Meeting of the Parliament 01 May 2024
Let me remind the chamber what Nicola Sturgeon said when Rishi Sunak replaced Liz Truss as Prime Minister. She said that we could not have a “revolving door” at Downing Street, that the office of Prime Minister was not the plaything of one political party and that it would be a democratic outrage if the leadership selection did not go to an election for the people to decide. If that is the principle that the SNP rightly applies to Westminster and the United Kingdom, why does it now hold Scotland and this Parliament to a lower standard?
I know that SNP members will point to Vaughan Gething as First Minister in Wales or other examples, but it is important to recognise the difference. Leaders stating that they will not complete full terms or leaving due to deeply personal circumstances and having a managed and orderly transition is very different from two leaders leaving in controversy and chaos.
For the second time in as many years, we have scandal, incompetence and political self-interest, with the SNP putting party before country and imposing its choice on the people of Scotland. It should be for the people to decide who leads our country; there should not be a backroom deal, a stage-managed coronation or a decision made by a small group of SNP members.
I think that the similarities between the UK Conservative Government and the SNP Scottish Government are now clear to see. The two political parties are both chaotic, divided, dysfunctional, unleadable, ungovernable, incompetent, distracted by internal wars, distant from the people’s priorities and unable to fix the mess of their own making. Both are looking to pitch community against community, both are entrenched in the politics of division and both are unable to meet the ambitions, hopes and aspirations of the people.
That is why our country is crying out for change. Yes, people want rid of this rotten Tory Government across the UK, but they also want to move on from this dysfunctional and incompetent SNP Government here in Scotland. That is why we need an election—so that the people can decide. It is getting clearer and clearer by the day that only Labour can deliver the change that Scotland needs. [Interruption.]
I can hear that SNP members do not agree, but that is because they have stopped listening to the Scottish people: the people who are struggling in a cost of living crisis, who need a Government on their side, focused on jobs and lowering bills; the people who are languishing on NHS waiting lists, who need a Government that will renew and reform our NHS; the people who are stuck in temporary accommodation, with record levels of homelessness, who need a Government that is focused on building new homes; the people who worry about their children’s future, who need a Government that will raise education standards and bring opportunities to every community; and the people who can see the huge potential of Scotland being squandered by two incompetent Governments, who need a Government that believes in economic growth and is willing to work with business.
It is now clearer than it has ever been that it is time for the people of Scotland to have their say. It is time to elect a Government that is capable of delivering on the ambitions and hopes of every person in our great country. That is why I have no confidence in this SNP Government. I have no confidence that it can deliver the stability and competence that we need. That is why it is time for change.
I move,
That the Parliament has no confidence in the Scottish Government.
15:02