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Every contribution to the Official Report — chamber and committee — searchable in one place. Pulled from data.parliament.scot, indexed for full-text search, linked through to every MSP.

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2,096,158

Hansard contributions

1999–2026

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Official Report

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Showing 60 of 2,096,158 contributions. Latest 30 days: 3,357. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 10 Jun 2026.

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

—by the conduct of these ministers.17:22

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

—and they are connected with a lack of fundamental honesty in our politics, as exemplified—

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

All those issues are connected—

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

The member has just made my point for me. I have just finished highlighting the very fact that, while members can stand up and say, “Well, we won the election; we can do what we like—and, by the way, we know all about what the priorities of the people of Scotland are”, there a...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

I am tempted to take an intervention from my fellow clansman—Laughter. Carry on.

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

I was not elected to serve in the reading room of a library. We were elected to a Parliament that should have robust debate. The member needs to realise that that is what Parliament is all about.I say again to SNP members that, on self-awareness, they rate nil points. Pauline ...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

I am happy to give way to Kate Campbell, who quite rightly pointed out what a disgrace it is that they are sitting where they sit. Carry on.

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

I say to George Adam that he, of all people, should know that, of all the things that he might accuse me as being, I am not thin-skinned, but what we heard from Jack Middleton and others was an orchestrated, spad-organised attack on the character of a particular member of the ...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

SNP members all got the memo, or perhaps they received their speeches by email—I do not know—but there was a remarkable similarity in the tone and content of their speeches, with Jack Middleton setting a low. It was generous of Alex Cole-Hamilton to suggest that Jack Middleton...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

It is called debating!

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

This is a Parliament.

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

You do not have to press a button, for goodness’ sake—you just intervene. Interruption. My intervention on Kate Campbell is simply this: is she claiming that the Labour Party has a monopoly on broken election promises? Has she examined the SNP’s record in relation to election ...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

You do not have to press a button and appear on the screen.

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

No, that is not how it works. Will Kate Campbell give way?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

Is Kate Campbell giving way?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

That sounds like the SNP.

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

Will the member give way?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

You should be in favour of an inquiry.

Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

I assert that what the minister has said is outrageous. He has called into question the very idea of why we have parliamentary committees and parliamentary inquiries. If the SNP is the victim in all of this, which the First Minister and others have claimed, why on earth would ...

Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

Urgent Question

Looking at the footage of last night’s events, we see that it was not protest but criminal disorder. Families should be able to go about their daily lives in Scotland without fear of violence, intimidation or public disorder from a gang of balaclava-clad hooligans.Will the cab...

Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

General Question Time · Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Service Delivery Review)

Ministers previously told Parliament that almost £1 million of specialist wildfire pumping units would be deployed within weeks. A Scottish Conservative freedom of information request later revealed that they were still not operational, during Scotland’s worst wildfire season ...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Committee Conveners

Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

Committee Conveners

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. For guidance, would it be possible for the same person to be nominated again in those circumstances?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

General Question Time · Sentencing

Fundamentally, it is us, in this Parliament, who decide and determine the law, and the reality is that Scotland’s sentencing system is deliberately dishonest. Offenders can be released after serving only 50, 40 or 30 per cent of the sentence imposed. Put simply, sentencing oft...

Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

General Question Time · Sentencing

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it will take to help ensure clear and transparent sentencing. (S7O-00015)

Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

Parliamentary Bureau Motions

I hear what the Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans is saying about process, which is something that the SNP loves to obsess about, but this is about what it looks like. It is unseemly that both of the convenership roles in that vitally important committee are wit...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Will Michael Marra give way?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Will Michael Marra take an intervention?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Would the member give way again?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Ms Slater mentioned the evidence that was heard by the Economy and Fair Work Committee. I hope that she would agree that the tone of that evidence was that we are causing the deindustrialisation of Scotland through the imposition of levies and other market interventions on bus...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Will the member give way now?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Will the member take an intervention?

Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Will the member take an intervention?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Will Michael Marra give way?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Will Michael Marra take an intervention?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Would the member give way again?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Ms Slater mentioned the evidence that was heard by the Economy and Fair Work Committee. I hope that she would agree that the tone of that evidence was that we are causing the deindustrialisation of Scotland through the imposition of levies and other market interventions on bus...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Will the member give way now?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Will the member take an intervention?

Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

Scotland’s Energy

Will the member take an intervention?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

I am grateful to Michael Marra for giving way, but let us be absolutely clear that workforce skills are one of the key levers in improving productivity in this country. We are talking about a significant proportion of the population—mainly women—who have skills to bring to the...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Will the member take an intervention?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Will the member take an intervention?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Yes, I will.Where is the fully costed delivery model? That is my question.In conclusion, I say to ministers today that they should not be performative—Laughter. We have had enough of them congratulating themselves and enough of progressive posturing without practical delivery....

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

All right. I apologise, cabinet secretary. I would be delighted to continue the conversation in another way.In my final few seconds, where is—

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

That is a shame. Am I not allowed to give way?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Yes, I would be delighted.

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Well, there is already an identified £5 billion gap in the Government’s sums, so I look forward to Ivan McKee bringing forward his radical proposals for public sector reform that, as I said a moment ago, mean that we do more with less—I hope that he recognises that valuable ec...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

I give way to Ivan the Terrible.

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

I thank Keith Brown for his helpful intervention. I do not know why members applauded what he said, because the SNP Government has committed to making a cut of more than £1 billion in the cost of the public purse. I look forward to Ivan McKee—Ivan the Terrible, as my colleague...

Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

I have to say that I have been greatly encouraged by the contents of many of the first speeches that have been given by SNP and Green members in this debate, because they have focused on the issues relating to capacity, availability and so forth that dog the current system. Fr...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

I am listening carefully to what Paul McLennan is saying about the situation in his constituency, but does his experience not reflect that of, for example, Calum Kerr, who gave a very thoughtful speech, and of Patricia Gibson, who noted the gaps in the provision that is curren...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

As usual, Bob Doris is giving a thoughtful speech about an important matter. However, he has just indicated that the Government has “earmarked” £500 million for the expansion programme, but I do not think that that is what the cabinet secretary said. In the Scottish National P...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Would the member go as far as to say that, unless the disparity in funding is properly tackled now, the expansion, which we all support, will fail?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

I want to follow up on the previous question and what the cabinet secretary has just said. What are the Government’s estimates on the number of additional staff who will be required? What is the Government’s estimate of the total cost of the expansion over the lifetime of the ...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Will the cabinet secretary give way on that point?

Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

Did I understand correctly that the cabinet secretary said that the lack of parity that Willie Rennie identified, which she has acknowledged, will be addressed as part of the revised approach to this policy?

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

I am grateful to Michael Marra for giving way, but let us be absolutely clear that workforce skills are one of the key levers in improving productivity in this country. We are talking about a significant proportion of the population—mainly women—who have skills to bring to the...

Stephen Kerr Con Chamber

Will the member take an intervention?

← Back to list

Chamber

Meeting of the Parliament 10 June 2026 [Last updated 18:45]

10 Jun 2026 · S7 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Public Trust in Scottish Politics

Kerr, Stephen Con Mid Scotland and Fife Watch on SPTV

—by the conduct of these ministers.

17:22

In the same item of business

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Clare Adamson) SNP

Before we begin the next item of business, I would like to say that the proceedings against Peter Murrell remain active until he has been sentenced. The sub ...

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab

The choice before us in this debate is simple. Do we believe in honesty, openness, transparency and the rule of law? Is this a Parliament that believes that ...

Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green) Green

I ask this quite sincerely: does Mr Sarwar genuinely believe what he just said—that this is the greatest political scandal in the history of devolution—when ...

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Clare Adamson) SNP

I remind members that criminal cases remain active and that the sub judice rule is engaged.

Anas Sarwar Lab

I say gently to Mr Greer that that is a shocking case that relates to individual behaviour, but today we are talking about a systematic culture of cover-up a...

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green) Green

Made a request to intervene.

Anas Sarwar Lab

If I get the time back, I will happily take an intervention.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Clare Adamson) SNP

You can, Mr Sarwar.

Patrick Harvie Green

I wonder whether Anas Sarwar applies the same principle—if people have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear—to our argument that, if there is to be an ...

Anas Sarwar Lab

I have sympathy for the argument that Patrick Harvie has made, and I have sympathy with the Green amendment. There should be greater transparency on party fi...

The Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans (Jamie Hepburn) SNP

In the interests of transparency, I place on the record that my wife is presently employed by the Scottish National Party and has been since April 2023.I beg...

Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con

I assert that what the minister has said is outrageous. He has called into question the very idea of why we have parliamentary committees and parliamentary i...

Jamie Hepburn SNP

I am not convinced that that intervention was particularly worth hearing. We presumably all accept the objective fact that the issue in question is the forme...

Stephen Kerr Con

You should be in favour of an inquiry.

Jamie Hepburn SNP

If the member is suggesting that it is not the Scottish National Party that is the victim in this case, I do not know who he thinks the victim is.This picks ...

Michael Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab

Will the minister give way?

Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh North Western) (LD) LD

Will he give way?

Jamie Hepburn SNP

Not at the moment.I believe that the Parliament has a proud and good record of constructive committee work. It is not always easy or straightforward. It is w...

Michael Marra Lab

Will the minister give way?

Jamie Hepburn SNP

Can I check, Presiding Officer: if I give way, will I get the time back?

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Clare Adamson) SNP

Yes. The Presiding Officer has agreed that that should be the case for all debates if you take an intervention.

Michael Marra Lab

I appreciate the minister giving way. Would he not recognise that there is a question of public money paid in Short money to the SNP? There are questions of ...

Jamie Hepburn SNP

Any of those questions will be dealt with by the Electoral Commission. That issue has already been raised in Parliament. The question was asked of the First ...

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab) Lab

It was about HMRC.

Jamie Hepburn SNP

I think that the question was about Short money, Ms Baillie, and it would be a matter for the Electoral Commission.

Alex Cole-Hamilton LD

Will the minister give way?

Jamie Hepburn SNP

I will give way one more time, to Mr Cole-Hamilton.

Alex Cole-Hamilton LD

The minister suggests that it would be inappropriate for a committee of inquiry to investigate the issue, but we have the Standards, Procedures and Public Ap...

Jamie Hepburn SNP

Government ministers are, quite correctly, accountable for their Government ministerial responsibilities, and they will be held to account by the Parliament....

Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) Lab

Will the minister give way?