Frances Curran: The Scottish Socialist Party very much welcomes and supports the bill. Politics is about power: who has it and how they use it. Although I am part of the consensus in the Parliament on the bill, I think that we should acknowledge that the bill is a small measure against a huge injustice. Those who have suffered that injustice have mainly been working-class men—there have been some...
Frances Curran: Some people in the gallery wanted to know where MSPs were running in from for the votes. There is a room next door to the chamber, where we can have free tea and coffee, free fruit and free shortbread. After that, we can go downstairs to have a dinner in the canteen, which is subsidised to the tune of £600,000 every 18 months. Patrick Harvie mentioned targeting. It is interesting that MSPs...
Frances Curran: Will the minister give way?
Frances Curran: Will the minister take an intervention?
Frances Curran: When we ask parents what they want for their children, one or two will say, "I want wee Kenny to play for Scotland", or, "I'd like Kylie to win 'The X Factor'", but most parents say, "I want them to be happy and healthy." Given the recent United Nations Children's Fund report, which showed that our children are the unhappiest in the developed world, we, including us in the Parliament, stand...
Frances Curran: I am a believer in honesty in politics, so I would not pretend that the Scottish Socialist Party's manifesto has been drawn up with the interests of small businesses at heart. Nevertheless, Parliament may be surprised to learn—as I was surprised to learn—that a number of the Scottish Socialist Party's policies chime with those that have been put forward by the Federation of Small...
Frances Curran: I thank Scott Barrie for bringing the debate to the chamber. I remember the time way back, when, under the Thatcher Government, we were debating the privatisation of the gas and electricity companies. At the time, the mantra was, "The market is more efficient. The market will make things cheaper. The market will bring cheap prices for everybody." The system, which has been in place now for...
Frances Curran: Yes she can.
Frances Curran: The amended bill is a vast improvement on its original form and is moving in the right direction. Society's attitude to prostitution and the definition of it that we now have—which is that it is a form of violence against women—is where we were 20 years ago on the issue of domestic violence. When I was growing up in the east end of Glasgow 20 years ago, domestic violence was prevalent and...
Frances Curran: I speak to oppose amendment 4. We know, because the figures and research are well documented, that the vast majority of women who are involved in street prostitution abuse drugs and/or alcohol. Section 43 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 criminalises soliciting and the effect of amendment 4 would be to encourage mandatory drug treatment and testing orders for women who are...
Frances Curran: During this debate on affordable housing, I have wondered whether, if I was on the outside looking in, I would think that the Parliament's debate would change people's lives. Having been made homeless twice and having experience of what it is like to not have anywhere to live, I know that homelessness has a fundamental human effect on families and children. A recent documentary that was based...
Frances Curran: The member will not be surprised to know that I do not agree with his point. Even if the SFHA was created as a result of that policy, and housing associations were created as a result of stock transfer, it does not stop them having a view on how policies affect affordable housing. Extending the right to buy even further to housing association tenants—and I live in a housing association...
Frances Curran: Thank you very much, that is my next point. The SSP will campaign in the election in favour of building 25,000 new homes for social rent every year. We would cancel the housing debt of the local authorities, not just those that have gone for stock transfer, to generate £2 billion over four years. Developers in the Glasgow harbour area have built 4,000 units, only 40 of which are for social...
Frances Curran: Will the member take an intervention?
Frances Curran: Will the member take an intervention?
Frances Curran: Will the member give way?
Frances Curran: I welcome this debate on workers' rights, which is long overdue. I regret the fact that the chamber has been spurred into action on the matter by the Simclar factory closure because, since the Thatcher Governments, power and protection has been moving consistently towards employers. The balance of power is heavily in favour of employers, and workers' rights have been eroded enormously. The...
Frances Curran: That is rubbish.
Frances Curran: To ask the Scottish Executive how many anti-nuclear protestors have been arrested at the Faslane naval base since the start of the Faslane 365 campaign and how many have been charged. (S2O-11927)
Frances Curran: That response does not help me, because I am looking for the number of people who have been arrested and then charged. I have some personal experience of the matter, and it seems that many of the protesters who were arrested have not been charged. Somewhere along the line, someone—I do not know who—has made a conscious decision in that respect. Have the minister and the Executive...