Hansard

Clearly, this has been a short debate, but we have gone over some of the reasons why it is an important debate, and I will turn to that issue shortly.

First, I thank Murdo Fraser for his kind comments. The great news for him is that this is not my farewell speech—that is still to come—so he will have the joy of hearing that, as will all 128 other members of the Parliament, on the day before we break up for the election. I am sure that he will look forward to that with bated breath.

However, this is my last speech on legislation. Over my 17 years in government, I have brought to the Parliament proposals for a plastic bag levy, tenant farming legislation, legislation to help Scotland to prepare for flood risk, marine legislation and various other legislation. All those pieces of legislation were a lot longer and more time consuming than this bill—or, indeed, the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill, which I led on a couple of weeks ago and was also quite short—but they have all been about preparing Scotland for the future and responding to the challenges and opportunities that our nation faces.

When I became a member of the Cabinet for the first time in 2007, just after the Scottish National Party had been elected as the Government for the first time, with about five other members of the Scottish Cabinet, it was, if I recall rightly, the month before the iPhone was launched. I ask members to think about that for a second. Nowadays, our lives depend on our smartphones and we carry out all our lives on them. I ask members to think how the world has changed in that short space of time.

That is at the heart of what the bill is about. Despite the fact that it is legalistic and technical, it is important. It is about the world that is changing around us.