Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 05 October 2021
Scotland rejected Brexit, and we deeply regret that it has been forced upon us—and during a global pandemic.
Despite that, the Scottish Government has always worked to make the best of a bad situation for Scotland. Despite our differences, we are, of course, prepared to co-operate with the UK Government. We have done so on the Environment Bill. We have a shared interest in working to reduce our global environmental impact and, as I said, we consented to aspects of the bill. I have to correct Donald Cameron, who appeared to suggest that we have consented to the whole bill—that cannot reconcile with what we are debating today. I think that that is wrong. Given the nature of the forest risk commodities provisions, a joint approach might have been achievable in that case. Had the UK Government respected this Parliament’s legislative competence, we could have found a resolution. It is unfortunate that that has not been the case.
If the Parliament does not stand against attempts to undermine the democratic will, the UK Government will continue to constrain the competence of Scotland’s Parliament. Be it the Commons seeking to undermine the application of Scotland’s environmental principles, which were carefully created by the Government and supported by this Parliament, or the House of Lords seeking to legislate on forestry matters over the head of the Scottish Government and Parliament, such attempts must be resisted. Be they stealthy, as in this case, or overt, as in the insidious United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, such attempts must be resisted. It is this Parliament that is accountable to the people of Scotland, and we must be free to act in devolved matters as the people of Scotland elected us to do.
We are not alone in our concerns. As the cabinet secretary pointed out, the Welsh Government is equally troubled by the UK Government’s creep into devolved power. I note Monica Lennon’s amendment and what she describes as her disappointment that matters have not been resolved. I share that disappointment, but the difference between Monica Lennon and the Labour Party and this Government is that we are not prepared to accept perpetual disappointment under the UK’s constitutional system.