Strengthening the Union — House of Commons, 2018-07-23
Topic: Health
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): I have campaigned solidly in favour of getting rid of the policy throughout the UK. All that the Scottish Tories have said—all that those Daleks have said—is "mitigate, and mitigate", but I want to get rid of it for everyone There is another area in which the UK is not doing its part. We want the drug laws to be changed in Scotland. Last year there were 934 drug-related deaths in Scotland, and the vast majority were in the city that I represent. Glasgow City Council and the local health and social care partnership have a plan—a policy. They want to introduce drug consumption rooms, so that we can mitigate the worst of this terrible scourge of society There are drug consumption rooms now, but they are in back courts, bin sheds and dirty lanes all over the city. That does not serve anyone well. We have a public health emergency in the city of Glasgow, but all that the Prime Minister could say last week was, "Oh, that is too bad. It is really sad that that people die from drugs." We have a policy and we want to get on with it, but the UK Government will not devolve that policy. They see fit to allow people in Scotland to go on dying as a result of drug overdoses, when we have a public health solution that could have an impact on their lives Then there is the issue of immigration. Scotland needs immigration. We need people to come to our country and participate in our economy, but what do the UK do? They say, "No, you cannot have those powers. Those powers will stay with us." Constituents of mine who made a minor, legitimate change to their tax returns find themselves, under paragraph 322.5 of the Immigration Rules, branded a threat to national security and told to leave. They are highly skilled migrants who could bring many skills to this country. We should be valuing and thanking them, but what do the UK Government give them? They give them a hostile environment. They give them a policy that Scotland does not want When Glasgow City Council was a Labour administration, it put a sign over the door saying, "We welcome refugees", and I am proud of it for doing so. That is the nation that we ought to have. We want nothing to do with the hostile environment, but while immigration law stays at Westminster, we have no say over this issue. The UK Government should hang their heads in shame As for Labour Members, they talk about employment law and low wages, but what did they do? They refused to devolve employment law to Scotland. We want to make those changes. We want to give our people better conditions. In the areas where we do have control, we have encouraged people to take up the real living wage—not the Chancellor’s "pretendy" living wage, which is not available to young people. There has been a high uptake, but we do not have the full control over employment law—over zero-hours contracts, for instance—that we would like to have The Labour party did not even deign to give us part of its World cup bid. Immediately after the World cup, Labour Front Benchers were saying, "We should have a World cup bid for England." It is some Union if Scotland is not even involved in the football. That is literally taking the ball and going away. I must finish my speech now, and let other Members speak. Let me end with the great words of the White Stripes, in a song that they took from "Citizen Kane". You will have to forgive me, Madam Deputy Speaker, because it is a direct quotation, and there will be a "you" in it "You said, the union forever You said, the union forever You cried, the union forever But that was untrue, girl."