Meeting of the Parliament 07 December 2022
It is my privilege to move the motion in my name, which speaks to what I believe is the most important thing over which we have power in this Parliament—Scotland’s education system and the future of our children and our country.
I have said before in the chamber that the gift of a Scottish education is the most prized gift that Scotland can give to her children, and that our education system is central to our national identity. Our education system gives confidence to our young people to move forward. It thrives on innovation, sparks entrepreneurship and extends equal opportunity to all—which is the very definition of levelling up.
We have an educational tradition that makes us feel proud of our Scottishness, which is why you, Presiding Officer, should expect to hear strong words and emotion from Conservative members this afternoon about how our education system has been maltreated by the Scottish National Party. Its end-of-year report card reads, “Must do better”.
The Scottish Conservatives have education at the heart of our political philosophy because education must be a golden ticket for every individual to live the life that they desire to live. Equal opportunity to succeed in life is at the core of Scottish Conservatives’ vision of the Scotland that we want.
Inspirational teachers are crucial to education, and the Scottish Conservatives are standing up for Scotland’s teachers. I know how much I owe my teachers. Mr Mitchell, who was my history teacher at Forfar academy, fired my enthusiasm for history. Mrs Skinner, who was my English teacher, told us that, if we wanted to develop any kind of vocabulary, we should read The Times at least once a week. That was sound advice, indeed.
We owe so much to our teachers, but we also have a responsibility to them. For the first time in 40 years, teachers in Scotland are taking industrial action. They are frustrated. The teachers whom I speak to do not want to be on strike, but want to be in the classroom, doing what they trained to do and what they love to do—teaching our children.
However, they expect to be respected. They deserve to be treated fairly, and they have been waiting eight months for the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to get serious. Shirley-Anne Somerville has made a total mess of the situation. She has blamed the teachers, she has blamed the unions, she has blamed local councillors and she has even blamed the United Kingdom Government. According to the cabinet secretary, the only innocent party in the dispute is herself. A situation that should have been resolved months ago is unresolved, and the buck stops with Shirley-Anne Somerville.