Meeting of the Parliament 09 January 2025
I am grateful to the Government for bringing the debate to the chamber.
I begin with a reflection on my interests, as Maggie Chapman did. I am a proud product of immigration—not from Africa, as she is, but from the Pacific north-west of Canada. I am very grateful for the life that my mother has made in this country and I know that she is still grateful for the welcome that she has been given.
Liberal Democrats believe fundamentally that immigration makes our country stronger and more prosperous. Rather than demonising those who want to come here, we need to encourage immigration to Scotland. In fact, we need targeted measures to make that a reality, not only because of the positive contribution that immigrants make, but because all our demographic projections—we have already heard about some of them in the debate—suggest that Scotland’s population is in fundamental decline. We will see more deaths than births every year for the next 25 years. It is projected that there will be as many as 10,000 more by 2041. That is astonishing.
Population growth is therefore essential, because it underpins future economic growth and the sustainability of our public services. Immigration is essential for maintaining that growth, but it is also essential for sustainability of services. We need people to move here to plug the gaps in the Scottish workforce and to contribute to the tax base. Indeed, research consistently shows that those who come here for economic reasons pay more in tax than they receive in benefits—and by a country mile. Immigration and the economy are fundamentally connected.
A consequence of the hard Brexit that was imposed on us by the Conservative Government was the cutting off a source of labour for our farms, our care homes, our NHS, and our tourism and hospitality industry. Liberal Democrats are pragmatic and remorseless about building bridges and re-establishing our broken connections with our European friends and neighbours.