Hansard

I thank the minister for leading today’s important debate on women’s health. It is so important that we do not ignore early signs of disease, because early diagnosis can be life saving. I welcome the opening next week of the early cancer diagnosis centre in Ayr, as part of the Scottish Government’s health recovery plan, and I encourage people not to ignore concerns but to get in touch with their doctor.

It is the biggest privilege to stand here as the first SNP member, and the first woman, to be elected to represent the people of Ayr, Prestwick and Troon in the Scottish Parliament. I would not be here today if it were not for the support and commitment of my campaign team. I thank Con, Ian, Alison and Becca, as well as all the local activists who put their heart and soul into helping to win the seat. Their extraordinary efforts mean that I am able to join the other four SNP MSPs in representing all the people of Ayrshire.

I thank all the people who trusted me with their vote. I will work hard to repay their trust. I assure those who did not vote for me that I am their MSP, too. I am determined to represent each and every one of my constituents to the best of my abilities at Holyrood.

I also pay tribute to my predecessor, John Scott, who represented the people of Ayr, Prestwick and Troon for 21 years. Although our politics are different, I have the utmost respect for him. He was a highly regarded member of the Scottish Parliament, and I wish him health and happiness.

Politics and public life can, at times, be somewhat challenging to family life, so I thank my husband and children for their support and patience. I am lucky to represent a beautiful part of the world, on the picturesque west coast of Scotland. I represent the Ayr seat, which includes the neighbouring towns of Prestwick and Troon. We have many valuable resources such as our world-class golf courses, our Robert Burns heritage, Prestwick airport and the aerospace industries, Troon port and the yacht marina, a campus of the University of the West of Scotland and, in normal times, a buzzing restaurant scene and nightlife. If you have never been, I urge you to come and visit my constituency. Weather permitting, you might be rewarded with a sunset over Arran that will make you appreciate life, even during a pandemic.

My constituency is fortunate to have many areas of affluence, but it also has areas with high levels of deprivation. Years of Tory austerity have impacted heavily on the resilience of our poorest communities and have increased the difference in life chances for our young and our old. A child in some parts of Ayr north is twice as likely to grow up in poverty as one living in Troon, and the life expectancy of a child born today is around 10 years less in our poorest areas than it is in our most affluent areas.

Tory austerity and social welfare cuts have exacerbated inequality. That cannot be denied or excused—more so since the cuts have been revealed to be a deliberate policy choice and not an economic necessity. That is why the Scottish Government’s renewed commitment to tackling child poverty is welcome. Measures such as doubling the Scottish child payment to £20 per week in the first year of this parliamentary session, which has already been described as a poverty game changer, will give children in our communities the life chances that we wish for them all.

There are also inequalities in our communities at the other end of the age spectrum. I am sure that members are aware that levels of pensioner poverty are higher and that the state pension is lower in the UK than in most of western Europe. The stolen pensions of the WASPI women—the women against state pension inequality—are a national scandal. Given that the proportion of my constituents who are aged over 65 is higher than the Scottish average, that is of huge concern to me. In one of the richest countries in the world, all our elderly citizens should be able to live with dignity and receive the level of care that they deserve. I am delighted that the Scottish Government has made it a priority to establish a national care service on a par with the NHS and has committed to scrapping charges for non-residential care.

Our young people are perhaps our most important local assets. As it has for kids around the world, the pandemic has had a huge impact on their education, their lives in general and their mental health. As we help our young people to get their lives back on track, we must take the opportunity to consider what kind of country we want them to grow up in and who we want to lead a fairer, greener recovery. That should be—and will be—decided by the people of Scotland. They have returned an SNP Government with a landslide victory, and the people’s will must be respected.

The Covid pandemic must be a priority, but, when the time is right, the people of Scotland should have the choice to determine their future. That is not about being divisive; it is about being democratic.