Chamber and committees

I am very familiar with the issues that Rhoda Grant raises with me. I had discussions about that question when I was in South Uist some years ago, and I saw correspondence last night, which was sent to me by the local member, Dr Alasdair Allan, in relation to the very issues that have been raised by the South Uist business community.

I am sorry for the disruption that is being felt. We believed that, at this point, we would be in a stronger position with the resilience of the ferry network, but there have been delays regarding some of the ferries that we expected to be delivered—Rhoda Grant will be familiar with those issues, and Parliament has been advised of them.

I am considering the proposals that have been put to me by the South Uist business community, as is the Cabinet Secretary for Transport. We will update members, including Rhoda Grant, on any response from the Government to those proposals.

It is important that we continue to make progress on the issue. I welcome the fact that the 18-week target was met in the final quarter of 2024.

To respond to the specific question that Clare Haughey put to me, £123 million has been allocated through the enhanced mental health outcomes framework in the budget for next year, which I hope will help to continue to build on the progress that has been made in the current financial year.

I accept Mr Bibby’s point, and I will look at the question to see what action the Government can take to address that. Fundamentally, we have in place speed limits that are very clearly and manifestly advertised to individuals, so there is a level of personal responsibility at the start of all this. However, if there are speed awareness courses that can help to address the issue, I will happily consider the matter, and I will write to Mr Bibby about the steps that the Government is prepared to take.

Just last Monday, all of Scotland’s political leaders took part in a powerful and moving ceremony at Edinburgh castle to mark three years since the start of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We stood together with members of the Ukrainian community living here in Scotland to commemorate the time that has passed since the start of that invasion but also to reaffirm our support for the people of Ukraine. Although we disagree on points of policy and politics in this chamber—which is right and proper in a parliamentary democracy—when it comes to upholding the values and principles of modern democracy, the Scottish Parliament stands behind Ukraine, resolute and unwavering. [Applause.]

Regardless of our political views, everyone in this chamber understands that democracy is hard fought for and must never be taken for granted. Democracy must be cherished, defended and enhanced. That is the lesson of the 20th century and it is the lesson that the people of Ukraine live, struggle and fight to teach us every day.

The courage demonstrated by President Zelenskyy and by all Ukrainians since the first day of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion reaches far beyond the protection and preservation of their own homeland. Ukrainians struggle and fight for all of Europe and for the protection and preservation of all democratic nations. It is a struggle for the rule of law, for human rights and to uphold the international norms that once ensured that Europe knew guaranteed peace. The Ukrainian people are fighting for their homeland and their future, but for our future, too.

Three years ago, Russia expected to flatten Ukrainian resistance within days but, despite a war that has caused years of unnecessary misery in a peaceful, sovereign and democratic nation, the power of the fight for democracy and all its freedoms has given the Ukrainian people their purpose as well as their most potent advantage. Ukraine’s people are fighting to defend her independence, her territorial integrity and her security in the face of appalling, unprovoked violence—violence that has destroyed lives, separated families, wounded hundreds of thousands of citizens and razed cities to the ground—yet President Zelenskyy has not wavered in strength or dignity. His people have not laid down arms and Russia has not succeeded in reaching its war aims, despite sending hundreds of thousands of troops to their deaths, or to be wounded, on the front lines.

Now, as a result of all that unnecessary carnage, millions of Ukrainian children have never known peace, while western democracy has never been under such relentless attack from within. Misinformation, propaganda, malicious interpretations of history, arrogance, ignorance, prejudice and hate are being used to divide us. Only yesterday, after Russia launched a drone attack on a civilian building in Kharkiv, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:

“We see that the collective West has started to become less collective. A fragmentation of the collective West has begun.”

That is precisely what Russia wants its people and the world to believe and it is precisely what Putin wants us to believe. We must be ever vigilant to the threat of disinformation, which takes the shape of the Kremlin’s talking points.

Russia was not provoked to invade Ukraine, in 2014 or in 2022. No credence should be given to deflection tactics that blame NATO expansion for Russian aggression. Each and every country in NATO is a democracy that has made its own sovereign choice to become a member, and many of the countries on NATO’s eastern flank have recent experience of living under Russian threat.

The strong international solidarity and dedication to achieving peace in Ukraine was evident for all to see at the security summit in London this weekend. The vast majority of European leaders have only one message—their unreserved condemnation of illegal Russian aggression.

Therefore, Ukraine’s allies should all have one aim and one aim only—to support Ukraine’s independence, her territorial integrity and her security. I whole-heartedly welcome the Prime Minister’s “coalition of the willing” initiative to provide Ukraine with security guarantees after a ceasefire agreement, as well as the £1.6 billion missile deal for Ukraine. I also accept the case for peacekeeping forces to avert further conflict, subject to proper scrutiny and a vote in the House of Commons, and I understand the delicate balance of diplomacy that the Prime Minister and the United Kingdom Government must navigate in this matter.

I make clear my commitment and the commitment of my Government to a united front and to doing all that I can to support Ukraine to succeed. However—like the many European leaders who expressed their solidarity with President Zelenskyy this weekend, I am sure—I am very disturbed by how his meeting with the US President and Vice-President played out last week. I agree with President Zelenskyy’s statement that Ukraine wants its partners

“to remember who the aggressor is in this war.”

We must see unwavering unity across the political spectrum in full solidarity with Ukraine on that essential point. The events at the Oval office meeting with President Zelenskyy and the announcement that was made this morning of a pause in US military aid to Ukraine can only run the risk of emboldening Russia—the aggressor. As I said this weekend, if that were to remain the posture of the US Government, a second state visit for US President Donald Trump would become unthinkable. I know that there are people in this chamber and across this country who will disagree—people who will say that we should not contemplate this stance or who will say that President Trump should not be invited under any circumstances. I understand and respect those points of view but I cannot share them.

Right now, today, as we stand here, men, women and children in Ukraine are putting their lives and their freedom on the line to defend their country and all our democracies. We say that we support them, and we do, but that means being willing to do things that are hard—things that we would rather not do. So, if a state visit could help to solidify US support for Ukraine—if that is part of what supporting Ukraine means in practice—it is a possibility. For that to be true, however, the US would have to sustain the steadfast support of Ukraine, her independence and her territorial integrity.

As we think through all these issues, the important questions are the hard-headed, clear-eyed consideration of what is best for Ukraine and for European security today. For my Government, that means standing steadfast behind Ukraine and alongside the United Kingdom Government and our European allies, and that is exactly what Scotland will do.

My hope is that US and European leaders can once again find a way to speak with one voice on the matter of this conflict. There are no grey areas when one country chooses to send troops and tanks into the peaceful territory of another. My Government supports the approach of the United Kingdom Government in committing to secure international solidarity in support of Ukraine’s long-term future. We welcome the 100-year partnership that was recently agreed by the United Kingdom and Ukraine, and Scotland will play our part, whether as part of the United Kingdom or as an independent nation in the future, in helping to deliver it.

I also welcome the approach of the Prime Minister and the proposed four-point plan to end the war and defend Ukraine from Russia. As I have already stated, Scotland accepts the case for the deployment of any peacekeeping forces to avert future conflict, subject to scrutiny and a vote by members of Parliament in the House of Commons. My Government remains committed to supporting Ukraine until a just peace is secured—not a peace at any cost, which strips Ukraine of her sovereignty in wartime.

Let me once again make clear that there can be no truly sincere or constructive peace talks about the future of Ukraine without Ukraine being present at the negotiating table and that securing the future of Ukraine is utterly vital to securing the peace that we have enjoyed in Europe for so long. Ukraine’s future and her fate is our future and our fate, so we must aspire to be as courageous as the people of Ukraine and stand by them, always, in their hour of need.

We must maintain unity with our partners across Europe and the western world—unity like that demonstrated in London this weekend and at Edinburgh castle last week—because events in Ukraine are having, and will continue to have, a direct negative impact on Scotland’s economy, security and society. Scotland’s approach internationally will continue to be led and guided by our compassion for Ukraine. I know that members in the chamber will continue to work together on these matters and to put any differences aside in respect of our common efforts to uphold justice.

Now, 25 years into the life of this modern Parliament, Scotland chooses to stand for democracy, for human rights and the rule of law, at home and among our courageous allies such as Ukraine. Those are the underpinnings of democracy, of prosperity, and of every freedom that democracy provides. That is the solidarity among allies that will deliver Ukraine from Russia’s barbaric aggression, while protecting her heritage, her culture and her social and economic future.

We have, across Scotland, been honoured that thousands of Ukrainians have made their home in our country. My message to people from Ukraine who are living here in Scotland, is that you are, and always will be, very welcome here. Providing support and sanctuary for Ukrainian people who have been displaced by Russia’s brutal war continues to be a priority for the Scottish Government. I want Ukrainians everywhere to know that they also have Scotland’s fullest support; I know that many of them will be deeply concerned by what has unfolded over the past few days. It is for those brave Ukrainians, and every person who is protected by democracy, that Scotland will never be silent. Here in Scotland, we will, forever, stand with Ukraine. [Applause.]

Work has been undertaken to reform the industry leadership groups. I think that there is engagement with the defence sector, but I had better check that point for Mr Sweeney. I know that there is ministerial interaction on all these questions.

First, I associate myself with the welcome to the consul general of Ukraine. I am glad that he is here to hear these exchanges and the solidarity that we have for the people of Ukraine.

I agree with and empathise with a lot of what Russell Findlay has said. Throughout my life, I have lived through many certainties, such as the integral nature of the alliance around the western world and the foundations of solidarity between the United States and the United Kingdom, and I recognise and welcome the centrality of those relationships in creating the peace and stability that I have experienced all my life. I agree with Russell Findlay that those certainties have been weakened by the events of recent days. That poses significant questions with which we have to wrestle.

In that context, I have set out measured remarks about the importance of ensuring that, when we are trying to build those alliances, we all know where we stand. The United Kingdom’s expressing the desire to extend a state visit welcome to President Trump seems to me to be the type of commitment that should be given to an ally with whom we are working in consort.

The uncertainties that Mr Findlay has talked about are uncertainties that we are all wrestling with now. That is the rationale for me setting out the view that I have set out, which is my deeply held view. It can be observed by whoever wishes to observe my view, but, in a democracy, it is right that we say what we think and what we feel. That is the essence of democracy, is it not?

On the question of nuclear weapons, I have made no secret of the fact that, in my entire life, I have not supported the possession of nuclear weapons. Indeed, concerns about the possession of nuclear weapons were one of the reasons why I decided to pursue the particular politics that I have pursued all of my adult life, in a party that has been committed to nuclear disarmament all of its days.

I simply observe to Russell Findlay that, despite all the possession of nuclear weapons today, Ukraine has been invaded. That is the reality of what we are facing. Nuclear weapons have not deterred Russia from invading Ukraine. Indeed, the challenges that Ukraine faces—to ensure that it is able to sustain its military operations—are about conventional weaponry, of which we should have more at our disposal. Those are the arguments that I would put forward.

However, we live in a democracy in which there has to be tolerance of other people’s views, which may be different from the views of others. That is why I am determined to make sure that we stand with Ukraine because, by doing so, we do all that we can to protect the democratic values that have been central to our society today.

Rona Mackay highlights the unease and anxiety that must be felt by Ukrainian citizens who are living in this country. Their lives have been turned upside down, and they are now living far from their home and from many of their loved ones. I understand the anxiety that will be felt. My message to those individuals living in our community is to express solidarity and to assure them of Scotland’s support and assistance. Scotland will be absolutely true to maintaining that support and assistance to those individuals.

I think that the importance of a guarantee of security is absolutely fundamental in this discussion. Without a guarantee of security, the suffering of the people of Ukraine in the course of the past three years will have been for nothing, should they be exposed to further Russian aggression. Therefore, the point that Mr Gibson puts to me is vital.

I have set out the Government’s position today in order to contribute to the discussion that is under way across a range of European and western countries on how, collectively and collaboratively, we can assure the security of Ukraine. If we do not secure the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, we will be acting in a manner that will undermine the safety and security of western democracy, and we must not take that step.

Therefore, my point to Mr Gibson is about the importance of us contributing to that European dialogue and working with the United States to deliver the security that Ukraine requires. If we do not do that, we will, I fear, see more of the aggression that we have seen from Russia in the future.

I readily associate myself with Jackson Carlaw’s suggestion. Invitations to Parliament are, of course, a matter for the Presiding Officer and the parliamentary authorities but, for my part in the Government, we would happily support such an endeavour.

Mr Carlaw raises an important opportunity for us as a country to come together to express our solidarity with the people of Ukraine. I would be happy to take part in any discussions on the important suggestion that he has made.

If I may, I will also say how welcome it is that Mr Carlaw makes clear his support, from his political position, for the work that the Prime Minister is undertaking to try to resolve the extremely serious situation that we currently face.

The Scottish Government has provided in excess of £5 million in relation to humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, which has provided essential supplies in relation to health, water, sanitation and shelter. Additional support has been provided for Ukrainian citizens who have been coming to Scotland and making this country their home.