Hansard

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

10 Jun 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Earnings Growth

Last week, when I asked in the chamber how the black hole would be filled, the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform replied that it would be public service reform that would fill the gap. At the same time, he said that public service reform was not about reducing the ov...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

04 Jun 2026

Wealth Taxation for Public Services

What we have to do is deliver economic growth. If we can grow and expand the tax base, we do not need to increase tax rates to get the revenues that we need. That is where the Scottish Government has been failing. The Scottish Fiscal Commission talks about the economic growth ...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

04 Jun 2026

Wealth Taxation for Public Services

I think that we will be debating those issues next week, so I am sure that we will get much more clarity from Mr McKee on what exactly is going to happen.What has the debate been about? It has been about more wealth taxes. The motion talks about celebrating a mansion tax and a...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

04 Jun 2026

Wealth Taxation for Public Services

Maybe Mr McKee was misquoted in the interview that I saw, when he said that public service reform was not about reducing costs.

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

04 Jun 2026

Wealth Taxation for Public Services

That is not all that Malcolm Offord does not understand, to be fair, but I agree with Mr McKee’s basic premise, and I hope that Mr Offord would, too.The biggest growth in the Scottish budget is not spending on public services but spending on benefits. We learned this week from...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

04 Jun 2026

Wealth Taxation for Public Services

Oh, so soon! I will, of course, give way to Mr McKee.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

04 Jun 2026

Wealth Taxation for Public Services

I start by welcoming Jenny Gilruth to her new position as finance secretary and also Hannah Mary Goodlad, whom we look forward to hearing from shortly.I also congratulate all those who made their first speeches—Kim Schmulian, Katie Hagmann, Martyn Day, Joe Fagan, Iris Duane an...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

04 Jun 2026

Wealth Taxation for Public Services

I am enjoying Mr Rennie’s analysis of where we are. He raises the issue of the looming £5 billion black hole. The Deputy First Minister seemed to suggest that taxes were not going to rise to fill that. Mr McKee is on record as saying that public sector reform does not mean red...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

28 May 2026

Scotland’s Energy

As Liam Kerr said, where is the sense in importing Norwegian oil and gas from the North Sea basin when we could be producing it ourselves and benefiting from having the jobs here? That is the Conservative approach. That is how we cut bills and support jobs. That is the point t...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

28 May 2026

Scotland’s Energy

The problem for Lorna Slater and those who make such arguments is that we will need oil and gas for decades to come. The choice is not about whether we use oil and gas, because we will need it; the choice is about whether we produce it here or import it from other countries an...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

28 May 2026

Scotland’s Energy

I thank Mr Barratt for that sedentary contribution.We do, of course, miss both Annabelle and Fergus Ewing, and I hope that Mr Barratt will be equally independently minded when it comes to members of his front bench.Mr Gethins opened the debate. I congratulate him on his new ro...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

28 May 2026

Scotland’s Energy

I thank all those who made their first speeches during this debate: Duncan Massey, Jack Middleton, David Barratt, Mark Simpson, Pauline Stafford, Heather Anderson, Kristopher Leask, Alan Brown and Sanne Dijkstra-Downie. All of them made well-informed and helpful contributions,...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

28 May 2026

Scotland’s Energy

My apologies to you, Presiding Officer, and to the member. He was so confident in his approach that it had entirely slipped my mind that it was his first speech in this chamber.I very much welcome Stephen Gethins to his place on the front bench as energy minister. I want to as...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

28 May 2026

Scotland’s Energy

Will the minister take an intervention?

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

28 May 2026

Scotland’s Energy

As Liam Kerr said, where is the sense in importing Norwegian oil and gas from the North Sea basin when we could be producing it ourselves and benefiting from having the jobs here? That is the Conservative approach. That is how we cut bills and support jobs. That is the point t...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

28 May 2026

Scotland’s Energy

The problem for Lorna Slater and those who make such arguments is that we will need oil and gas for decades to come. The choice is not about whether we use oil and gas, because we will need it; the choice is about whether we produce it here or import it from other countries an...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

28 May 2026

Scotland’s Energy

I thank Mr Barratt for that sedentary contribution.We do, of course, miss both Annabelle and Fergus Ewing, and I hope that Mr Barratt will be equally independently minded when it comes to members of his front bench.Mr Gethins opened the debate. I congratulate him on his new ro...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

28 May 2026

Scotland’s Energy

I thank all those who made their first speeches during this debate: Duncan Massey, Jack Middleton, David Barratt, Mark Simpson, Pauline Stafford, Heather Anderson, Kristopher Leask, Alan Brown and Sanne Dijkstra-Downie. All of them made well-informed and helpful contributions,...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

28 May 2026

Scotland’s Energy

My apologies to you, Presiding Officer, and to the member. He was so confident in his approach that it had entirely slipped my mind that it was his first speech in this chamber.I very much welcome Stephen Gethins to his place on the front bench as energy minister. I want to as...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

28 May 2026

Scotland’s Energy

Will the minister take an intervention?

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

14 May 2026

Oaths and Affirmations

I, Murdo MacKenzie Fraser, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

14 May 2026

Oaths and Affirmations

I, Murdo MacKenzie Fraser, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

14 May 2026

Oaths and Affirmations

I, Murdo MacKenzie Fraser, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

24 Mar 2026

Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill

Does Mr Griffin understand the point that I made a moment ago and that Mr Eagle made last week, which is that City of Edinburgh Council has no incentive to grant medical exemptions, because that would not impact its residents? People who travel to Edinburgh to use medical faci...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

24 Mar 2026

Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill

I agree with that point from my friend Mr Carson—he is absolutely right. As he will have done, I have seen surveys that start by asking people, “How would you like to see this money spent in your community?” It is interesting, however, that, in so many consultations, even agai...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

24 Mar 2026

Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill

Sarah Boyack is absolutely right about the practicalities of the legislation. However, the problem—as she will know—is that councils across the country are being squeezed for cash and are trying to find money anywhere they can to make up for the cuts that the Scottish National...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

24 Mar 2026

Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill

The Scottish Conservatives very much welcome the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill, which corrects errors and misjudgments arising from the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 that the Parliament passed back in 2024. I thank the minister for his constructive engagement wit...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

19 Mar 2026

Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

There is a massive, gaping hole in the minister’s argument where he said that Parliament agreed the schemes and therefore we should stick with them. The reason that the bill is in front of us is that we accepted that the original legislation was deeply flawed and we had to bri...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

19 Mar 2026

Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I am afraid that Mr Mason is being unduly optimistic in talking about “a few pounds here or there”. We could be talking about substantial sums. Edinburgh’s visitor levy is 5 per cent plus VAT, which is 6 per cent, and other councils have even higher charges. The total could be...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

19 Mar 2026

Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

My amendment 12 is in a group with amendment 27, in the name of my colleague Tim Eagle, which covers the same issue but approaches it in a slightly different way.As drafted, the bill allows a local authority to charge a visitor levy from the date on which it decides to introdu...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

19 Mar 2026

Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I will respond briefly to the points that have been made, and I will begin with the points that were made by Tim Eagle and by Jamie Halcro Johnston in his intervention, which we did not hear a convincing answer to. Jamie Halcro Johnston’s point was that people from the Highlan...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

19 Mar 2026

Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

The Scottish Conservatives support the bill, which makes much-needed corrections to the original flawed legislation. I will say more about that context in the closing debate next week. In the meantime, I will speak briefly to my two amendments in the group.Amendments 5 and 6 h...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

19 Mar 2026

Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I will comment briefly on the group. I welcome the amendments. They deal with an issue that has been raised by many accommodation providers, which is that the cost of administering the visitor levy will fall on them. The amendments will allow accommodation providers, if a loca...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

19 Mar 2026

Invasion of Ukraine

I have written to the cabinet secretary about Tayside and Strathearn Help for Ukraine, which is still being overwhelmed with donations from people across Scotland, but it is running out of money due to how expensive it is to run trucks to Ukraine every week because of fuel cos...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

19 Mar 2026

Invasion of Ukraine

I associate myself entirely with everything that Kenny Gibson is saying. He might be coming on to talk about the support that people in Scotland are showing for Ukraine. Will he join me in saluting the many voluntary groups throughout the country, including Tayside and Strathe...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

19 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish Information Commissioner (Legal Advice)

The problem with the First Minister’s defence is that it ignores the fact that David Hamilton, the Scottish Information Commissioner, has spent his entire career in the criminal justice system and he probably understands these issues better than anybody else in this chamber. H...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

18 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Venture Capital Funding

I suspect that this might be our last ever exchange in the chamber, so I wish the Deputy First Minister all the best for the future. I have enjoyed our constructive engagement over a number of years.On that note, I wonder whether she would agree with me on what I am about to s...

3. Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

18 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Venture Capital Funding

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to expand the availability of venture capital funding to aid business growth. (S6O-05650)

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

13 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I do not think that Christine Grahame is disagreeing with me in that intervention. All I am saying is that, as I argued earlier, suicide prevention services should be made available to those people, and we should do far more in society to promote suicide prevention.I will clos...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

13 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

The member has put her view on the record. All that I have done is quote from the international experts on suicide prevention. Members can make up their own minds as to whether or not it is appropriate to quote those people in the context of this debate.

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

13 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

My amendments 294 and 295 seek to build on other amendments in this group from Audrey Nicoll and others and to strengthen the annual reporting duty, which requires a review of the impact on palliative and end-of-life care services, by extending it to suicide prevention measure...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

13 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I say very gently to Mr Adam that that intervention is not worthy of him. We are dealing with a legal reality and a groundbreaking change in the law that will have a huge impact. All that I am seeking to do is to ensure that we put suicide prevention at the heart of the bill.F...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

13 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

: I will respond very briefly.I appreciate that there are members who find it uncomfortable to talk about suicide in the context of this bill, but that is the reality of what we are facing. That is the practical impact of the bill before us. For the first time in our history, ...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

13 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I am just about to close, so I will not take the intervention, if Mr Harvie will forgive me.I want suicide prevention to be absolutely central to what we are doing here, so I would like to see it addressed in the bill.I will speak briefly to the other amendments in the group. ...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

13 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I gently say to Clare Haughey that the legal reality is that the bill would allow, for the first time in our history, individuals to help another individual to commit suicide.Let me explain my thinking on the subject. Every suicide is a tragedy. It is an enormous tragedy for t...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

13 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Before I talk about amendment 247, I draw members’ attention, if they are not already aware of this, to the fact that the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland has just informed us in the past few moments that it has moved from a position of neutrality on the bill to a po...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

12 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Mr Hepburn makes a reasonable point. Perhaps Mr McMillan can address it in winding up, because the amendment does not specify that.People who vote in referendums sometimes cast a vote for different reasons. They will not always scrutinise in detail the issues that are before t...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

12 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I pressed my button to speak briefly on amendment 112, in the name of Stuart McMillan, but Dr Alasdair Allan has made nearly all the points that I was going to make, so I will not elaborate much further. I agree with him about the constitutional and political tradition that we...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

12 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I am afraid that I cannot give Mr Kerr a figure; nor could I give him a figure for what the cost of providing advocacy services under the bill as it stands might be. We are all in the same place in that respect.I urge colleagues to support amendment 207, which represents a nec...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

12 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I very much agree with Rhoda Grant. If we are going to have advocacy, it needs to be available to everybody, and on a face-to-face basis. Part of the reason why I am lodging amendment 207 is that we need an independent body that is responsible for ensuring that advocacy is ava...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

12 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

As Ross Greer has properly identified, amendment 207 proposes the establishment of a new statutory entity to be known as the independent advocacy oversight body, which would be charged with the accreditation, monitoring, auditing and reporting of advocacy services operating un...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

11 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · National Performing Companies

We are so fortunate to have the national performing companies, but, as we have just heard, the standstill budget that the Scottish Government has handed down means that they are potentially having to cut back on some of their activities. In 2021, in the programme for governmen...

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

10 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

On the sentencing point, will the member reflect that, first, there is a presumption against sentences of a year or less; and, secondly, even if someone were sentenced to a year, they would serve, under the current automatic early release arrangements, only 15 weeks in prison?...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

10 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Will Michael Matheson give way?

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

05 Mar 2026

Digital Assets (Scotland) Bill

When that tremendous technology of the iPhone was invented, did the minister think that the world would spend most of its time watching cat videos?

Murdo Fraser Con Chamber

05 Mar 2026

Digital Assets (Scotland) Bill

Will the minister give way?

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

05 Mar 2026

Digital Assets (Scotland) Bill

Like the minister, I commend the members who have joined us in the chamber. I am sorry that the public gallery cleared as the minister got up to speak—I am sure that that had nothing to do with the content of his speech.I do not intend to say a great deal about the bill, as my...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con Chamber

05 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time

I have been contacted by local church groups concerned about the closure at the end of this month of the United Kingdom Government’s listed places of worship grant scheme, a very valuable scheme that I am sure the First Minister is aware of, and which allows places of worship ...

Murdo Fraser Con Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

:Thank you.

Murdo Fraser Con Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

:The bill suggests that the cost will be £12 million across the UK, and it might be assumed that Scotland will bear a proportionate share of that across the public sector. However, you do not expect that to be a major burden.