Meeting of the Parliament 05 March 2026 [Draft]
I am always respectful in my engagement in Parliament, and I will not apologise for setting out some hard truths to the Tory party.
I did not conjure up the description of the Tory party as “the nasty party”. That description was conjured up and openly used by Theresa May, the former Conservative Prime Minister, who, in a moment of self-reflection, told the Conservatives what they needed to hear. Of course, there has been a resumption of the nasty party under the leadership of Russell Findlay.
One illustration of the characteristics of Mr Findlay’s plan is the fact that, if it was implemented, the two-child limit would be restored in relation to the Scottish child payment, which would consign more families and more children in this country to poverty.
One of my objectives as First Minister is to make sure that we succeed in eradicating child poverty. We are already making significant progress on that. In Scotland, there has been a reduction in child poverty while it is rising in the rest of the United Kingdom. Next week, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice will set out to Parliament the next steps in tackling child poverty. This Government will succeed in its determination to eradicate child poverty and consign the Tory party in Scotland to electoral history.