Hansard

The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone) NPA

The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-12004, in the name of Angus Robertson, on Scotland’s place in the European Union. I invite members who wi...

The Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture (Angus Robertson) SNP

Tomorrow marks the fourth anniversary of Scotland being taken out of the European Union. Scotland was not only removed from the EU but forced out of the sing...

Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD) LD

I think that the minister will be bored with his own speech, given that he has made the same one several times before. Nevertheless, has he drawn together an...

Angus Robertson SNP

Willie Rennie knows that the European Union single market is, as I think that I am right in saying, seven times larger than the United Kingdom’s. Unlike him,...

Neil Bibby (West Scotland) (Lab) Lab

Will the cabinet secretary give way?

Angus Robertson SNP

I want to make a bit more progress on this point, but I will give way later to Mr Bibby. The EU market is seven times the size of the UK—almost 450 million...

Neil Bibby Lab

I am not sure what the Scottish National Party’s position on the customs union is, because, in 2019, during the Brexit votes, it did not vote in favour of a ...

Angus Robertson SNP

I agreed at that time that people should have a view and should be able to cast a vote in favour of the European Union. That was my support for there being a...

Alexander Stewart (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con

Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?

Angus Robertson SNP

I am going to finish this point. We can continue down that road or we can seek to emulate the success of comparable independent countries in Europe that are ...

Alexander Stewart Con

We know that Scotland’s exports are three times those of the EU. The London School of Economics and Political Science centre for economic performance has tal...

Angus Robertson SNP

I noticed that Alexander Stewart was not prepared to reflect on the relative economic decline of Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom, as clearly demo...

The Presiding Officer NPA

Members will wish to know that there is time in hand for interventions. We will be as generous as possible in that regard. I call Donald Cameron to speak to...

Donald Cameron (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con

The title of this debate is “An independent Scotland in the EU”.

The Minister for Independence (Jamie Hepburn) SNP

I just want to correct the record. That is not the title of the debate. It is “Scotland’s place in the European Union”. That will be an important point as th...

Donald Cameron Con

I thank Jamie Hepburn for that very important intervention. Here we are, yet again, debating a hypothetical wrapped in speculation inside a misconception, t...

Kevin Stewart (Aberdeen Central) (SNP) SNP

Mr Cameron has listed a lot of worthy things that we would all like to do, but does he recognise that the Centre for European Reform has estimated that Brexi...

Donald Cameron Con

Of course, an independent Scotland would incur huge costs and, like many of his fellow party members, Kevin Stewart is incapable of recognising the severe ec...

Neil Bibby (West Scotland) (Lab) Lab

I am not sure whether the cabinet secretary is a fan of fantasy football, as I am. If he is not, I encourage him to become one, because he would be better sp...

Angus Robertson SNP

When Mr Bibby intervened on me earlier, I asked him what the Scottish Labour Party’s position was. He was not able, or not prepared, to answer then, so will ...

Neil Bibby Lab

We will seek to fix the Tories’ Brexit mess. I will come to the details of how we want to have greater co-operation with our European partners. However, the...

Jamie Hepburn SNP

Will the member give way on that point?

Neil Bibby Lab

No—I have to make progress. People need change, and that process can start by booting out the Tories and electing a UK Labour Government. Labour has set o...

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing) SNP

I call Willie Rennie to speak to and move amendment S6M-12004.3. 14:52

Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD) LD

I always listen very carefully to the cabinet secretary. However, the more I listened to him this afternoon, the more I heard echoes of Jacob Rees-Mogg. That...

Clare Adamson (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP) SNP

Will the member take an intervention?

Willie Rennie LD

No, not just now. I am just making this very powerful argument. Laughter. I remember that Alex Salmond was more obsessed with attacking the UK Government t...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

We move to the open debate. 15:00

Clare Adamson (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP) SNP

I tried to intervene on Mr Rennie when he was making his argument about what we spent on the EU referendum. He forgets that we won that referendum in Scotlan...

Maurice Golden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con

The last time I debated one of the prospectus for independence papers, we were discussing the creation of a modern constitution for an independent Scotland. ...