Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 30 October 2024
30 Oct 2024 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Economic Growth (Support)
It is clear that Mr Hoy has not been listening to me. Growth for the sake of growth alone, just to get that bigger GDP number, will not solve any of those problems. We still need to redistribute wealth and invest in public services, and we can do that with the wealth that is already in the system. We cannot wait for some future date when we magically have a GDP number that will make the Conservative Party say, “Oh, today is the day we can finally invest in hospitals.” We will never reach that number, Mr Hoy—we need to start today.
I note Mr Hoy’s unevidenced assertion that the tax differential between England and Scotland is damaging. It is a pity that the Torygraph—I am sorry, I mean The Telegraph—did not get the memo and this weekend ran an article entitled “Why thousands are fleeing to Scotland—and why you should too”, which points out that net migration to Scotland from the rest of the UK hit 13,900 in the year to June 2023, which is the highest level recorded in 21 years.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-15061, in the name of Craig Hoy, on using the upcoming Scottish budget to support economic growth. I call...
Craig Hoy (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
It is a case of second time lucky, Deputy Presiding Officer. Today’s budget was the moment to discover whether leopards have the capacity to change their sp...
Keith Brown (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member give way?
Craig Hoy
Con
I will not give way. Thanks to the union dividend, this year, Scotland has £2,400 more per head to spend on public services. However, although the SNP still...
Michael Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
For goodness’ sake. Will Mr Hoy take an intervention?
Craig Hoy
Con
I do not have time. Labour claims to be investing in growth but, at the same time, it risks undermining growth through a stealth tax on jobs. The national i...
The Minister for Public Finance (Ivan McKee)
SNP
I am delighted to open for the Government on the second of our triple header of finance debates this week. I welcome the opportunity to debate the issues tha...
Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
If that is all true, why do only 9 per cent of Scottish businesses have confidence in the Government’s economic policy?
Ivan McKee
SNP
I will come on to talk about businesses and tax in a minute, as well as inward investment, which is an absolute measure of the confidence that businesses hav...
Michael Marra
Lab
The minister is doing a good job of talking about growth opportunities for Scotland. Surely he will recognise and welcome the £125 million that was announced...
Ivan McKee
SNP
The Scottish Government is looking at the budget that Labour has introduced today to see what the implications of that are. The increase in national insuranc...
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
Will the minister take an intervention?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
The minister is bringing his remarks to a close.
Ivan McKee
SNP
The numbers are increasing, and the number of those who are moving from the south to the north is higher than the number of those who are moving from Scotlan...
Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
For the Conservative Party in 2024 to bring to the chamber a motion to criticise financial policy is, in civil service speak, a bold move. We would almost th...
Ivan McKee
SNP
Will the member take an intervention on that point?
Mark Griffin
Lab
I would normally, but the member has to appreciate that this is a very short debate. If the SNP had managed to keep Scotland’s economy in line with the econ...
Lorna Slater (Lothian) (Green)
Green
I note Mr Hoy’s relentless focus on economic growth in his motion for debate today. Growth by itself is not inherently good, and cuts are not a means to grow...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Please resume your seat, Ms Slater. We will hear the member who has the floor, which is Ms Slater, and none of the people who are making comments from a sede...
Lorna Slater
Green
Thank you, Presiding Officer. It is making inequality worse by letting the rich get ever richer while most people get worse and worse off. Economic success ...
Craig Hoy
Con
I go back to the point about growth. Is the member therefore advocating that recession is good for the economy and good for the people of this country?
Lorna Slater
Green
It is clear that Mr Hoy has not been listening to me. Growth for the sake of growth alone, just to get that bigger GDP number, will not solve any of those pr...
Brian Whittle
Con
Will the member take an intervention?
Lorna Slater
Green
No, I need to make progress. Free university tuition, free prescriptions, free eye tests, free period products and free bus travel for young people are a ba...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Ms Slater, you need to bring your remarks to a close, please.
Lorna Slater
Green
We have a national dashboard of wellbeing indicators. Let us put in place economic policy to improve those indicators and stop imagining that a twitch of our...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
This is all great fun and there is a degree of political knockabout in it, but I am not sure that the debate is telling us a great deal that we do not alread...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Thank you, Mr Cole-Hamilton. We move to the open debate. There is no time in hand. I ask for back-bench speeches of up to four minutes, please, and any inter...
Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
Ministers are always pleased if opposition parties put on the table what we would do differently. I say to the minister that that is exactly why we choose to...
Ivan McKee
SNP
Can the member explain why it is that year upon year, we see more and more net migration of people moving to Scotland from the rest of the UK across all tax ...