Margo MacDonald: Will the member give way?
Margo MacDonald: On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Would it be possible for us to talk among ourselves for two or three minutes while someone fetches some people to sit on the front benches of the two Opposition parties?
Margo MacDonald: I will pick up where my colleague Patrick Harvie left off. When speaking to people who say that they are not sure about which way they will vote, I say, “Think what you will feel like on the day after the referendum if you vote no.” That usually makes them think and focuses their minds. What Patrick Harvie says is absolutely true. From the point of view of people on the other side of the...
Margo MacDonald: I have to inform the member that, in this case, size does not matter. [Laughter.] Will all campaign teams have access to television, regardless of their size? There might be only one in my campaign team—that is why I am asking. What happens if opinions change and we bottle it? How will we face up to the second-rate place that we will have become? Although we are not at that stage with the...
Margo MacDonald: Did the committee consider whether the section 30 order was compliant with European law?
Margo MacDonald: Is it possible that the First Minister had in mind not the interests of BSkyB but the 500-odd people whose jobs depended on the contract?
Margo MacDonald: In describing that success story, does Marco Biagi completely ignore the fact that The Herald and The Scotsman will be very difficult to find and read in five years’ time?
Margo MacDonald: I am a former journalist, and most journalists with whom I worked were very much aware of the truth that had to be told in stories. The member asked why Gary Robertson described members as “locking horns” on the issue. It was because members of the Parliament had put out press releases with the sort of terminology that would induce him to use that phrase, rather than suggest that we were...
Margo MacDonald: I am aware of the fact that I have intervened a few times, so I will try to keep my speech under three minutes. On the First Minister’s bank account, I can see why someone would want to keep their bank account secret. There is nothing wrong with that, and I think that we are being far too prissy if we say that there is. In the past, lots of people have decided to call it quits rather than...
Margo MacDonald: I have worked in most of those stations. I hope that the minister is aware that the assurances that she has been given about Scottish content means only a Scottish presenter; it does not actually mean that Scottish words will be spoken. The news content is usually trimmed to news bulletins on the hour, which means that there is a very small news staff. I think that she must do more in...
Margo MacDonald: Will the member take an intervention?
Margo MacDonald: I speak as a former broadcaster and one who worked with the BBC when there were proper crews on the ground to cover stories. Just now, there are not the crews in Scotland to cover stories to feed into the BBC News Channel or the main news bulletins. That is where we must start.
Margo MacDonald: James Kelly is absolutely right about papers going online—it is happening already, very quickly. Just as broadsheet papers dumbed down a bit to meet the market, so online papers will dumb down to meet the twittery twits and so on.
Margo MacDonald: I congratulate the Government on its vision, but what methods are used to ensure equity of standard with regard to places on college courses that do not offer either apprenticeships or full training but which are part-training in nature? Who controls the standard in that respect?
Margo MacDonald: Mr Findlay’s question made me think of this. Will the budget be affected in any way if the worst happens in Clydeside and a shipyard is closed?
Margo MacDonald: The cabinet secretary has given an impressive list, but I wonder whether there could be something that is a bit more imaginative—a huge St Andrew’s day prize where everybody would know what it stood for. She has mentioned many events that are dotted about the country. They are all good, but they do not hang together well.
Margo MacDonald: I am not in the least biased, so here is an idea. At Christmas, we wear Christmas tree badges, brooches and so on. I am sure that we could get something for St Andrew’s day that everybody could wear—it would not be wrapped in a union jack, right enough. That would be something through which we could all celebrate our common identity.
Margo MacDonald: Will the member give way?
Margo MacDonald: On a point of historical accuracy, we have nothing to be proud of in Scotland when it comes to the slave trade.
Margo MacDonald: Can Roderick Campbell say who won the football match?