Meeting of the Parliament 18 November 2025
I do not think that that is the topic of the debate.
To me, the UK settlement says two things. First, it says that the UK Government would rather support industrial, long-distance fleets operating out of Grimsby, which have superwealthy owners and little regard for the health of fish stocks, instead of smaller operators in towns and villages across Scotland, who brave rough seas in all weathers to make a living and provide the exports that the Brexit-supporting UK Government is so reliant on in its quest for economic growth. Secondly, it tells us that, again, Scotland is an afterthought for politicians and officials in Westminster. By denying them their fair share of the funding pot, Keir Starmer’s Government is actively betraying Scotland’s coastal and island communities.
Although I hope that the debate will reassure those communities that the Scottish Parliament and the Government have their backs and will secure a rapid U-turn from the UK Government, we are being shown, once again, that the only way in which Scotland can get fair treatment and in which its businesses can operate with confidence—the only way in which it can properly plan for its future—is by becoming the independent nation that it is so capable of being.