Chamber and committees

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress towards delivering the Clyde mission, including what its impact has been on the local economy and job creation. (S6O-05065)

I welcome the progress outlined by the Deputy First Minister, but can she say more about how the Clyde mission is helping to ensure that new economic opportunities along the Clyde are inclusive and benefit local communities, particularly in areas that have historically faced economic disadvantage?

Will the minister set out how the support that is available for mature and care-experienced students to access and succeed in university compares with that in other United Kingdom nations? What assessment has the Scottish Government made of the effectiveness of those measures in reducing inequalities in higher education?

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in further widening access to university education for people in the most disadvantaged communities. (S6O-05056)

One of the most noticeable things during my time in the Scottish Parliament—it will have been 15 years when I retire next year; no cheering, please—has been the positioning of British politics. Historically, it moved gently from centre-right to centre-left, with a few Thatcher-like blips in the middle. However, in that time window there has been continual movement further and further to the right. The reasons for that include the constant squealing by media outlets in an attempt to get clicks for advertising—bad news always sells better than good—and the craven surrender by once-mainstream political parties to the racism and xenophobic scaremongering that are being touted by populist grifters on the make.

In 2015, I had the opportunity to visit Serbia with a local charity, Glasgow the Caring City, to see how efficiently the support that it had sent to help refugees fleeing war-torn countries was being used. During that trip, I met a group of Afghan families who had been travelling for months to get to Serbia on the next stage of their journey to a life that they hoped would be better and safer. The father was holding a small bag, which I took to be holding important items—papers and so on—but it was a newborn child. They had trekked for thousands of miles while the mother was pregnant, with her having to give birth and suckle that child while living in makeshift tents or simply by the side of the road on their journey. I met many other good people there, who were forced to leave because of different situations in their country—and many of them were young men, because they were the ones who were under threat from their existing Governments. Most of them would have been a huge positive to any country. However, of all the people I spoke to, not a single one was making their way to the UK. As one voluntary worker said to me, “Why would they? They know that the UK hates foreigners and is very unwelcoming to them.” Is that something to be proud of?

Migrants and refugees are not a curse on a country; generally, they are a blessing. They often bring with them much-needed experience, different cultures and a vibrancy that is often missing in this grey land of ours. However, to our shame, we are now seeing any new person as a threat—a threat to our jobs, our houses, our doctors and our safety. That is utter insanity. Clearly, there have been some high-profile cases of violence and sexual offences, which are appalling, and they have to be dealt with by the full force of the law. Does that mean that everyone from that country is a threat? Of course not. There are many instances of Brits or Scots going abroad and committing heinous offences. Should every Scot or Brit be banned from those countries? Of course not.

The debate has been brought about for one reason only: the party that secured it is terrified of losing support and MSPs to a racist grifter in charge of another party. The Tories are not alone. While they meekly trail behind Farage, hoping to entice their support back by even more xenophobic actions such as today’s motion, Labour has decided to try to outdo them. Apparently, concentration—sorry, barracks are being considered to house asylum seekers.

One of the problems raised in the motion is, however, a real one: the cost to Glasgow of housing asylum seekers. The solution is not to make life more unbearable for those seeking shelter; the solution is simple: to support the cities that take in asylum seekers with appropriate funding and, as Jamie Greene mentioned, to allow asylum seekers—who often bring much-needed skills and qualifications—to work. That would take some of the strain off the taxpayer, and it would help to close the employment gap that we keep hearing about.

Of course, none of that works for those in charge, because they do not want solutions; they want scapegoats. If it is not asylum seekers, it is single mums with more than two kids, or it is the guy down the road who makes a few bob on the side doing homers while also helping his neighbours in the community. Meanwhile, the ever-increasing number of billionaires get to decide who the losers are while funnelling money offshore, never to be seen again in these islands.

If members are looking for someone to blame, they should blame the tax dodgers, the mass polluters and the utilities companies, which charge us more than is charged anywhere else in the world for power while grabbing huge profits for themselves. They should stop blaming people who are fleeing thousands of miles from a horrible existence to make a better life for themselves and their families.

The way the world is going, one day it may well be you or yours. Please vote against this horrible motion.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. This time, I will say it more quietly. I could not connect to the voting system. I would have voted yes.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I could not connect to the voting system. I would have voted yes.

First Minister, given that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other humanitarian organisations have declared that famine is taking place in Gaza and that at least 158 people died of starvation during August, what steps is the Scottish Government taking, further to what you said in your original comments, to address that humanitarian crisis? Although I recognise that the obstruction is the responsibility of the Israeli Government and the Israel Defense Forces, how is the Scottish Government pressing the UK Government to take even more urgent action, both in increasing aid and in using diplomatic and political pressure to ensure that food and medical supplies can reach civilians without obstruction, particularly while the unforgivable, deliberate starving of children continues in the on-going genocide in Gaza?

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that women who share a lease in a social or private tenancy with their abuser are not left homeless if they are forced to flee due to domestic abuse. (S6O-04825)

Given that domestic abuse is the leading recorded cause of women presenting as homeless in Scotland—it accounted for around 23 per cent of female-headed households’ homelessness applications in 2023-24—will you tell us what further specific steps have been taken to ensure that safe, stable and immediate housing options are available to survivors?