Meeting of the Parliament 19 November 2025
The cabinet secretary opened her speech by talking about Scotland’s men’s football team and the hope that they have given us all with the great result that they had last night. In celebrating the result, I have to remind members that all roads to the United States lead to Paisley—or rather, go through Paisley, whether it is going to Paisley international airport or the fact that Steve Clarke, John McGinn, Kenny McLean and Lawrence Shankland all played for the mighty St Mirren in Paisley. As always, there is a Paisley connection.
Three of those players were youth players. Currently, St Mirren—along with the University of the West of Scotland, which is connected to the debate—has a programme to ensure that players who do not make it to the top grade in football get the opportunity to do something else and look at another career.
The cabinet secretary was right to bring up the importance of hope. We all know the story of Pandora’s box, which was not actually a box—it was just a sealed container. Pandora opened it and released all the troubles of the world, and only hope remained inside the box. That tells us that things can be better and that, in difficult times, we can make things a lot better. However, I get the impression from listening to Labour Party members that if they ever had what was left of Pandora’s box, they would just toss the jar.
I turn to the reality in my constituency. On Friday, I was at a flexible learning resource for senior-phase pupils with additional support needs at a school in Foxbar in Paisley. I was meant to be there for only a short time, but I ended up spending about an hour and a half or two hours there—with my office manager going backwards and forwards regularly to try to get me out—because it was so interesting to listen to those young people who are in that resource to learn. They probably knew more about politics than a lot of the members in the chamber today.
As always, I will talk about my personal circumstances. My granddaughter Daisy was diagnosed with autism. In the past year, she has been put into a class along with other neurodivergent young boys and girls, and she has moved forward.
In saying that, I recognise, as I always must, the real challenges that teachers and school staff are dealing with every day, whether that is the rising number of children with additional support needs, the lingering effects of the pandemic, or the pressures that come from supporting families through a cost of living crisis that is not of Scotland’s making. Our teachers are carrying a huge weight and I put on record my gratitude to them all. Their commitment, compassion and professionalism are the backbone of Scotland’s education system.
However, acknowledging challenge is not the same as accepting the bleak and, frankly, uninspiring picture that is painted by Labour’s motion. Scotland’s teachers and young people deserve better than a narrative that overlooks progress, ignores success and, at times, seems more focused on political point scoring than solutions. The truth, which is backed by evidence from across Scotland, is that the Government is delivering improvements and is investing heavily in working side by side with teachers to build a better education system. Look at the facts: attainment is rising, pass rates for national 5, higher and advanced higher are up in comparison with not only last year but pre-pandemic levels. Literacy and numeracy attainment in our primary and secondary schools are also at a record high. If that is failure, I would hate to see what success looks like to Opposition parties.
Record numbers of young people—more than 110,000—are achieving vocational and technical qualifications. That is proof that the Scottish Government’s commitment to create multiple pathways is working. Our teachers are working hard and our young people are achieving more than ever. The Government is investing more, delivering more and supporting more than any other Administration in the United Kingdom.
For the debate to be valid and constructive, we must accept the current successes in education and see how we can take them to the next level. Only then can we really say that we are looking to build a better educational landscape for our young people.