Meeting of the Parliament 24 February 2026 [Draft]
Sue Webber’s amendments would apply the recall petition process only to constituency members and provide for automatic removal of regional members in cases in which the parliamentary sanction grounds apply.
There are two questions for Parliament to consider in relation to this group of amendments.
First, would a resolution of the Parliament to sanction a regional MSP be sufficient grounds to automatically remove them? Secondly, would regional MSPs and constituency MSPs be treated with parity of esteem, as far as possible, if there was no recall process of any kind for a regional MSP?
During the bill’s policy development, I considered carefully what the appropriate triggers should be for the recall process. I also sought to ensure that the recall process that followed any ground for recall being met included features that would enable any MSP, whether they were a regional MSP or a constituency MSP, to have the time and opportunity to make their case to the electorate—a fair opportunity to campaign and, therefore, remain in their post.
Given that constituency MSPs and regional MSPs are elected using different systems, they must be replaced using different systems. There is no way to treat members in an identical way, but they can be treated fairly and with parity of esteem as far as possible. In my opinion, part of the process for all MSPs must involve the electorate.
Drawing on the UK model for constituency MSPs and the Welsh model for regional MSPs, my officials worked painstakingly to ensure that the two processes in the bill—the constituency MSP recall process and the regional MSP recall process—will operate in ways that reflect the need for parity of esteem.
For example, it is intended that the campaigning time available for an MSP before a signing period closes for the constituency MSP petition process will be comparable with the time available before a vote requires to be cast in the regional MSP recall process. Therefore, the amount of time that the electorate will have to consider their decision will be of comparable length.
On the basis that the system that Sue Webber’s amendments would create would not include a role for the electorate in relation to regional MSPs and, therefore, would not seek to treat constituency MSPs and regional MSPs fairly, I will not support her amendments.