Meeting of the Parliament 18 February 2026 [Draft]
Last week, when I saw that we were due to debate external affairs, I certainly did not think that we would be debating a Scottish Green motion that would evict foreign nationals—and not just any foreign nationals, but US military personnel serving in our collective defence. Well, here we are.
Let me be unequivocal: we have a duty to protect our citizens and our allies, and any nation’s use of Scottish and UK infrastructure must be carried out in accordance with domestic and international law. We would expect that of our own armed forces overseas, and we rightly expect that of any nation using our infrastructure.
Scottish Labour is committed to taking sanctions against the Russian regime and maintaining our obligations that we have signed under international treaties. In 1949, the United Kingdom, under the leadership of Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee and Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, was one of the founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and we in the Labour Party remain committed to the principles of NATO.
Let us be clear what the motion that is before us means: it seeks to prevent the United States military from using Scottish airports. That would send a crystal clear and reckless statement that the Scottish Parliament is not interested in the collective defence of the United Kingdom, the European Union or, indeed, Scotland. A time of global instability is not the time to turn our backs on our NATO allies.
That is why I welcome the UK Government’s commitment to increase defence spending to 3 per cent of gross domestic product. That will support our security, but it will also support Ukraine and security on the continent of Europe, which is threatened by Putin’s aggression. It will help to boost skilled, unionised and high-wage jobs in Scotland’s defence industry, including at Prestwick airport, which is mentioned in the motion.
We can of course have different views on the policies and actions of the current US Administration, but our special relationship with the United States and its people is long-standing and vitally important and must be maintained.