Murdo Fraser: ...We have actually got ourselves into some slightly murky territory at times, and we certainly are not reflecting the views that the public have”. All three SNP leadership candidates—including Mr Yousaf, who has now joined us and is sitting on the front bench—have now attacked the disastrous deposit return scheme. In principle, the policy is a great idea and everyone should sign up to...
Murdo Fraser: ..., but it is impossible to find an NHS dentist who will give you an appointment. I had a letter this morning from a constituent in Kirkcaldy making exactly that point to me and blaming it on Humza Yousaf—yet another candidate to be First Minister. Higher education is free, but thanks to the SNP cap on numbers, many talented youngsters, as Liz Smith and Stephen Kerr said, simply cannot get...
Murdo Fraser: ...would bring forward the science that backed up the policy, but three weeks on, we still have not seen it. We can piece together what the Government thinks are the arguments from what Mr Swinney, Mr Yousaf and others have said, but we have not seen the science behind the policy. It seems to be that the arguments in favour centre around two areas. The first is that having vaccination...
Murdo Fraser: ...the measure. Again, we are being asked to vote for something whose impact we are in the dark about. We have already seen the SNP U-turn on this issue. Only a few weeks ago, John Swinney and Humza Yousaf were saying that this was not the right way to go. Even if it is troubling for them to have changed their position, it is even more embarrassing for the other part of this Government...
Murdo Fraser: ...to a debate in this new session of Parliament by welcoming you to your place. I welcome the Deputy First Minister to his new role in leading for the Government on Covid recovery and, because Humza Yousaf is also on the front bench, I welcome him to his new role as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. We will hear from him later. This is the first debate in the new session, so I am...
Murdo Fraser: Let me complete the list and then I will give way to Mr Mackay. I t was repeated by Keith Brown, Humza Yousaf, Maree Todd, James Dornan, Ivan McKee, Gillian Martin, Joan McAlpine, Paul Wheelhouse and Angus Robertson. Mr Mackay can be their spokesman and apologise for breaking his manifesto pledge.
Murdo Fraser: In last week’s debate on ferries in the northern isles, the Minister for Transport and the Islands, Humza Yousaf—the leader-in-waiting of the Scottish National Party—said of the SNP Government: “we intend to honour the commitments and promises in our manifesto.”—[ Official Report , 6 December 2017; c 67.] I welcome that very clear commitment from such a leading light in the SNP....
Murdo Fraser: ...Partnership. This has been a good debate, with excellent speeches from members of all parties. The debate has been consensual and was none the worse for that. Like other members, I welcome Humza Yousaf to his new post and congratulate him on his debate debut as a minister. My only regret is that now that he is a minister he seems to have less time to tweet as regularly as he used to do,...
