Chamber and committees

I am sure that all members will join me in expressing solidarity with Scotland’s Muslim community after the brutal and unprovoked attacks on the streets of Edinburgh last weekend. That community’s response to those attacks has not been one of violence or revenge; it has been to make a plea for tolerance and understanding. In a society in which tolerance and understanding feel increasingly rare, we would all do well to listen to them. [Applause.]

New figures show that, last year, the number of violent crimes was up by 4,000 incidents and the number of crimes of dishonesty was up by 7,000 incidents—of course, one of those crimes has dominated the front pages this week. Even though, in recent days, everyone has been focused on Scotland’s prison population growing by one inmate, I want to ask about those who are leaving our jails. All told, more than 1,400 inmates have been let out of prison since the early release scheme began, and that is because our prisons are bursting at the seams. However, that is not a strategy and it will not protect the public. How many of the inmates who were released early went on to reoffend, and how many of them are already back behind bars?

We can be sure that the number is not zero. For as long as we do not have a proper strategy on prison capacity, rehabilitation and clearing the court backlog, early release will be a revolving door, with people going in, coming out and going back into our prisons. Our justice system is in crisis, so we need a strategy. The Lib Dems will play a part in that, but we also need to use the tools that we have available right now.

Sexual crime is at the highest level since 1971, a rise that Rape Crisis Scotland describes as “shameful” and “sharp”. Many of those assaults will have been committed by a partner, yet the domestic abuse protections that the Parliament agreed to five years ago are still not in place. When will the First Minister’s Government stop dragging its feet, act on the will of the Parliament and restore the public’s faith in our broken justice system?

I will give way to Amanda Bland.

Does Amanda Lindsay recognise that the biggest threat to women and children in our society is not trans people, but predatory men?

I will make one simple observation. Duncan Massey was talking about the realities of the net zero agenda and questioning why we have it, but does he recognise that France recorded its highest temperature on record yesterday and that that is a material consequence of the climate emergency?

This was an opportunity for Reform to prove everybody wrong and to pepper the chamber this afternoon with speeches that were measured in tone and full of bright ideas to fix the things that are wrong in Scotland. We have heard none of that today. As Maya Angelou reminds us,

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

Language matters. I was struck by something that Jackie Dunbar said when she referenced the language that we have heard from Reform. Lord Offord often talks, in the same breath, about the idea of cohesion and of “strangers”, of “fighting-age men” and of “our people”. I reflect—I make no causal link between these things—that, in the attacks in Edinburgh at the weekend, we heard a half‑naked man who was wielding an axe shouting about protecting our country. Let that sink in, because the language of displacement and othering is the antithesis of the cohesion that Lord Offord speaks about so regularly.

Liberals believe in reform—of course we do. The Whig Government in 1832—

I fail to see a moral equivalence between the references that we have just heard and what is, in effect, the language of the Third Reich in some cases.

Liberals believe fundamentally in reform and in challenging the old order of things. We stand by that—cleaning up our politics, accountability and making Governments accountable to their people. Our approach to reform is about lifting people up.

I welcome the minister’s remarks about the Edinburgh attacks. Does he recognise, as do members on these benches, that as well as expressing solidarity with the Muslim community of Scotland, we owe them a debt of gratitude that there was no call for activism and action on the streets of Scotland by the Muslim community? There were no mass protests, violence, or police officer assaults, which shows a tremendous amount of restraint from a faith that is absolutely rooted in peace, tolerance and openness.

We need immigration, but we also need to recognise that we are a home for refugees. Scotland has a proud history of offering safe harbour to those who are fleeing war, persecution and intolerance, and we should proudly remember and embrace that, because it is very much part of our tapestry and heritage.

The title of the motion refers to “Five Years to 2031” as if that is some kind of countdown. I ask Reform members to reflect on their use of language today and the attacks that they have levelled against communities and people in this chamber, and to recognise that it is going to be a very long five years if we have to endure many more debates like this.

I absolutely agree with Daniel Johnson. The struggle for progress and equality is never truly won; we have to win it with every generation. We see in the rhetoric the measure of the challenge that falls to our generation.

Liberal Democrats believe in fixing what is broken, so let us talk about the things that we need to reform. One thing that absolutely is broken is our climate. I have heard several speakers from the Reform party talk about the climate emergency as if it is not a real thing. Net zero is part of how we fix our climate. It is not incompatible to support jobs in the North Sea and to recognise that we have a duty, as a nation, to play our part in driving towards net zero. Climate change is the final boss of the 21st century. If Reform members do not like the migration crisis that has been caused by war in continental Africa and other similar places, they are going to be horrified by the migration crisis that happens as a result of climate change making large parts of our world completely uninhabitable.

We also talk about aspects of our economy being broken. Of course that is true, and we need to reform things such as planning, skills and housing to ensure that it is easier to build things here and to invest in Scotland. We must ensure that we have the skills pipeline that we need and that there are places for people to live. We need to build things again, think things again and ensure that the founders who create businesses in Scotland are encouraged to keep them in Scotland, employ Scottish people and make sure that they are sustaining the economy that then funds our public services.

Our health service needs fixed—my goodness, it needs fixed. We have heard several times in excellent speeches from across the chamber about the waiting times for people who are waiting for treatment and care. We have said many times that that is not a deficiency of our hospitals but a deficiency of social care.