Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 10 September 2019
10 Sep 2019 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Immigration Policy (Universities and Scientific Research)
Presiding Officer,
“A ‘no-deal’ exit from the EU is the worst option for science.”
Those are not my words but those of the president of the UK Royal Society, Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan. He was speaking in reaction to the UK Government’s recently announced plans to fast-track visas for top researchers after Brexit. This latest proposal, like so many others that have been put forward by the UK Government in recent weeks, has been subject to scepticism from key voices across the further and higher education and science sectors, and for good reason.
Any proposal that seeks to encourage the recruitment and retention of scientists and researchers is, of course, to be welcomed. However, the positive impact that such proposals might have will be minuscule compared with the overall damage that will stem from the UK Government’s fanatical pursuit of a Brexit at any cost. That damage will be compounded by what is currently engulfing the UK Government: that is, of course, chaos.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Christine Grahame)
SNP
The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-18767, in the name of Richard Lochhead, on the impact of the United Kingdom Government’s planned immigrat...
The Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science (Richard Lochhead)
SNP
Presiding Officer, “A ‘no-deal’ exit from the EU is the worst option for science.” Those are not my words but those of the president of the UK Royal Societ...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Con
It is a bit rich for the minister to come to the chamber and say that my party is pushing for a no-deal Brexit when not a single Scottish National Party MP v...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Only the Scottish Conservative party could say that there is no chaos in Westminster; it is there for everyone to see within the member’s divided party. I d...
Gillian Martin (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP)
SNP
What impact will not having access to that experience from across the EU have on the ordinary undergraduate student in Scottish universities?
Richard Lochhead
SNP
That could be devastating for our universities and institutions, given that students from the EU and beyond may find Scotland and the wider UK much less attr...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I make two little housekeeping points to members. First, if you want to speak in a debate, it is handy if you press your request-to-speak button—I say that f...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Con
Members will note that our amendment is not that different in substance from the motion that the Government has lodged, with one notable difference at the en...
Richard Lyle (Uddingston and Bellshill) (SNP)
SNP
Oh, hip, hip, hooray!
Oliver Mundell
Con
I hear a member say, “Hip, hip, hooray!” Does that not just say it all? We are interested in working constructively, because we recognise that attracting the...
Gillian Martin
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Oliver Mundell
Con
I will not take an intervention from the member at this point. Members on the Conservative benches are committed to working constructively to find solutions...
Stuart McMillan (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Oliver Mundell
Con
I will take an intervention from the minister first.
Richard Lochhead
SNP
In the light of the consensus that the member is fostering, will he say whether he agrees that no deal is the worst possible outcome for Scotland’s further a...
Oliver Mundell
Con
I am delighted to hear the minister confirm that, after dragging its heels, the SNP will support a deal, because that is what the sector needs. We could have...
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (John Swinney)
SNP
Let me try to steer Mr Mundell away from the politics of all this. I am interested in his line of argument: he is making a strong argument—with which I agree...
Oliver Mundell
Con
I welcome John Swinney’s point. We have seen a reset in approach from the new Government under a new Prime Minister. The issue is about balancing different i...
Stuart McMillan
SNP
On the issue of consensus, what deal that would have consensus across all the parties that are represented in the House of Commons does Mr Mundell want to se...
Oliver Mundell
Con
We have already seen something that could have been that deal—the withdrawal agreement. I voted to leave, and I might have looked for more in that deal about...
Gillian Martin
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Oliver Mundell
Con
I think that I am in my last minute.
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Yes you are. It has been very good of Mr Mundell to take lots of interventions, but the member is now winding up.
Oliver Mundell
Con
SNP members, despite all their protests, have had the opportunity to deliver a Brexit deal to protect our universities, businesses and farmers the length and...
Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the opportunity to speak in today’s debate on a key issue for our universities, research community and economy. It is unwelcome, and indeed ridicul...
Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
It is timely that, as the only Parliament in the UK that is allowed to sit today, we hold the Westminster Government to account for its immigration policy an...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Linda Fabiani)
SNP
I am very pleased to say that opening for the Liberal Democrats today, in her first contribution to a debate in our Parliament, is the member of the Scottish...
Beatrice Wishart (Shetland Islands) (LD)
LD
Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am delighted to be here to make my first speech in Parliament. First, though, I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
We now move to the open debate, with speeches of six minutes, please. We are a bit tight for time, so will members please take care with the length of their ...