Meeting of the Parliament 20 February 2024
Regardless of how far and how fast Nicola Sturgeon falls, the Government still cannot escape the long shadow that she cast.
I welcome Fiona Hyslop’s appointment, and I recognise that the First Minister is blazing a trail in bringing more women into his Cabinet. It is good to see Fiona Hyslop in her role as Cabinet Secretary for Transport. However, such is the influence of the Greens that the Government is now recycling its Cabinet ministers. We wish her well and, to refer to the words of Kate Forbes, we hope that she has more success in making the trains run on time than her predecessors have had.
Neil Gray takes over where others, including Humza Yousaf, have failed. His is a crucial role, and we wish Mr Gray well in it. We look forward to working with him but, as he takes on this new role, he must see that doing more of the same will not deliver the change that patients clearly need. Two years after Humza Yousaf announced an NHS recovery plan, our NHS is still in crisis. Surely the First Minister can now see what every patient in Scotland sees: that his recovery plan has failed and should be scrapped.
Although there is no place in Humza Yousaf’s Government for Kate Forbes, her close ally Jim Fairlie takes up a rural post. The First Minister is reworking an old proverb: he is keeping his friends close but is keeping the friends of his enemies even closer.
I welcome Kaukab Stewart to the Government. As the First Minister said, it is inspiring to see the first woman of colour join a Scottish Administration. I wish her well as the new Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development. Given how frequently her boss, Angus Robertson, is out of the country, topping up his air miles—it is nice to see him in the chamber today—I am sure that she will be kept very busy deputising for him. [Interruption.]