Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 24 February 2021
24 Feb 2021 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Prisoner Voting
During the Shetland by-election in September 2019, the Scottish National Party used ministerial diktat to sneak through a change to the franchise and bypass parliamentary scrutiny, allowing prisoners to vote in that election. Then, last year, it pushed through a bill that allows prisoners serving sentences of 12 months or less to vote in Scottish elections. As a result, this May, the Scottish Parliament elections will be decided with the votes of convicted prisoners who are serving their sentence in Scotland’s prisons.
What does that mean for people who are watching? According to the Scottish Prison Service, 540 criminals who are now in prison will be eligible to vote, and the SPS notes that that figure could increase by polling day.
I know that the cabinet secretary is fond of a quotation, and here is a good one:
“in my opinion, those who have been convicted of more serious crimes, particularly those of a sexual nature, violent crimes and crimes that harm people, have forfeited their right to vote.”—[Official Report, 28 November 2019; c 93.]
The First Minister was perfectly correct when she said that in November 2019.
The latest statistics show that in 2018-19, nearly 10,000 criminals received a custodial sentence of 12 months or less. Let us interrogate those figures.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Lewis Macdonald)
Lab
I remind members to observe the social distancing measures that are in place in the chamber and across the campus, including when entering and exiting the ch...
Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
During the Shetland by-election in September 2019, the Scottish National Party used ministerial diktat to sneak through a change to the franchise and bypass ...
Tom Arthur (Renfrewshire South) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member give way?
Liam Kerr
Con
I will not give way. Mr Arthur must let me make the point. One hundred and nineteen criminals are currently in prison on a 12-months-or-less sentence for at...
Tom Arthur
SNP
Liam Kerr is perfectly entitled to his view. However, I take issue with his suggestion that the SNP pushed through the change. As he knows fine well, changes...
Liam Kerr
Con
Mr Arthur’s summary is, indeed, a fact—as is the fact that the minister and his colleagues founded on a misunderstanding of the Hirst judgment in order to pu...
The Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs (Michael Russell)
SNP
Again and again, the Conservatives come to the chamber and denounce the choice of topic for a statement or a debate. It is therefore ironic that they have ch...
Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
For the cabinet secretary to talk about “abuse of the Parliament” this week is a bit rich. Is the cabinet secretary aware of the most recent YouGov polling,...
Michael Russell
SNP
I am aware of two things. One is the cynical exploitation of a range of issues this week by the Conservatives. I am familiar with that, it is a disgrace, and...
Liam Kerr
Con
Will the cabinet secretary give way?
Michael Russell
SNP
I will give way—not because Jamie Halcro Johnston shouts from a sedentary position, but because I am interested in seeing how much more arrogant Mr Kerr will...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
We have a point of order from Jamie Halcro Johnston.
Jamie Halcro Johnston (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Yet again, we find ourselves in a situation in which the cabinet secretary is using what I would consider disrespectf...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
I remind all members of the need for courtesy in their use of language when referring to one another in the chamber.
Liam Kerr
Con
I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for taking the intervention. When giving criminals the vote, why did the SNP Government go further than it was require...
Michael Russell
SNP
It did not go further than required. It put in place a sensible solution that has been used elsewhere. I cannot account for the fact that Mr Kerr seems to re...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Please draw your remarks to a close.
Michael Russell
SNP
My amendment rightly wipes out the offensive motion and replaces it with the facts of the matter. I hope that my amendment will be supported across the chamb...
Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Lab
It is obvious that there is an election in the offing. Today’s debate is, sadly, a waste of all our time. Prisoner voting was debated and voted on in this Pa...
Liam Kerr
Con
I am interested in the member’s characterisation of that. If she truly believes in rehabilitation, how can she support the cutting of 300,000 unpaid work hou...
Rhoda Grant
Lab
Liam Kerr was at the Justice Committee and heard the questions that I asked of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice about ensuring that the work that went towar...
Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD)
LD
The Conservatives’ motion rings a bell. That is because Liam Kerr and his colleagues have previous. In the run-up to the general election in 2019, the Tories...
John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Green)
Green
The election of a dishonest, racist and misogynist leader, the UK Prime Minister, might suggest that Tories believe in redemption and the power to change. We...
Liam Kerr
Con
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would welcome your guidance; I am wondering whether the member will bother to address the motion at any point in hi...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
This is an opening speech in the debate, and I expect Mr Finnie to address the motion.
John Finnie
Green
That is what I am doing, Presiding Officer. I value shrieval judgments in Scotland and rulings of the European Court, not the rantings of Mr Kerr about his ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
We now move to the open debate. I remind members that we are tight for time—there is a strict four minutes for speeches. 15:20
Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I am strongly opposed to prisoner voting and have been for a long time. I hope that my decision is based on careful consideration of both sides of the argume...
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
In my opinion, the Conservative motion that we are debating is both surprising and baffling. I associate myself with the remarks made earlier by Rhoda Grant,...
James Kelly (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
Like many other members across the chamber, every day I receive numerous emails about people’s concerns. Particularly in light of the pandemic, they are worr...