Hansard

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I extend my congratulations to you and to all new members in the Parliament who made their first speeches today.

Giving my first speech in this place on a topic as important as this feels a little bit like when I am out on my small fishing boat as the haar starts to roll in. In a moment and in an instant, my markers are gone. The skerries and the islands that I know like the back of my hand are not in my sight any more. I have to rely on a chart and GPS to be my guide. That is what good colleagues from across the chamber these past couple of weeks have been for me—a help, showing me the dos and the don’ts and the etiquette and functionality of this place. They have helped me to navigate, they have been my chart and my guide, and I thank them very much.

It is customary in a first speech to use time to pay tribute to those who walked before. I do that warmly and with enthusiasm for Beatrice Wishart, who proudly and diligently worked hard in this chamber to serve the islands of Shetland. I also acknowledge and recognise the work that Beatrice did to advance the rights of women and girls across Scotland. That was a passion of hers, and she was the first woman in Shetland to be elected to the Scottish Parliament. That paved the way for many young women and girls who came after her, which is no mean feat.

It is my greatest joy to take my seat in this place and to work to the best of my ability for our beautiful home, the Shetland Islands. However, Shetland is more than just beautiful. Our character is resilient, innovative and hugely ambitious. Someone once described Shetlanders to me as being like a muckle partan in a creel, and when he birses on tae da side o it, dere’ll be no slippin it until he’s afore time. Basically, when Shetlanders get an idea, we run with it, with a tenacity and a determination that is unrivalled.

The tenacity of the place and the people inspire me every single day. One of the best examples of that inspiration is the Zetland County Council Act 1974. The 1974 act was perhaps the most transformative piece of legislation that our islands have ever seen. Oil was discovered off our shores, and the elected representation of the time decided that that newly found wealth should work for the people of Shetland, and, importantly, that we should have control over that wealth. The people did not wait around to be handed their lot; they took their chance and they created opportunity. Those who crafted that vision were ridiculed. They were told that it would never work. They were told that Shetland was too small, too remote, too weak and too naive. They were told, “Get back in your lane and know your place.” Does that sound familiar?

It did work. Over the years, their vision has created a substantial community wealth, which we have invested in our infrastructure and in our public services, charities and the third sector. A group of small islands at 60º north punched above our weight big time, and we did not accept no for an answer. We had unbounded stamina and we persevered.

That is an attitude that Scotland can learn from. It is an attitude that Shetland needs to find once again, because that attitude is at the heart of the kind of society that we want to create. What kind of Scotland do we want the next generation to inherit?

The substance of today’s debate is about exactly that: what kind of society we want the next generation to inherit. I thank and commend all the first-time speakers today—it is not an easy position to be in, but everybody has made a sterling effort and added to the substance of the debate.

I have picked out three themes in the debate, and the first is cross-party collaboration. I could feel it in the chamber today—the idea that this is the tell-tale session of Parliament in which we will deliver real progress on massive issues that will determine the success of our time here. Michael Marra mentioned, I think, that this session will be the defining moment of our time. The potential that lies ahead in getting it right is massive, so I welcome the cross-party collaboration, talks, debate and discussion that lie ahead. That work will happen not only during the budget process—it begins now.

The potential that lies ahead for public sector reform is vast, as well, in moving to a more preventative model with joined-up thinking and services and efficiency right at its heart. We will hear more about that next week.

I give Willie Rennie a commitment to detail and to be as boring as we can be—I look forward to seeing what an excited Willie Rennie looks like, so we will go on that. [Laughter.] I give a commitment to focus on the 1 per cent and to sweat the small stuff, because it is right to say that when people drill down into the detail, that is where change happens.

I want to talk about facts and opinions. We should try to stick with the former in everything that we do. I held that principle in the campaign that I ran, and it is a principle that I, as a scientist, take into the chamber. Colleagues to the left of me—geographically, in this place—would do well to bear that in mind.

The claim that elderly people are having to explore equity release for the UK mansion tax is simply wrong. The UK Government’s planned mansion tax is not yet in force and is not due until April 2028—in fact, the UK Government is still consulting on the policy.

Of course, we then strayed into too-familiar, and unwelcome, territory once again in hearing the rhetoric of division and hate. I have no idea in my mind of what a “home-grown” Scot is, nor of who “our own people” are. That kind of rhetoric has no place in a welcoming Scotland. We have a history—again, I say this to the members to the left of me geographically—of welcoming in this country, and we have a future of belonging.

I will finish on the ask and the offer, as my good colleague Katie Hagmann set out. The ask in Scotland is great, but the offer is greater. We have free tuition fees in this country and there are no prescription fees. The child payment is ambitious and it is keeping people out of poverty. We have a nationalised rail service and Scottish Water. We have a majority in the Parliament that is made up of members of different parties who stood on manifestos for a progressive tax policy. The voters have returned those parties to the Parliament in significant numbers, so let us give the voters the credit that they deserve and zoom in on that.

In Shetland, when we go to sea, we understand something important: you can navigate only with the tools that you have on board. You know where you want to go, but if someone else controls the engine or decides which fuel you are going to have, there are limits on how far you can steer. That is the challenge that we face today. This Government has used the powers that are available to this Parliament to build a progressive tax system. We have invested in public services and managed Scotland’s finances responsibly, balancing the budget each year, as challenging as that is.

We have also had to contend with decisions made elsewhere—the recent increase in employer national insurance contributions is one example. That money could otherwise have supported our NHS, our schools and our communities. Despite those pressures, we continue to make choices about fairness and the kind of Scotland that we want to build.

That is why the Government has committed to a serious and informed discussion about wealth taxation—not a rushed conversation, but one grounded in evidence. A comprehensive review of wealth taxation will shortly be published, examining how wealth is taxed elsewhere, what lessons can be learned, including internationally, and what approaches may be relevant for Scotland.