Meeting of the Parliament 02 April 2025
I am grateful not only for having known Christina McKelvie but for the opportunity to offer the Scottish Greens’ deep condolences to Christina’s family and friends for their very personal loss. It is a loss that will also be felt very deeply by everyone who worked with Christina—most acutely by SNP colleagues.
As we have already heard, Christina was held in great affection right across the political spectrum. I hope that the whole family and, of course, our colleague Keith Brown, know that they have been in our thoughts and will remain so.
Over the past week, there have been some common themes in the conversations that I have had with colleagues from different political parties about Christina. I have heard people reflecting on her friendship, her warmth and the way in which her passionate belief in her values and, at times, her very real anger at injustice never took away from her sense of fun and her positivity.
I have heard from so many members who recall Christina’s kind words when they were first elected. That is something that means a lot to new members. Coming here for the first time can be a daunting experience, and I know that many in the chamber today who arrived here in recent elections will value those memories of Christina’s friendship and warmth. In offering our condolences to those who knew and loved Christina, I hope that all of us in the Parliament can return some of that friendship and warmth.
As has been said, Christina’s work in the Parliament and her first ministerial role covered equalities, and there could hardly have been a better fit. I express my gratitude particularly for her strong track record on LGBT+ rights, equality and human rights, as she often faced down some of the divisive and nasty forms of prejudice—both old and new. I lost count of the number of times that I heard her speak with passion about the need to treat asylum seekers in our society as human beings and about the pride that Scotland should take in offering safety and a welcome to those who need it.
I will mention a final theme that has come up in the conversations that I have had over the past week. It is something that has been on my mind, but I have heard many others make the same observation. We all know that politics is not always a nice business. It does not always bring out the best in us. People sometimes worry that the job will change us for the worse, and sometimes that happens. In my experience, Christina McKelvie defied that fear. She never gave in to cynicism, entitlement or cruelty. She remained a person who instinctively expressed compassion and kindness, so I hope that her life will be celebrated, of course, just as a lovely human being, but also as an example that politics and politicians can stay human and humane. [Applause.]
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