Meeting of the Parliament 25 March 2026 [Draft]
I thank Jamie Halcro Johnston for securing the debate and other members for their kind words.
Many people in Scotland’s urban areas and central belt still care deeply for our remote, rural and island communities. I have visited a number of islands with the Parliament’s committees during the past 15 years, including Islay, Arran, Mull, Harris, Lewis, and Orkney, as well as going to Shetland for a council by-election. That has been one of the enjoyable aspects of being an MSP. Normally, I visit islands as a tourist and have visited some 38. I note that I consider the Uists and Benbecula to be one island as I can drive my car between them without using a ferry. I hold to the position from one of my more controversial moments in the Parliament that Skye has not in fact been an island since the bridge was built. [Laughter.] I was proved correct during Covid, when it was treated as part of the mainland.
I can understand the desire to have causeways, bridges or tunnels linking islands to each other or to the mainland. That makes access to a range of services much easier, from shopping to medical services, weddings and funerals. However, I caution that, from a tourist’s perspective, such fixed links can make an island less attractive or magical for a visitor and could have a negative economic impact.
Talking of driving my car, my priority for road improvements in Scotland would have to be the A82 between Tarbet and Ardlui right at the top. The Road Haulage Association was in the Parliament last week. The fact that two heavy goods vehicles cannot even pass each other on stretches of that road is appalling. In my opinion, that should be a higher priority than dualling the A9.
I do not often agree with Scottish Land & Estates, but I agree with some of the key points in its briefing for the debate. Tackling depopulation in rural areas has to be a top priority; and as it says,
“if rural Scotland does not thrive, Scotland does not thrive”.
Last summer, I visited Mingulay for the first time and I have previously visited St Kilda. I find it incredibly sad that islands that once supported a hardy population eventually had to be evacuated and now have no permanent human inhabitants. We do not want that to happen to any more of our islands or remote areas. I noted press coverage just yesterday of the vacancy level for both primary and secondary teachers in the Highland Council area, yet I get complaints from young teachers that they cannot get a job in Glasgow. Somehow, we need to take that on as a national challenge and support teachers and other workers from urban areas to consider moving to more rural and remote parts of Scotland.
Another aspect is political representation. Rightly, the three main island groups are guaranteed an MSP each, yet the whole west coast from Cape Wrath to the Mull of Kintyre forms only three constituencies and is represented by three MSPs. If the Western Isles can have an MSP for 22,000 registered voters, why should Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch have to have 63,000 voters? We need to address that by not being so fixated with the population of constituencies. Land mass should be a factor, too.
This is my last speech in Parliament, so I thank all those who make this Parliament work, including fellow MSPs—and especially those who are leaving. We are much smaller than Westminster, and that is a big advantage in my opinion. We all know each other, to some extent, and we have a building that is modern and fit for purpose, unlike the one on the Thames. We are not hampered by a second unelected chamber. One person can make a real difference in a chamber of 129, whereas, as I can say having been at Westminster, with its 650 MPs, one person does not count for much there, and Scotland counts for very little.
I have tried, over my 15 years here, to say things that no one else would say and to ask questions that no one else would ask. That has clearly got me into trouble at times, but it has certainly been a huge privilege to serve here.
I conclude by thanking you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and your two colleagues. In particular, I thank you, and especially Alison Johnstone, for taking a firm line when some members sought to bully you and undermine Parliament as a whole. Many of us are very grateful that you did so.