Seòmar agus comataidhean

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the development of the necessary harbour infrastructure, including in relation to the operations and maintenance support phase of offshore wind, to deliver a just transition to rural communities, such as Fraserburgh. (S6O-02475)

My constituency of Banffshire and Buchan Coast has a huge part to play in Scotland’s net zero ambitions. I thank the Scottish Government for its unrelenting support for the Acorn project at St Fergus and the Moray offshore wind projects and its funding of the Campaign for North East Rail’s feasibility study on bringing rail back to Peterhead and Fraserburgh.

The Fraserburgh harbour master plan has a huge part to play in our net zero goals. Will the minister meet with me and the harbour board to discuss its ambitious plan?

The Scottish Government has shown leadership on equality and human rights, and that is an inspiration not only to many here, but to others across this land and beyond, throughout the world. Our First Minister’s dedication to fighting for those fundamental causes gives me great hope.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said:

“Where, after all, do ... human rights begin? In small places, close to home ... Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”

Those were wise words from the former first lady and distinguished human rights champion, and they underpin our journey here, in Scotland, to become an equal and inclusive community that is free from discrimination, with our potential realised and full of opportunity for all.

Scotland is already making greater strides towards equality than other parts of the United Kingdom. In 2021, the Scottish Parliament unanimously voted to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into law in Scotland before it was challenged by the UK Government. That bill would have been the most important thing that Scotland could do to protect the rights of children and young people and I urge the Scottish Government to do all that it can to bring the legislation back as soon as possible.

When we passed the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that it was a “significant step forward”. It was passed by a two-thirds majority in the Parliament. Yet again, our democracy and our progressive policies were vetoed by Westminster. Time and again, we march forward unapologetically on human rights only to be thwarted by a UK Government that is hostile not only to human rights, as we have seen with its vile Illegal Migration Act 2023, but to any part of the United Kingdom that dares to do better.

It should come as no surprise. Last year, the UK Government brought forward proposals to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998. Thankfully, those proposals have not made progress at Westminster, but that is the uncertain context in which the Scottish people find ourselves. It is for that reason that I wish to focus my remarks today on the proposed human rights bill in the programme for government.

The human rights bill would be a significant piece of legislation that could give effect to a further four of the nine core international human rights instruments of the United Nations. Those would enshrine a right to work and to favourable conditions of work. The bill would cement the right to an adequate standard of living, including the right to adequate food and housing. In the context of a Tory cost of living crisis and with the world’s energy and food security threatened by Russia’s abhorrent war in Ukraine, the need to guarantee those fundamental rights has never been more acute.

Yesterday, the First Minister spoke movingly about his past and present experiences of racism. Although racially motivated hate crimes are declining, 1,468 racist crime offences were recorded by the police in Scotland last year. We must commit ourselves by all appropriate means and without delay to a policy of eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms, and to promoting understanding between different racial, ethnic and national groups in Scotland.

The abuse and discrimination that are faced by women in society are as perennial as they are pervasive. To the surprise of no woman in the chamber today, that is particularly acute for those in the public arena. We discussed those issues at length on the gender-sensitive audit board, and I am particularly proud that, under Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership, we introduced the first gender-balanced Cabinet in the UK and that, under Humza Yousaf’s leadership, there are now more women in Government than ever before. In Humza Yousaf’s first programme for government, we have the potential through the human rights bill to enshrine non-discrimination, economic and social rights, and gender equality for all women in Scotland.

Many people with disabilities face barriers that prevent them from participating fully in society. Those barriers take many forms, from financial to physical to cultural. With that legislation, we can make it clear that disabled people have the same rights as non-disabled people and break down the barriers that prevent disabled people from realising their human rights.

Many other communities would benefit from having their rights recognised in the human rights bill, including LGBT people. On that point, I am relieved to hear that the Government is to introduce legislation swiftly to end abhorrent conversion practices. I look forward to ensuring that the rights of LGBT people are included in the bill.

With the human rights bill, we have yet another opportunity to distinguish ourselves from the cruel policies of Westminster and be a beacon for human rights. That will no doubt anger the UK Government, which is doing all that it can to undermine any Scottish progress. In the past five financial years, £700 million has been spent on mitigating the effects of UK Government policy on the Scottish people. The suffering and harm that are inflicted on us by this unequal union, day in and day out, cannot be emphasised enough.

It is the Scottish Government that offers real change. It does so with a programme for government that fights poverty tooth and nail, and which is proud and unapologetic about progressing human rights. We have made great strides in building a modern, inclusive Scotland, but we must not and will not rest on our laurels. Giving effect in Scots law to core international human rights instruments will build stronger communities, improve social justice, reduce inequalities and tackle child poverty.

The cost of the union is clear: it is a cost that is mired in inhumanity. In stark contrast, with its programme for government, the Scottish Government has, with true humanity, shown its commitment to the highest standard of equality for our citizens.

I thank the cabinet secretary for her constructive dialogue and for taking the time to listen to the concerns of the coastal communities and the fishers I represent. Fishers are well aware of the need to safeguard the health of our seas, because they rely on it for their livelihoods as well as our food security. They bring intergenerational knowledge and experience to the table. How will fishers be able to feed their wealth of knowledge into any future discussions on enhancing marine protections as we continue to protect our marine environment, as well as our world-renowned, vital food source?

On the wider discussion of wildlife traps, we have had quite robust discussions on proposed licensing. We have heard concerns from stakeholders and land managers that other people tampering with their traps might make them liable to prosecution. Has the Scottish Government given any consideration to making tampering with traps an offence?

What is the rationale behind defining peatland as having a depth that is greater than 40cm? What objective is that definition meant to achieve?

Scotland’s written constitution, as set out in the new paper, would safeguard people in Scotland from having their human rights and workers’ rights swept away following a simple parliamentary majority. We are watching that happen before our very eyes in relation to the United Kingdom Government. Will the minister explain how a written constitution would better protect the rights of citizens in an independent Scotland?

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the latest paper in the “Building a New Scotland” series, for what reasons it considers that an independent Scotland would need a written constitution. (S6O-02425)

In preparation for the debate, I have been reading the words of James Madison, who was the father of the constitution of the United States of America. One quote in particular really struck me. I will share it with the chamber. It is this:

“The people are the only legitimate fountain of power, and it is from them that the constitutional charter, under which the several branches of government hold their power, is derived.”

For centuries, sovereignty here, in Scotland, was said to lie with the people, so it should come as no surprise that such an absolute should have been instilled within James Madison, because he was educated by a Scottish tutor, Donald Robertson.

When the United States of America declared independence from the United Kingdom, one of the first lines of the declaration of independence said:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”

When Scotland regains her independence, we too should put equality—although not only for men—in the opening lines of our written constitution.

The declaration of independence goes on to say:

“let Facts be submitted to a candid world”.

In that list of facts, the document outlines why independence is needed. It says, of the then leader of the United Kingdom:

“He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good ... He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly ... He has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature”

and the king is condemned

“For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world ... For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments”.

Does that sound familiar to anyone?

Since 1939, 62 countries have become independent from the United Kingdom and, to date, none has asked to return. Almost all those countries have codified a constitution. It took three centuries for Scotland to regain her Parliament but just a few short decades for the UK Government to overrule and undermine it.

Without a written constitution, the UK is an outlier, and, although the Scottish Government is enshrining rights, the UK Government is trying to take them away. The first line of Scotland’s interim constitution should make it clear that Scotland is an independent country in which the people are sovereign. Never again should powers that are so far away—both geographically and democratically—from the people of Scotland be able to undermine our sovereign will.

The publication “Creating a modern constitution for an independent Scotland” lays out a vision for our constitutional future—one that embraces the principles of democracy, human rights and the sovereignty of the people. It is a document that reflects the aspirations and values of our nation.

In recent years, we have witnessed the UK Government, and the Conservative Party as a whole, persistently restricting the democratic will of the Scottish people. Time and again, our voices have been undermined and our choices disregarded. The power imbalance is evident, with decisions that directly affect Scotland being made without our consent or our consideration.

Here are just a few ideas that are close to my heart. The constitution could protect workers’ rights and could protect the NHS, which would be free at the point of use.

I will finish my remarks with a plea to Scots across the country to dwell on, and to articulate, our vision for Scotland. We do not have to imagine a better country. This is not a fantasy—we can build it and should not let anyone think that we cannot. A written constitution is absolutely the opportunity to create the foundation of a society in which every citizen is valued, rights are protected and the interests of the people take precedence over narrow political considerations. [Interruption.]

—but I am fed up of the wolves at the door. Let us stop the wolves of Westminster coming to Scotland, and let us become independent.