Meeting of the Parliament 02 September 2025
I need to bring my remarks to a close.
We need a Parliament with the power to create an immigration policy that works for the people of Scotland.
We move ahead on eradicating child poverty, but then a new Westminster decision pushes us back. We seek to create jobs and boost prosperity, but a clumsy, ill-judged Westminster national insurance tax grab pushes businesses to the brink.
The Scottish Government will do everything that we can within our powers to secure the future of the people of Scotland and improve their lives, but make no mistake—this country needs to have the full powers of independence to transform the lives of our people, and this Government is going to work to deliver exactly that.
I move,
That the Parliament welcomes the Scottish Government’s continued focus on its four key priorities of eradicating child poverty, tackling the climate emergency, growing the economy, and ensuring high-quality and sustainable public services; recognises that the delivery of these priorities is within the significant constraints of a constitutional settlement that hampers achieving those priorities due to the policy decisions of UK Conservative and Labour administrations, and recognises that it is only by choosing independence that Scotland can get the fresh start that its people need and deserve.
15:25