Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 27 November 2012
27 Nov 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
St Andrew’s Day
On seeing the title of today’s debate, I was reminded of a time when the St Andrew’s day debate was confined to members’ business. It is now elevated to the status of a Scottish Government debate, which is entirely appropriate. I hope that the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs is not too stunned by my acquiescence.
As members are aware, I believe in the United Kingdom and in Scotland’s place in that union. A person need not be a member of the Scottish National Party to be proud of Scotland and her achievements. No one in the chamber has a monopoly on patriotism. Patricia Ferguson made that point well; I thank her for her support of my amendment. The Scottish Conservatives welcome the opportunity to celebrate Scotland and the St Andrew’s day tradition.
On a mechanism for enhancing the celebration, I say to Margo MacDonald that I celebrate it by just being myself; I think that that is what an awful lot of people in Scotland do.
St Andrew was, of course, the first apostle. He was a fisherman on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. However, it was not until the end of the first millennium that St Andrew’s links with Scotland were established, when he was made the patron saint of Scotland after some of his relics were brought by St Rule to St Andrews, where they remain to this day. Other relics can be found in Patras in Greece—I have viewed them there—in Amalfi in Italy, in Warsaw in Poland and in St Mary’s Roman Catholic church in Edinburgh, so he was well travelled in death.
St Andrew was no less well travelled in life; he preached along the southern borders of today’s Ukraine along the Black Sea, as well as along the Dnieper and Volga rivers, which is why he became a patron saint of Russia, Romania and the Ukraine. However, the temporal reach of St Andrew does not end there, with his patronages in sainthood extending from Luqa to Esgueira, and even as far as Barbados. The global reach of St Andrew is not limited merely to countries that enjoy him as their patron saint. This year alone, individuals of all nationalities will gather, from Australia and New Zealand to the USA and Canada and from Bonn to Brussels to celebrate the saintly feast day.
The cabinet secretary asked me about UK celebrations of St Andrew. I am quite surprised by the request, because in her motion she notes that many events will take place in the rest of the UK. However, to help her out I can confirm that many Scots will congregate in London, Cambridge, Bedford, Dorset and other parts of England to celebrate St Andrew’s day.
As members are aware, I believe in the United Kingdom and in Scotland’s place in that union. A person need not be a member of the Scottish National Party to be proud of Scotland and her achievements. No one in the chamber has a monopoly on patriotism. Patricia Ferguson made that point well; I thank her for her support of my amendment. The Scottish Conservatives welcome the opportunity to celebrate Scotland and the St Andrew’s day tradition.
On a mechanism for enhancing the celebration, I say to Margo MacDonald that I celebrate it by just being myself; I think that that is what an awful lot of people in Scotland do.
St Andrew was, of course, the first apostle. He was a fisherman on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. However, it was not until the end of the first millennium that St Andrew’s links with Scotland were established, when he was made the patron saint of Scotland after some of his relics were brought by St Rule to St Andrews, where they remain to this day. Other relics can be found in Patras in Greece—I have viewed them there—in Amalfi in Italy, in Warsaw in Poland and in St Mary’s Roman Catholic church in Edinburgh, so he was well travelled in death.
St Andrew was no less well travelled in life; he preached along the southern borders of today’s Ukraine along the Black Sea, as well as along the Dnieper and Volga rivers, which is why he became a patron saint of Russia, Romania and the Ukraine. However, the temporal reach of St Andrew does not end there, with his patronages in sainthood extending from Luqa to Esgueira, and even as far as Barbados. The global reach of St Andrew is not limited merely to countries that enjoy him as their patron saint. This year alone, individuals of all nationalities will gather, from Australia and New Zealand to the USA and Canada and from Bonn to Brussels to celebrate the saintly feast day.
The cabinet secretary asked me about UK celebrations of St Andrew. I am quite surprised by the request, because in her motion she notes that many events will take place in the rest of the UK. However, to help her out I can confirm that many Scots will congregate in London, Cambridge, Bedford, Dorset and other parts of England to celebrate St Andrew’s day.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick)
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-04970, in the name of Fiona Hyslop, on St Andrew’s day: a celebration of Scotland.14:55
The Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs (Fiona Hyslop)
SNP
I am delighted to open the debate, which I hope will give us the opportunity to discuss what is great about Scotland and how we can use St Andrew’s day to ce...
Annabel Goldie (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
Indeed.
Annabel Goldie
Con
I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for her graciousness in permitting me to intervene. I know that the cabinet secretary does not care for the impact of ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
Cabinet secretary.
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
We could debate who is churlish. I would accept that Annabel Goldie’s amendment is not a crude attempt to hijack the debate for constitutional purposes if sh...
Margo MacDonald (Lothian) (Ind)
Ind
The cabinet secretary has given an impressive list, but I wonder whether there could be something that is a bit more imaginative—a huge St Andrew’s day prize...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
That is a good point and it is one reason why the national book prize that the Saltire Society runs will be announced on St Andrew’s day, as a St Andrew’s pr...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
I call Patricia Ferguson, who has a generous nine minutes.15:08
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the opportunity to speak in today’s debate on the continuing relevance of St Andrew’s day to contemporary Scotland. I signal that Scottish Labour w...
Margo MacDonald
Ind
I am not in the least biased, so here is an idea. At Christmas, we wear Christmas tree badges, brooches and so on. I am sure that we could get something for ...
Patricia Ferguson
Lab
I thank Mrs MacDonald for that helpful suggestion. Perhaps we could have a saltire and a union jack, although that may be pushing it too far. I can just see ...
Annabel Goldie (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
On seeing the title of today’s debate, I was reminded of a time when the St Andrew’s day debate was confined to members’ business. It is now elevated to the ...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
I do not dispute that, which is why we have it in our motion. What I do not understand is what are all the celebrations that will take place all over Scotlan...
Annabel Goldie
Con
That is what many people in Scotland—hundreds of thousands of them apparently, according to recent polls—feel instinctively is part of their identity. They d...
Margo MacDonald
Ind
Will the member give way?
Annabel Goldie
Con
I am getting a little tight for time, Ms MacDonald; I have referred to you in my speech.
Margo MacDonald
Ind
On a point of historical accuracy, we have nothing to be proud of in Scotland when it comes to the slave trade.
Annabel Goldie
Con
My point is that it was a United Kingdom Parliament that put an end to slavery and that Scotland was part of that. It was also as part of the United Kingdom ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
We move to open debate and speeches of six minutes, please. There is a little bit of time for interventions, at this stage.15:26
Roderick Campbell (North East Fife) (SNP)
SNP
As the MSP for North East Fife, which is home to the town of St Andrews, I am privileged to participate in today’s debate on Scotland’s day of national celeb...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
Perhaps I can supply a connection with “Thriller”. Apparently, the producer of the video was inspired by “Tam o’ Shanter”, perhaps reflecting the theme, so t...
Roderick Campbell
SNP
I thank the cabinet secretary for that useful piece of information.Cities for life day is an event that does not gather as much interest in Scotland as it do...
Margo MacDonald
Ind
Can Roderick Campbell say who won the football match?
Roderick Campbell
SNP
It was a 0-0 draw.St Andrew’s day has also borne witness to cultural and historically significant firsts. The first international football match gathered tog...
Margaret McDougall (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the opportunity to speak in the Scottish Government debate on St Andrew’s day, although a Scottish Government celebration of St Andrew’s day might ...
Fiona McLeod (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
First of all, I refer members to my register of interests as the chair of the Scottish Library and Information Council and as a member of the Chartered Insti...
Rob Gibson (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
SNP
The idea behind celebrating St Andrew’s day on 30 November was partly handed down to us by the old church, and we are stumped with that, in a way. We cannot ...
Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the opportunity to speak in today’s debate. When I read the motion as I sat down to write my speech last night, I wondered where to begin in seekin...