Chamber and committees

The minister says access is “challenging”, but access is non-existent: Thornhill has closed, Gretna has closed and Castle Douglas has closed. NHS dentistry in the region is collapsing. The minister was warned that that was the case on 23 February, during a Conservative-led debate in the Parliament. No meaningful additional action has taken place since then.

Does the minister not feel even a tad of shame that, in 2022, in Scottish National Party Scotland, the ability to see a dentist is based on the ability to pay? What will it take for this rotten Government to end the decay?

Various solutions were put forward to the House of Commons on how we would leave the EU. If the minister is going to criticise other people for not engaging seriously on what Brexit might look like, would he like to explain why he was not able to vote for a permanent and comprehensive customs union?

I would normally start a speech such as this one by saying what a pleasure it is to have the opportunity to speak in the debate, but the hours wasted in the previous parliamentary session listening to Michael Russell ranting about Brexit continue to traumatise me. Never in the history of devolution has so much faux outrage and grievance been shoehorned into the same contribution—and I mean the same contribution, because, as members who were present will know, literally the same speech was delivered under a slightly different debate title on a near-weekly basis.

I make that point for a serious reason, as I believe that it highlights a major missed opportunity for the Parliament and, indeed, the Scottish Government, to influence the detail and practical realities of leaving the EU. Instead of working constructively in Scotland’s interests as part of team UK, the strategy, as is so often the case, was to stoke maximum grievance.

I do not deny evidence that the committee has received, but our job is to work out how we got to this point and what is causing the problem. We cannot have an environment of meaningful and constructive co-operation when, in the negotiations, one party’s sole aim and reason for existing is to ensure that such discussions do not work.

I recognise that the committee has put in considerable effort to produce the report and identify areas for further exploration, but that does not in itself deliver the political will or the environment to take matters forward. Like other members and—I believe—the vast majority of Scots, I want both of Scotland’s Governments to work together to make the Parliament and devolution work well, but I recognise that some members are more interested in next week’s Supreme Court ruling than in following through on the hard work that it will take to make the report’s recommendations real.

In such an environment, what hope do we have? The saddest thing is that I do not believe that my constituents expect anything to change any time soon, and, while the SNP continues to put its own narrow political interests and its desire to divide our communities first, neither do I.

Will the minister give way on that?

Will the minister give way?

The Scottish Government’s approach was to block Brexit; it was not about making the best of a situation, albeit I accept that it did not want that situation. The approach was about blocking and disrupting the process throughout, working behind the UK Government’s back with EU politicians and officials, and trying to stoke grievance and promote independence, rather than build consensus in the UK. That is very disappointing, and it is disrespectful to the people of Scotland. We continue to see that approach now, as we seek to build and rebuild trust and improve intergovernmental relations.

The truth is that the same bad-faith actors—albeit minus Michael Russell—retain their seat at the table. Scotland’s interests are represented by a Scottish Government that not only does not want Brexit to work but does not want the UK to work and that is led by a First Minister who does not believe in devolution. All that is against the backdrop of a wider political debate that has been poisoned by a toxic nationalism that tries to tell us that leaving the EU has been disruptive, while simultaneously telling my constituents that border checks on their doorstep would be nothing to worry about.

The same people tell us that the recent financial turmoil could have been avoided, while they promote a half-baked currency plan for an independent Scotland—talk about hypocrisy. [Interruption.] From a sedentary position, and right on cue, some members might be asking why this matters and how this relates to today’s debate. The truth is that it is exactly why the mechanics of our constitution and interparliamentary workings are under strain. I do not deny that Brexit has added to that, but it would be wrong to ignore the far more significant tensions that are at play. My firm view is that they find their root in the uncharitable and undemocratic way in which senior SNP leaders refuse to accept the decision of the 2014 referendum. Rather than our country being set on a course of unity, we have had more division.

What does the minister have to say to farmers in my constituency, who have extra money in their pockets as a result of the flexibility on the less favoured area support scheme that leaving the EU has brought? Do they have to give that money back?

I wish to put on record that, in this instance, the primary legislation to which the instrument relates was rushed through Parliament, which is clearly a contributing factor in the breach. Although I respect Parliament’s decision, and understand the need now for the instrument to come into force, I am not content with the reason for the breach, as I believe that it could have been avoided if the primary legislation had followed the normal parliamentary procedure.

It is no secret that NHS Dumfries and Galloway is on a crisis footing. A shortage of beds, staff and cash is seeing patients failed. Just when it seemed that things could not get any worse, the health board has now confirmed that it does not even have the capacity to respond to complaints, telling patients that it can no longer give a timescale for investigating their concerns. Does the First Minister think that that is safe or acceptable and will she investigate the case of one of my constituents? She has been waiting since February to get answers as to why her surgery went wrong, and she is losing sleep knowing that the same doctor could be making the same mistake in treating other patients.