Meeting of the Parliament 10 June 2026 [Draft]
It is precisely because those things matter—they matter very much to me, Ms Baillie—that it matters that accountability has a proper home.
In this instance, transparency has been best served by independent authorities that have the legal compulsion powers to extract it. The trust of the Scottish public, which every member presumably wishes to restore, will not be rebuilt by politicians using the machinery of Parliament to fight battles that belong in court or looking at matters of internal party governance.
I will close by speaking directly to the values that underlie this debate. No one in this chamber should be in any doubt that Scotland is not alone in experiencing falling levels of trust. Around the world, trust in Governments, institutions and, indeed, democracy itself is in retreat. However, trust in Government, in elected officials and in the democratic institution that we all stood for a little over a month ago is important.
When our institutions behave with integrity, when the police investigate without fear or favour, when the Crown Office acts on evidence, when the courts consider matters free from external influence and when this Parliament focuses its energy on the people’s priorities, that is when trust is earned.
I do not pretend that trust has not been damaged in recent weeks, months and years, but let none of us pretend—this speaks to the points that were made by Mr Harvie and Mr Greer—that the blame for that can be laid at any single door. Also, let none of us pretend that the damage is not real and that it does not deserve a real response. However, the real response is not to conduct an exercise in what, in my view, would inevitably become—whatever its formal terms of reference—a partisan political exercise; it is to ensure that our independent institutions are properly respected, properly insulated from political pressure and properly trusted to complete their work.
Let the law do its work, let this Parliament do ours and let us ensure that this Parliament returns to doing what it does best: legislating, scrutinising Government and making the case for a Scotland that works better for the people who live here. I urge Parliament to support the amendment in my name.
I move amendment S7M-00294.1, to leave out from “agrees” to end and insert:
“considers the notion of representatives of political parties using a parliamentary committee to inquire into the internal operations of rival political parties to constitute a conflict of interest; believes that it is vital that independent authorities, including Police Scotland and the Crown Office, are free from political interference to fully and properly investigate and prosecute any and all criminal conduct, and urges elected representatives to use their parliamentary time to address matters that will improve the lives of the people of Scotland including tackling the cost of living crisis, improving public services such as the NHS and taking climate action.”
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