Hansard

I reiterate the point that I just made: the 2017 consultation was split on what the bill should deliver, which is why the bill is one that makes technical fixes, including some very important changes.

Ariane Burgess talked about new opportunities. I would like her to note that we have just announced 17 new farming opportunities on Forestry and Land Scotland land. Those opportunities might not be crofting opportunities, but the commission is currently working with the Scottish Land Matching Service to ensure that we create such opportunities in the very near future. We are committed to ensuring that we attract new blood into not only crofting but farming.

I must push back on Beatrice Wishart, who said that the Government does not care about rural Scotland. The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and I have worked tirelessly to find workable solutions through the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024, the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill and the Crofting and Scottish Land Court Bill. However, I wish her well in whatever she chooses to do. I do not think that she has made her last contribution today, but I give her my very best wishes.

Alasdair Allan worked incredibly hard to ensure that his amendments were agreed to, and, in doing so, he added considerable value for his constituents.

I will take a moment to thank all the members who have spoken in the debate. Some thought-provoking points have been made, and I will certainly take them away with me. If I return to office as the agriculture minister, I will certainly bear them in mind.

I hope that all members will support the bill, which will deliver for our people and our communities. Crofting is such a rich part of Scotland’s fabric. It is part of our heritage and, indeed, part of our identity as a nation. It is also part of our future. The bill is about securing that future and ensuring that crofters and crofting communities grow and continue to thrive in the years and decades to come. Today marks a significant staging post on that journey to securing the future of crofting, which is a way of life that the Government is determined to support. I urge members to support the bill.

If I may, I will take a moment or two to pay tribute to a number of members for whom today’s debate marks their final contributions in the Parliament.

Richard Leonard, as he said himself, has served from 2016 to 2026. He has been consistent and resolute in staying true to his socialist principles and has been a proud champion of workers’ rights throughout his parliamentary career. His passionate speech during the stage 3 debate on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill and his passionate speech today were powerful reminders of his deeply held principles. It would be helpful if his firebrand speeches were accurate, but we will not go into that right now. Comrade, I wish you well for the future.

This debate also marks Edward Mountain’s final speech—although you never really know with Edward; he might come back tomorrow and add something else. There are many things on which Edward and I passionately disagree—that is beyond doubt—but what we have in common is a genuine passion and love for rural Scotland. Scottish politics has come so far since the reconvening of this Parliament. It is a place where rural Scotland, in all its diversity, can be represented by members ranging from this humble working-class shepherd to our very own land-owning baronet—who, to clarify, is just a small landowner. Joking aside, I have really enjoyed our robust debates, and I thank the member for his insightful contributions to Scottish public life and his discourse over his tenure. I very much wish him well in whatever he decides to go on and do.

Finally, I turn to Rhoda Grant. I say in all sincerity that Rhoda will be sorely missed in the chamber. Having served almost continuously since 1999, in five of the six sessions of Parliament, as an MSP and party spokesperson, she is without doubt one of the few members who have had the honour of seeing this institution grow and mature from those early days of devolution. Throughout my tenure as a minister, and prior to that as a fellow member of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, I have observed Rhoda’s work, and she has shown a steady and quiet determination to be a champion for the people of the Highlands and Islands on a diverse range of very important causes—not least through her Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill, which was passed in 2011.

As Rhoda put it so eloquently in her own words,

“it’s the people that make the parliament”.

On behalf of the Government and my fellow MSPs, I wish Rhoda all the very best for the future. [Applause.]