Oral Answers to Questions

Kirsten Oswald Excerpts

Wednesday 1st May 2024 Commons Chamber

The Prime Minister was asked—

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 1 May.

[The Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak)]

I know the thoughts of the whole House are with the people of Hainault in east London following yesterday’s appalling attacks. Such violence has no place on our streets. It is absolutely heartbreaking that a teenage boy has died, and I cannot imagine what his family are going through. We send them our heartfelt condolences and offer our very best wishes to all those injured. I reiterate my thanks to the police and other emergency first responders for embodying the highest standards of public service under such awful circumstances. I know our thoughts are also with those injured this morning in an attack at a school in Sheffield.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Kirsten Oswald]

We know that more than one in five teenagers are vaping, with some experts describing it as an epidemic. Yesterday, new research suggested that teenagers who vape could be at risk of exposure to toxic metals, potentially harming brain or organ development. I agree with the Prime Minister in his wish to reduce the harms caused by smoking and vaping through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. Does he agree that permitting football strips to be sponsored by vaping companies sends entirely the wrong message to young people, and that it is time to ban vape companies from advertising on sports strips?

Scotland Act 1998: Section 35 Power

Kirsten Oswald Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

Last time I looked, the Republic of Ireland was not part of Great Britain or the United Kingdom. It is absolutely the case that we are talking about British citizens being affected. I am told that no devolved Administration anywhere in Europe has different gender rules from the state.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

It is regrettable that the Secretary of State has come here today with so little information on the issue. I think that all those in the very vulnerable group who are impacted by what he wants to do deserve significantly better than him standing up repeatedly with absolutely no information and telling us that a statement of reasons will be published later. Yet he is unable to tell us what those reasons are. It is his job to tell us what they are, and he has signally failed to do so. It is no wonder that his former colleague Andy Maciver, the former head of communications for the Scottish Conservatives, has described the UK Government’s intervention as

“an act of constitutional vandalism”

that demonstrates

“Westminster’s superiority complex in overdrive”.

Does the Secretary of State recognise that people will reasonably and rightly feel that way, and that, as well as their concerns about this marginalised group, they will feel extremely unhappy about the overriding of our democracy?

[Mr Jack]

No. I hope people will realise that the United Kingdom Government have been given legal advice that raises concerns for women and children, for their safeguards and protections, and about adverse effects to UK-wide legislation, and that we are acting on that advice and have the backs of women and children across the United Kingdom, including in Scotland, if safeguards and single-sex spaces and so on are impinged upon. If that is the concern in the statement of reasons, we believe it right to act on it for all citizens of Great Britain.

Points of Order

Kirsten Oswald Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) (SNP)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. This has been an absolute and utter mess. The Secretary of State was not forced to come to the House to answer an urgent question. He came voluntarily. It has been central to the Government’s case that the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill passed by the Scottish Parliament conflicts with the Equality Act 2010. There is a statement of reasons as to why that is the case, but Members could not question him on it because he had not provided it. Now, he says that he will supply it through email.

Further to the point of order by the leader of the Scottish National party, may I insist that you, Mr Speaker, give us an opportunity to adjourn to that we can consider the statement properly? Then, we can come back and question the Secretary of State, who has to be at the Dispatch Box for the next debate, on the statements of reasons and why the UK Government have invoked a section 35 order against the legislation.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I noticed that the Secretary of State said during his statement that he had not brought the statement of reasons and that he did not want to bore us with it. That was an extraordinary thing to say, given the gravity of the situation and the subject matter. I wonder whether he has now changed his mind and does not think it is something that is tedious and boring for us to deal with but realises that this is a serious and important piece of dialogue that we should have had from him in advance of this sitting. Are you able to give us any guidance, Mr Speaker, on how everyone who wanted to respond to the statement but did not have the information might be able to contribute to the debate in full possession of the information?

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. Can you advise the House on whether there is any precedent for a situation where a Secretary of State turns up at the Dispatch Box without the accompanying information necessary to advise and guide the discussion and debate in a question session? In my experience here since I was elected, that seems to be the way that things are supposed to be done. Is this shambolic behaviour from the Secretary of State for Scotland precedented or unprecedented?

--- Later in debate ---

[Amy Callaghan (East Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your advice on what options are open to correct the record after the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis), who is no longer in his place, spread misinformation in his question when he said that people in this House and in Holyrood are inciting violence on the issue of the GRR Bill.

[Kirsten Oswald]

That is disgraceful.

[Mr Speaker]

That is a matter of opinion, but I really do recommend that Members are very careful in the language they use. It is important that we show tolerance and, more importantly, that we show respect to each other. Nothing should inflame the tensions that will already be running high. I thank the hon. Member for raising that point with me. I say to all Members: please, think long and hard before you speak, because messages that you give in this House can be reflected in a way that I do not wish to see.

Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill: Section 35 Power

Kirsten Oswald Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Flynn]

Indeed. A very powerful and eloquent point by my hon. Friend, as always.

The point of what comes next is incredibly important. Where do we go when Scotland’s Parliament, our views and our purpose is just being ignored by Westminster? What are we to do? How are people in Scotland to respond? When will reasonable Unionists stand up and say, “You know what? This isn’t on. If you believe in this Union of equals, then you put the Scottish Parliament first.” I do not see that and I do not hear that in Westminster, and this is the clearest example of that.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

My hon. Friend is making a really powerful speech and putting the democratic deficit front and centre for people. As well as the huge disappointment I am sure we all feel about what the UK Tory Government are doing, is he disappointed that the UK Labour party, it is reported, will not challenge this intervention, to the great disappointment of a number of its Scottish MSP colleagues? Those colleagues of Labour Members are deeply disappointed, and no wonder.

[Stephen Flynn]

Indeed. As we are looking for reasonable Unionists, they are clearly not found on the Labour Benches. If the shadow Secretary of State wants to clarify that that is not the case, then I am more than happy for him to do so, but I will be unsurprised if he does not.

--- Later in debate ---

[Steven Bonnar (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (SNP)]

There is no Scottish Labour party.

[Kirsten Oswald]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Ian Murray]

I will give way to the hon. Lady while the hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Steven Bonnar) chunters nonsense in the background.

[Kirsten Oswald]

I am interested in how the hon. Gentleman characterises some of what we have heard today, but if he thinks that the Labour party has no role in this, and if he does not think the Labour party ought to have a view or an opinion, or to take a position, he needs to make that clear, because his colleagues in the Scottish Parliament do have a view. They voted for these provisions, as did SNP, Liberal Democrat and some Scottish Conservative Members. He should stop being disingenuous and be clear. Where does the Labour party stand? Will it defend the right of the Scottish Parliament to act or not?

[Ian Murray]

I will tell the hon. Lady exactly where we stand: we want this legislation to work. At the moment, the legislation is dead because—

[Kirsten Oswald]

Because of them.

[Ian Murray]

The hon. Lady might say that from a sedentary position, but the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn) quoted Donald Dewar at great length. Donald Dewar will be turning in his grave at what is happening in relation to devolution and Scottish politics, because he created the section 35 process for the very reasons the hon. Lady just said. Section 35 is a process to enable cross-border problems to be resolved.

--- Later in debate ---

[Douglas Ross (Moray) (Con)]

I speak in this debate as someone who is extremely privileged to serve in both this Parliament and the Scottish Parliament, so I am able to bring some points of view that were not accurately articulated by the leader of the SNP, the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn). It is sad that he is leaving the Chamber—I think it is important, because I will refer to a number of points he made.

The hon. Gentleman spoke about legal advice. We had a situation in the Scottish Parliament where, the night before crucial amendments were debated, the Cabinet Secretary wrote to Conservative, Labour and SNP MSPs about their amendments and the legal advice surrounding them, but told them that that legal advice could not be shared. Yet here we have the UK Government sharing their statement of reasons with Parliament, and I think that is—[Interruption.] Well, it is based on legal advice. I am just showing the different approach by the two Governments. It is based on legal advice; that was clear from the Scottish Secretary.

It is also important to recall that, although the SNP leader in this place and others have correctly said that this debate has been raging in Scotland for over six years, I have not yet heard—I am willing to take interventions from any SNP Member who can explain it to me—why the Bill had to be passed by December of last year. What was the rush, in the lead-up to Christmas, that meant it had to go through the Scottish Parliament before the end of the year?

[Kirsten Oswald]

I am delighted to remind the hon. Gentleman that, as we have heard a few times today, the Bill is the opposite of rushed legislation. It has been in the works for six years, it has repeatedly been a manifesto commitment from a number of parties and it has been the most consulted-on legislation. He might reasonably ask why it took as long as it did.

[Douglas Ross]

The hon. Lady misses the point. Yes, there has been a debate for six years, so why then did the Bill have to go through stage 3, looking at amendments until midnight or 1.30 in the morning, to be rushed through before the end of the Session, when there was so much debate and controversy? Remember, there were 150 amendments; if that legislation had not been rushed, there would not have been a need to look at 150 amendments. I have yet to hear any SNP Member saying why the Bill had to be put through in December of last year.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

This is a dark day for democracy. It is shameful that the UK Parliament and the so-called Secretary of State for Scotland, whom I note is no longer in his place, would seek to overrule and override the democratically elected representatives who people in Scotland have sent to our national Parliament. That shows contempt for the Scottish Parliament and its ability to pass legislation in its areas of competence. It is no exaggeration to call it out for what it is: a politically motivated assault on our democratic processes and institutions by a right-wing Tory party with no compunction to use one of the most marginalised groups in our society to achieve its aims.

We must remember what this is all about: simplifying the process for people applying for a gender recognition certificate. That is all. It does not change the effect of a gender recognition certificate, which remains the same as under the Gender Recognition Act 2004. It seeks only to improve and simplify the process by which a trans person can apply for legal recognition of their acquired gender. That right has been in place for 18 years. The Bill represents an important step to creating a more equal and fair Scotland where LGBT people are valued, included and empowered. I am proud that the Scottish Parliament voted for that.

Let us be clear: the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed overwhelmingly by the Scottish Parliament and Members from all parties, including the Tory party, and with the overwhelming support of SNP, Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat MSPs. All those parties represented in Holyrood—apart from the Tories—had committed in their manifestoes to improving gender recognition laws. As we have spoken about, the provisions are the most widely consulted upon in the history of Parliament.

As well as the broad and wide-ranging consultation, the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee heard from the leader of the Irish Seanad about experiences with similar legislation there. And it is not only Ireland. We have heard today that such measures are in place increasingly in countries across the world. This is not groundbreaking stuff. It is inconceivable that there is good reason for us to argue about it. We have heard about all the conversations, the amendments and how the Bill passed through Parliament. Any examination shows that there has been a detailed and thorough process leading up to a clear decision. All that was within the competence of the Scottish Parliament, so why the UK Government—no friend of human rights in any guise—want to step in on this issue that affects a marginalised group so much is a mystery.

The Secretary of State for Scotland may have a different view from me on a gender recognition reform. That is his right, just as my views are my right. What should not be his right as one man—the soon-to-be Baron Jack—is to step forward and override the democratic voice of the Scottish Parliament, throwing his weight around just because he can. I have read the statement of reasons and I still cannot fathom the basis for this measure.

Whether on the constitutional or the gender issue, the coats of the Secretary of State and the Government are on a shoogly peg. Let us think about what the Tory Reform Group has said. The Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee has pointed out that the Bill does not cut across equalities legislation, and let us also think about what Andy Maciver has said. All of those people have made points that should be listened to. Fundamental to all that is the democratic point: the Scottish Parliament has voted for these measures and it is its right to do so.

Scottish Referendum Legislation: Supreme Court Decision

Kirsten Oswald Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

Democracy denial is not a good look. We have had repeated non-answers and repeated assertions from those on the Tory Benches today that they somehow know better than the people of Scotland what they want. Now we have an extraordinary suggestion from the Secretary of State that we somehow do not have a mandate. None of those things is correct and none of those things deals with the crux of the issue. This is a fundamental issue of democracy and whether this really is a voluntary Union. Is the Secretary of State going to stand up for democracy or not?

[Mr Jack]

I do stand up for democracy. As I have said, in the Holyrood elections last year less than one third of Scots voted for the Scottish National party, and current polling shows that less than one third of Scots want another independence referendum.

Scottish Independence and the Scottish Economy

Kirsten Oswald Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Ian Blackford]

My hon. Friend is quite correct that every local authority area in Scotland voted to remain. Not only did people across Scotland vote to remain, but that demand to stay in Europe has increased over the past few years. In fact, recent polling shows as many as 72% of Scots wish to remain in Europe. I say to those watching in our own country that there is a clear way to achieve this. If Scotland has its right to determine its own future, and if our Parliament, which has an independence majority, can enact the referendum that our people voted for, then Scotland’s journey to independence and back into the European union will be complete.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way—[Interruption.]

[Ian Blackford]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I have just been called a liar.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Perkins]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I certainly withdraw any implication that the right hon. Gentleman is a liar. I did not say he was a liar, but I did say that what he said was untrue. I withdraw that out of respect to you, Mr Speaker.

[Kirsten Oswald]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I call Ian Blackford. We are moving on. We have dealt with it.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kirsten Oswald]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way. Does he not think that people at home will be looking askance at Labour Members? First, they were apologists for the chaos that the Conservatives have inflicted on Scotland’s economy. Now, they are some kind of supporters of Brexit, which has caused so much harm to Scotland. It is inexplicable how any Opposition Member could take such a position, as we all heard them do.

[Ian Blackford]

My hon. Friend is correct. It is 1.10 pm; we have until 7 o’clock to debate the issue. To hon. Members in other parties on both sides of the House, I promise that we will respect the importance of the subject, because this is about Scotland’s future. To friends and colleagues—Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem Members—I say, let us have that debate about Scotland’s future and let us respectfully disagree on what we see the future as. We will put the case for Scotland to be an independent country; they should come and engage with us, and put the case for Scotland to stay in the Union. I have to say that when we have these debates, I do not hear that case for Scotland to stay in the Union.

The evidence of the damage done by Brexit is mounting by the day. From those who forced it on Scotland, however, not one word of contrition or apology has ever been offered for that massive act of economic self-harm. I am tempted to say that when it comes to Brexit and Westminster, there are really none so blind as those who will not see—my goodness, that has been shown today. In many respects, however, the truth is even worse.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ian Blackford]

rose—

[Kirsten Oswald]

rose—

[Robin Millar]

Please, let me make a little progress.

It is important to enter into that serious debate.

I find myself standing here asking myself questions about identity when the matter of independence is raised. Identity is a complicated business. As a proud Welshman and supporter of this Union, I find myself at the heart of a web of family, communal, economic and national bonds and histories. These bonds link me to those across these islands whose past and whose future are interwoven with my own. I cannot hold it against SNP Members that they find themselves pulled in a different direction. Our disagreements on identity are those perhaps of the heart, not just of the head.

The foundation of the state is a serious matter, deserving serious scrutiny and question. Millions of people across these isles, and, indeed, the world, would find their lives dramatically shaken by the break-up of the United Kingdom. Those who seek to found their arguments on promises of prosperity have also the utmost responsibility to set out plans that are honest, transparent and detailed.

--- Later in debate ---

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

rose—

[Kirsten Oswald]

rose—

[Robin Millar]

I will take an intervention from the hon. Lady.

[Kirsten Oswald]

May I gently ask the hon. Gentleman to reflect on the treatment that his Government are meting out to those who are fleeing to the United Kingdom, in contrast with the welcome and the open door that the Scottish Government have given to Ukrainian refugees? Will he reflect very carefully on the set lines that he is talking about, which do not reflect the reality on the ground?

[Robin Millar]

I take the hon. Lady’s point in the spirit in which it was intended, but perhaps she or another Member could answer whether it is true that Ukrainian refugees have had to be housed on ships in Scotland because there has not been the accommodation they were promised. They have received a warm welcome across the UK—I have no doubt that, or about the ambition behind it—but my point is the reality of public services in meeting that ambition. That is the thrust of this debate. It is a debate about independence and the economy, and about how we meet the reality of providing for those on who depend on us.

I will make one more point on the question of moral duty. Ireland has been mentioned a number of times as an example. Ireland secured its independence in 1922, but as one of his first actions the Irish Minister for Finance, Ernest Blythe, cut the pay of civil servants and reduced Government spending from £42 million in 1923 to £28 million by 1926. That is a one-third cut in Government spending in the years immediately following independence. These are real questions about the consequences of a transition to an independent nation but, again, on these practical points of a plan for independence, the document presented is silent.

I will finish on this point—

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Perkins]

May I respond to the point that has just been made? I worked very hard during the Brexit referendum to make a case, but I accept that people across the coalfield voted in a different way. I return to the statistic that I put to the right hon. Gentleman’s leader, the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford). The Scottish National party spent a paltry £91,000 on the EU referendum. During the Scottish independence referendum, it spent £1,344,000. The truth is that the people committed to Scottish independence believed that the outcome they got was exactly the one they wanted. They wanted the rest of the UK to vote out while Scotland voted to stay in and that is why they did not lift a finger to get a result. Because of the limp effort it put in, the turnout in the Brexit referendum was lower in Scotland than in any other region or nation of the United Kingdom. That is the reality. The Scottish National party made it very clear to its voters that it was happy with that outcome. It knew there was a likelihood that that outcome would strengthen its case for Scottish independence.

[Kirsten Oswald]

rose—

[Mr Perkins]

If the hon. Lady is willing to withdraw the comment she made, I will give way to her.

[Kirsten Oswald]

I am grateful to the hon. Member. I am somewhat perplexed. I pointed out that his colleagues had made comments that clearly apologised for the UK Government’s economic mismanagement. I do not know why the UK Labour party would support that, but that is its problem, not mine. I absolutely stand by my concerns about the Labour party’s position on Brexit. It is unclear to me why Labour Members are so supportive of Brexit, considering the damage that it has done to Scotland, or why the hon. Gentleman continues to suggest that people such as me, with a 73% remain vote in my constituency, somehow were not marching the streets, as all my colleagues were. Scotland did not want to leave the EU and we want to be back in it. The hon. Gentleman might not like that, but he does not get to misrepresent it.

[Mr Perkins]

I hear what the hon. Lady says, and I repeat what I said: if the SNP was desperate to stay in the European Union, it had a funny way of showing it. Why is it—[Interruption.] I will respond to the points that have been made. Why is it—let SNP Members answer this—that the SNP spent just 7% of the amount of money on the Brexit referendum that it spent on the Scottish independence referendum? The only conclusion that I can come to is that the SNP did not care nearly as much about that.

I accept that the people of Scotland—the majority of people who voted in that referendum—voted to remain in the EU. However, the turnout in Scotland was also very low and I believe that the SNP’s lack of effort was a major factor.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

I congratulate everybody who has contributed to the debate. It has been an outstanding example of the range of different and very pressing arguments for why Scotland needs to be an independent country. The reality is that no country in history has been better prepared to transition to independence than Scotland currently is. Scotland has a dynamic modern economy, an abundance of natural and human capital, and a globally recognised international brand.

In 2014, like a number of my colleagues on the SNP Benches, I joined the SNP. We were told at that point that only with a no vote would Scots get safer, faster, better change. The events of the last eight years—even the events of the last eight weeks, actually—have shown that to be utter fiction. The Union is absolutely not the risk-free option that was promised, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford) rightly pointed out. It has been stark, but it is surprising what we have not heard. What we have not heard at all today is any case whatever for the Union, and that is telling.

Let me turn to the motion and the most recent “Building a New Scotland” paper. Scotland’s economy is diverse; it has many strengths. We have the best educated population in Europe, with the highest proportion of people aged between 25 and 65 with tertiary level education, and our Government made the political choice to provide free university tuition. In 2020, almost 100% of Scotland’s electricity demand was generated by renewables and Scotland has 25% of Europe’s offshore wind and tidal potential, meaning that Scotland can and will become the renewable powerhouse of Europe. My hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown) correctly noted the positive position of Norway, with its sovereign wealth fund to cushion its population. What a contrast to the approach of the UK Government! We also have a food and drink sector that is renowned worldwide, with Scotch whisky accounting for a fifth of all UK food and drink exports. As my hon. Friend the Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) said, with such an abundance of resources and talent no one can seriously argue that Scotland could not thrive as an independent country. I was delighted that even the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Edinburgh South (Ian Murray) seemed to accept that fact, as did, I think, the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (David Duguid).

The benefits of self-government have been evident since the reopening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. The devolution of powers to Scotland has changed Scotland for the better. Just imagine what we could do with the powers of independence. Scottish Governments of different political affiliations have implemented policies that have led to a fairer, more equal Scotland. In fact, often they are mitigating the damaging policies of the UK Government. A good example of that is the Scottish child payment, which has been welcomed by anti-poverty campaigners as a game changer. I note that the Secretary of State for Scotland was signally unable or unwilling to entertain any discussion on his Government’s failure to make that kind of positive choice. The Scottish child payment will rise to £25 a week per eligible child this month. It is at the forefront of Scotland’s fight against child poverty. This is action that our Government are taking within the powers they have. Just imagine what more could be done. Recent analysis shows that even now Scotland has the lowest child poverty rate of any part of the UK. It is still too high, but it demonstrates that interventions by Governments who are willing to make them can drive down child poverty rates.

In Scotland, eligible children benefit from 1,140 hours of free high-quality early learning and childcare. That saves families around £4,000 a year and allows parents, in particular mothers, to return to the workplace if they so choose. The Scottish Government’s commitment to fair work has also seen drastic changes in workplace practices in Scotland, a significant contrast to the UK Government’s gig economy approach set out very eloquently by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands). Recent figures show that 91% of employees in Scotland receive the real living wage; again, that is the highest proportion of any UK nation. The gender pay gap in Scotland is 3.7% between male and female workers, which is better than the 8.3% gap across the rest of the UK. My hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Deidre Brock) spoke about the Scottish Government’s approach to feminist foreign policy.

The Scottish Government have also committed to improving the lives of LGBT people and will implement a total ban on conversion therapy this parliamentary term, whereas, this week, the UK Government delayed a ban, with the new Minister for Women and Equalities reported as wanting to review her predecessor’s work. She was the predecessor very recently—it is quite hard to keep up with the musical ministerial chairs. That delay comes despite the UK Government having promised a conversion therapy ban since the Prime Minister’s predecessor’s predecessor’s predecessor was in office, but that was only a few weeks ago.

While the Scottish Government works hard to continue to deliver that kind of real, tangible progress for all people in Scotland, the same cannot be said of this UK Government. Perhaps the most obvious example of Westminster failing Scotland is Brexit. Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, but we have been dragged out against our will. It is estimated that that will result in Scotland’s GDP being 4% lower by 2030 than it would have been if we had remained in the EU. That is the equivalent of £3.2 billion of revenue lost every single year. Brexit not only damages our economic prosperity, but weakens our society and communities. We have seen fewer EU students coming to study in Scotland. EU students have and would have contributed not just economically, but culturally and socially.

Scotland is the only part of the UK that is forecast to experience population decline in the next 30 years, so we need inward migration to grow our economy and support our public services. We need independence to achieve that, because despite Scotland’s needs—without even getting into the horrific narrative coming from UK Government members about invasions—the UK Government continue to pursue a shamefully hostile policy towards immigration. Unfortunately, the Labour party, to its shame, apes that anti-immigrant rhetoric. We need independence to deliver an immigration system that works for Scotland and that recognises the immense net contribution that immigrants have made, and will continue to make, to our country.

A number of Members have pointed out that Scotland has not voted for a Tory Government since 1955, but we still have to live with the damaging policies of Tory Governments. Most recently, there was the mini-Budget, when they crashed the economy with their reckless, unfunded tax cuts. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber described, the pantomime—the circus—of being under Westminster control at the moment is so costly to households in Scotland, particularly to those who can least afford to have that financial wrecking ball inflicted on them.

The consequences of the mini-Budget will be with us for some time. We can think of the spike in interest rates and its impact on mortgage payments, with many of the families impacted already struggling. The Chancellor suggested that there will need to be tax rises at the Budget later this year. Taxes are necessary for public services, of course, but those rumoured tax rises will be used to plug a self-inflicted black hole caused by the Government’s mini-Budget disaster.

The economic downturn caused by Brexit and compounded by the mini-Budget has exacerbated the cost of living crisis. It is really callous, even by the Conservatives’ standards, that they flirt with scrapping the triple lock and refuse to commit to uprating benefits in line with inflation. As my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman) was absolutely right to point out, the shameful nonsense coming from Conservative Members suggesting that people are somehow better off defies belief. People can see with their own eyes the situation that they in, and they will find that absolutely astonishing.

The thing is, Scotland has a lot going for it. We have a vibrant economy. We have a highly educated, talented population. We have natural resources that other countries are envious of, but we are locked in this trickle-down, doing-people-down UK economic model, which fails to match the economic levels of prosperity and social cohesion that our neighbours of similarly sized independent countries have.

With independence, we can have the Governments that we vote for. We can choose our future. We can choose our priorities. It will not always be easy and it will not happen overnight. It will take hard work, but no country in history has ever been in a better position to become independent.

There are many challenges facing western countries at the moment, including the climate crisis, the war in Ukraine and population movements, but ultimately the question for people in Scotland—and it is a question for them, not for Members in this place—is who they want. Who do they trust to lead the response to the challenges of the situation? Who do they trust to deliver for the people who live in Scotland: Westminster Governments we do not vote for, or a Government in Scotland we do vote for, equipped with the full powers of an independent state?

None of this is news to people in Scotland. They are watching, they see the choices before them, and it is time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kirsten Oswald Excerpts

Wednesday 18th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

The UK shared prosperity fund is a central pillar of our ambitious levelling-up agenda for places across Scotland and provides £212 million of new funding for local investment. Local partners have far greater flexibility than before. They can invest in priority areas and target funds where they are needed. Allocations are being made on a needs-based assessment, including a specifically tailored proportion for rural areas in Scotland.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

Scotland has been short-changed by the loss of EU funding, leaving a 40% reduction in the funding that we would have received from the EU. It is not only the Scottish Government saying that but the Treasury Committee, the House of Lords Constitution Committee and Bloomberg, so there is clearly no levelling up. What steps has the Secretary of State taken to ensure that Scotland’s shortfall in funding is remedied, and remedied fast?

[Mr Jack]

I seek to correct the hon. Lady: the funding is tapered with UK structural funds. EU structural funds and UK structural funds are tapered. We paid into EU funds, and the EU is still paying into Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom, but the advantage of Brexit is that we now have control over that money and can decide how we spend it. The amount of money in total has not been reduced in any way.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kirsten Oswald Excerpts

Wednesday 27th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Iain Stewart]

First, may I wish the hon. Gentleman and his family every success and good fortune in the arrival of the new addition to their family?

As I have said, we are providing very practical support. This is not affecting the whole industry. The industry faces many challenges at the moment, not least the loss of some of its markets because top-end restaurants, at home and abroad, are having to close because of covid. In addition to that short-term compensation, we are providing a £100 million fund to grow and boost the capacity of our seafood sector. We have not broken promises to it. We were taking back control of our waters. We are out of the common fisheries policy and British fishermen will land more stocks year on year.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP) [V]]

The EU is still our closest and most important trading partner, but Scottish businesses are suffering because of this disastrous Brexit we did not vote for, and the inability and unwillingness of the Minister’s Government to effectively use the transition period. Will he now push for the grace period that businesses are urgently calling for? If not, why not? What is his answer to them?

[Iain Stewart]

As I have said repeatedly, we are engaging with all sectors to help them prepare for this transition. I respectfully point out to the hon. Lady that she voted for a no-deal Brexit, and she and her fellow separatists want to impose additional trade barriers within Britain.

Migration and Scotland

Kirsten Oswald Excerpts

Tuesday 11th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

After listening to the contributions from Government Members, I have to say that it is a great pity that the UK Government are taking such a careless approach to the Scottish Government’s proposals for a tailored migration system for Scotland. As well as disregarding the need that lies behind the very sensible visa proposals that the Scottish Government have put forward, they are also disregarding the views of the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Trades Union Congress, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, among many others.

That matters, because the UK Government are messing with the future of our country when they refuse to consider that all those people who are telling them that their system does not work for Scotland might be right. However, they still continue with their inward-looking Brexit Britain, the ever-more hostile environment and their approach of pulling up the drawbridge. That is not the best way for Scotland and it is no wonder that we see a better future as an open, outward-looking, independent country, but they are determined to plough on down that road, wilfully disregarding the thoughtful and sensible visa proposals that the Scottish Government have put forward to help to deliver the sustainable future that we need in Scotland.

The thing is that we need migration. Scotland is not full. We need people to come and live in Scotland and we want them to come. They are welcome. We need to make sure that we can sustain and grow our population levels, and even if the UK Government do not, we realise how crucial that is to our future.

In Scotland, all our population growth for the next 25 years is projected to come from migration, so it is really beyond unhelpful that the UK Government are rowing back on commitments such as the ones made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who said that when it came to immigration, it would be for the people of Scotland to decide. It is a different story now, so it must have been convenient then for him to say that Nicola Sturgeon’s approach was the right one—as it is—but we are now back to the same old, same old, with the UK Government just expecting us to get on with it and hang with the consequences for Scotland.

[John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Kirsten Oswald]

I do not have much time, so I am sorry—I will not.

The consequences for Scotland are serious. Our population growth is slowing, our birth rate is falling and we are ageing as a population. It is a mystery to me, though perhaps not a surprise, why the UK Government seem so intent on avoiding any engagement with the Scottish Government on the Scottish visa, despite the serious and constructive nature of the proposals that have been put forward for discussion.

I live in one of the most diverse places in Scotland, and it is home to people who have come from all over the world. It is a brilliant thing—it makes my community better. The people who have migrated to Scotland recently and over the decades have made Scotland better and richer for their presence. People have come to work in the NHS, in hospitality, in education and in public services—I could go on—but as things stand, the UK Government will be imposing harm on our communities now that will only be greater in the future if they do not take our approach into account.

We need this power in Scotland for population and economic reasons, but it is about much more than that. We benefit so much from the rich diversity that people coming to Scotland bring with them. In Scotland, the people who want to live, work and raise their families as part of our communities are very welcome, and they have enriched our society. They do that now and they have done that in the past by coming to live in Scotland, and I am thankful for that. Our country is home to people with histories in all kinds of other places and that makes us better now, and it will make us better in the future.

I will finish by reflecting on the words of our First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, in her speech at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 2016. She said:

“Whether we have lived here for generations or are new Scots, from Europe, India, Pakistan, Africa and countries across the globe, we are all of this, and more. We are so much stronger for the diversity that shapes us. We are one Scotland and we are simply home to all those who choose to live here.”

Migration is good for Scotland. We want migration. Scotland is open and we wish to remain so. We need to be able to make the decisions that allow us to do the right thing for our country.

Scotland Bill

Kirsten Oswald Excerpts

Monday 9th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Allen]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Perhaps the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) is a little anxious because he is now part of the establishment in this place, and is used to having the privilege of unlimited time in which to address the House. Many of us do not have that privilege, and we are very jealous of the hon. Gentleman when he gets up to speak at length. However, I am rather surprised that he stopped me from answering the question asked by his hon. Friend the hon. Member for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman), which I was in the middle of doing. I am also rather surprised that he had not read the amendment paper, which includes four new clauses in my name. Perhaps if he looked at those rather than repeating the speeches that he made during the previous three days of debate, he would be better informed.

I shall now be very careful to stick closely to the subject of my new clauses, which will obviously be in order. The ability to raise money locally is very important for all our localities, and is a symptom of being freed to a greater extent from Whitehall and Westminster, so that this place and Whitehall do what they should do and our respective nations can govern themselves as much as is absolutely appropriate, which they do not currently do. Scotland is leading the way in showing us how to do that, but I hope that this is not just about Scotland, and that, even for the Scottish nationalists, it is about ensuring that all of us share the benefits of devolution while we remain together in the Union, as I hope we will.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Allen]

I was going to give way to the hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford), but I will give way to the hon. Lady first.

[Kirsten Oswald]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. He has just said that this is not just about Scotland. I have to put it to him that this is the Scotland Bill. Can we please discuss Scotland?

[Mr Allen]

I know it is difficult to accept, when one listens to one’s own propaganda that these matters are only ever about the Scottish National party, but the truth is that the Scotland Bill clearly impacts on the rest of the Union. Those of us who will benefit or suffer from matters related to Scotland have a right to express a view. If there was a slightly more outgoing sharing of learning and experience from some colleagues from the SNP, more friends would be won among those of us who very strongly believe in devolution in the other nations of the UK.