Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 26 May 2026 [Draft]
26 May 2026 · S7 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Independence Referendum
I see that Mr Sarwar’s constructive and collaborative tone lasted about a week in this place. Clearly, no lessons have been learned from the election.
Every Green MSP who was elected to this Parliament was elected on a mandate to support the cause of independence. Our gains have made the biggest-ever majority for independence in this Parliament, and we are here to assert that mandate. It is, of course, normal in a democracy that a parliamentary majority can pursue the issues on which it has won a mandate from the voters. However, we saw throughout the campaign—as we are seeing in Parliament this afternoon—increasingly desperate mental gymnastics from unionist parties that claim that we somehow do not have that mandate. During the campaign, we heard from the Labour Party that its win in the 2024 general election in Scotland was a mandate against another independence referendum. However, that only has any credibility if we ignore the fact that it rejected the SNP’s equivalent mandates in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
We have also heard the “once in a generation” line—that it has not yet been a generation since the referendum.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Kenneth Gibson)
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S7M-00105, in the name of John Swinney, on being ambitious for Scotland. I invite members who wish to speak i...
Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I say first that although I welcome much of the content of the First Minister’s opening statement, the reality is that the contrast between that statement an...
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Neil Gray)
SNP
We have had a test of some of Mr Sarwar’s theories in recent weeks because we have had an election and the people have decided. Would it not be better if Mr ...
Anas Sarwar
Lab
Mr Gray will argue his view and I am going to argue mine—that is democracy. The reality is that there is a mix of views across the country, as was clear duri...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Members who take interventions do not have the time taken from them, but it is still up to members to decide whether they take interventions.14:27
Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
I see that Mr Sarwar’s constructive and collaborative tone lasted about a week in this place. Clearly, no lessons have been learned from the election.Every G...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh North Western) (LD)
LD
Will the member take an intervention?
Ross Greer
Green
Not quite yet.I ask those who use that particular line to reflect on the fact that 800,000 people who were old enough to vote at the election just a few week...
Craig Hoy (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Con
If Ross Greer believes in democracy and giving voters a choice, why did the Scottish Green Party stand in so few constituencies?
Ross Greer
Green
Mr Hoy may have missed the fact that the Scottish Greens gave every voter in Scotland the opportunity to vote for us, and far more of them chose to do so tha...
Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
Will Ross Greer give way on that point?
Ross Greer
Green
No.The best way to grow support for Scottish self-government is to do self-government well—to maximise the use of the powers that we have. That is the focus ...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Before I call the next speaker, I remind members who wish to speak to press their request-to-speak buttons—not everyone has done that so far.14:34
Russell Findlay (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
Here we go again. This is the first debate of the new parliamentary session, but it is not about the NHS, in which patients are stuck waiting for years in mi...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh North Western) (LD)
LD
Members will be delighted to hear that I do not plan to take all of my time this afternoon. I intend to cede some of it to Duncan Dunlop, who will be making ...
Ross Greer
Green
I remember that, in the last session of this Parliament, we pointed out that the pro-independence parties had won not just a majority of seats but a majority...
Alex Cole-Hamilton
LD
Ross Greer is celebrated as one of the brightest members of this Parliament, yet basic arithmetic seems to be escaping him; 59 per cent of the public is bigg...
The Minister for Business and Fair Work (Tom Arthur)
SNP
Will the member give way?
Rachael Hamilton (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Con
Will the member give way?
Alex Cole-Hamilton
LD
I do not have time—
The Presiding Officer
NPA
You do have time.
Alex Cole-Hamilton
LD
Okay—I will take an intervention from Tom Arthur.
Tom Arthur
SNP
One of the fundamental challenges that we face in social care is the recruitment and retention of workforce, and that challenge is particularly conspicuous i...
Alex Cole-Hamilton
LD
I do not disagree with Mr Arthur that Brexit has been a disaster for social care, but it would be a lot easier to fix social care if his Government paid peop...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
I call Malcolm Offord.14:45
Malcolm Offord (West Scotland) (Reform)
Reform
So, here we go again—welcome back to groundhog day. Doesn’t the SNP just love debating matters that are reserved to Westminster instead of doing the day job?...
Members
We cannot hear—turn the microphone round.
Malcolm Offord
Reform
I will start again.Is it any wonder that 2 million Scots did not vote in the election on 7 May?Holyrood controls 60 per cent of the spending in Scotland. Mor...
Neil Gray
SNP
What is the democratic mandate?
Malcolm Offord
Reform
I will address that in my next point—I will give the exact numbers on that, because it is a key point that we will come to in the discussion.Even in 2016, af...