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Chamber

Meeting of the Parliament 26 May 2026 [Draft]

26 May 2026 · S7 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Independence Referendum
Cole-Hamilton, Alex LD Edinburgh North Western Watch on SPTV

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 people more to work in social care or gave them key worker housing to address the shortage of housing in the Highlands and Islands that he discussed, so he has got a nerve to raise that with me.

We need to get Scotland moving again. Just last week, the nation was embarrassed when the technology of the 19th century came to the aid of passengers of the 21st century—the Clyde paddle steamer, the Waverley, had to rescue passengers because a Caledonian MacBrayne vessel had broken down. That is a microcosm of the inadequacies of the SNP Government, and taking time for parliamentary debates such as this one does nothing to serve our constituents. It is no wonder that they do not pay the attention to, or have the trust in, the Parliament that they used to, because they just do not believe that it can deliver for them.

I move amendment S7M-00105.1, to leave out from first “welcomes” to end and insert:

“notes that the Scottish National Party’s stated objective prior to 7 May 2026 was to secure an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament elections in order to pursue independence, but that the party achieved fewer votes and seats than in the previous elections, whereas the Scottish Liberal Democrats achieved gains across Scotland from the Borders to the Highlands, and believes that the Scottish Government must now focus on fixing the NHS and care, helping people with the cost of living crisis, fixing the roads and the ferries and getting Scottish education back to its best, in order to deliver the change that Scotland deserves.”

References in this contribution

Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.

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...