Meeting of the Parliament 24 February 2026 [Draft]
Indeed. Such vexatious complaints and what might or might not happen in a future session of Parliament are of grave concern to me. We must be mindful that the individuals in the Parliament who are elected under the regional list are not elected as individuals. The member and I were not elected as MSP or Jeremy Balfour MSP. We were both elected as Scottish Conservative MSPs.
If my amendments in group 2 are agreed to, the reference to the criminal offence ground will be superfluous. That is why amendments 42A, 42B and 42C would change the original wording to remove reference to that ground. They are all linked in that way. If members indicate that they will not support my amendments in group 2, I might be content not to move amendments 42A, 42B and 42C, but I will certainly listen to the debate this afternoon.
The other amendments in the group would remove reference to regional polls to reflect the substantive change that would be made by amendment 42.
The amendments are pragmatic and common sense and are designed to bring down the costs of the bill. The amendments reflect the fact that regional and constituency MSPs are elected in different ways. We might be equal when we enter the chamber, but we should have different recall processes to reflect that difference.
I move amendment 38.