First Minister’s Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 25 April 2024.
Bill Kidd
Scottish National Party
The United Kingdom Government’s decision to reject out of hand the European Union’s youth mobility offer to make it easier for people aged between 18 and 30 in the UK to study and work abroad in the wake of Brexit shines a dark light on its ideological obsession with a hard Brexit and a perverse desire to submit to the right wing, with Labour hellbent on an outright outwinging of the Tories on Brexit. Does the First Minister share my concerns about that, and will he make it clear today that the Scottish Government will continue to fight for the restoration of freedom of movement so that people across the UK can continue to study and work in the EU?
Humza Yousaf
Scottish National Party
Anas Sarwar on Labour’s front bench is getting extremely agitated by that question—and no wonder. That is because he is embarrassed by Labour’s dismal response to the youth mobility scheme. I would expect a Tory UK Government to completely reject the European Commission’s sensible proposal to negotiate a youth mobility scheme. For Labour to do that is just another example of how it is moving away from its principles. What on earth does the party even stand for if it will not stand for a youth mobility scheme with the European Commission?
The ending of free movement has again damaged the future of our young people in Scotland, which is a part of the United Kingdom that did not vote for Brexit. We have long argued that our young people should enjoy the opportunities that are offered by mobility, such as study and work experience. We urge the UK Government to respond positively to that proposal and to negotiate a deep and generous agreement with the European Union.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The European Commission is the politically independent institution that represents and upholds the interests of the EU as a whole. It is the driving force within the EU’s institutional system: it proposes legislation, policies and programmes of action and it is responsible for implementing the decisions of Parliament and the Council.
Like the Parliament and Council, the European Commission was set up in the 1950s under the EU’s founding treaties.
The first bench on either side of the House of Commons, reserved for ministers and leaders of the principal political parties.
The political party system in the English-speaking world evolved in the 17th century, during the fight over the ascension of James the Second to the Throne. James was a Catholic and a Stuart. Those who argued for Parliamentary supremacy were called Whigs, after a Scottish word whiggamore, meaning "horse-driver," applied to Protestant rebels. It was meant as an insult.
They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
