Meeting of the Parliament 01 May 2024
The First Minister began with reflections on a constituency case and a constituency campaign, and I will do the same. I want to put on record in this Parliament that I thank and pay tribute to Sheila Forbes from Lossiemouth, who has been spearheading the campaign for WASPI women in Lossie, in Moray and in many parts of Scotland for many years. Her tireless efforts deserve recognition. Indeed, I had a surgery just a few weeks ago in Lossie and an issue about WASPI women came up, which I wrote to the Department for Work and Pensions about, and Sheila’s name was mentioned. Throughout some difficult times for the WASPI campaign and some divisions within it, Sheila has remained resolute in standing up for the women in Moray and wider communities who have been and continue to be affected by this issue, and their friends and family.
As the First Minister said, people who started out on this journey are no longer with us, and the campaign for justice for WASPI women is not just for those who remain campaigning—I welcome the campaigners who are in the gallery—but for those who fought this battle but, sadly, did not see justice.
I come to the motion for debate and my amendment. The motion was lodged yesterday, which was after the First Minister wrote to party leaders to speak about the new approach that we have to take, and, indeed, after the speeches that he made at the weekend. I hope that, on reflection, he might see nothing that he can disagree with in my amendment. That has certainly been my intention.
In this new era of minority Government, there is an opportunity for this Parliament to debate—