland called John Swinney’s plan “a programme for homelessness”.”
“Today, on VE day, we pause to remember the courage, sacrifice and unity that brought an end to the war in Europe 80 years ago. We honour those who served on the front lines and those who kept life going at home. In Scotland, Britain and beyond, we remember those who gave everything for the fight against fascism—the greatest tyranny that we have ever faced. Their bravery shaped the democracy that we cherish today. Remembrance must also inspire responsibility, first and foremost to those who served and those who serve our country today. We must protect our freedoms, stand up to hatred and division and build a fairer, more compassionate country, just as that generation hoped that we would. We remember them, we thank them, we pledge to carry their values forward and we continue to strive for a world at peace. 12:05”
“I think that the people of Scotland will be able to see the contrast between an SNP Scottish Government that is delivering for them and a Labour United Kingdom Government that is selling out the poor and disadvantaged in our country and penalising pensioners. I think that they will choose the SNP. The Presiding Officer: Before we move to Lorna Slater’s question, I point out that we are now 10 minutes into taking questions but have, so far, heard from only two members. Although brief questions would be appreciated, I ask for more concise responses, too.”
“On housing, we have delivered more affordable housing per head of population in Scotland by a significant margin compared with developments in England, and by a very significant margin compared with the situation in Wales. I was interested to see that, today, my counterpart in Wales, Eluned Morgan, the First Minister of Wales, has set out her vigorous disagreement with the direction of the United Kingdom Labour Government that was elected the last time that people were faced with a choice of Government. Of course, we have heard none of that from Mr Sarwar, who has been right behind the UK Government on making welfare cuts that affect the poorest people in our country, right behind it on taking no action for the women against state pension inequality and right behind it on cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners in our country.”