'I'm here to fight for children left behind by those with power' says MSP as Holyrood's newbies make first speeches
Edinburgh and Lothians MSPs make their Scottish Parliament debuts
Newly-elected Labour MSP Jenny Young has told the Scottish Parliament she has come to Holyrood to fight on behalf of children left behind by those with power.
Making her first speech in the parliament, the former West Lothian teacher spoke about a boy in her French class who, despite being a native English speaker, could "barely read a word of English" after seven years of primary education.
She said: "Some days, there was a support assistant with him, but with support stretched ever thinner across the school, that became less frequent as the months went on - a boy’s life chances diminished by a school system that was going backwards and by the growing gaps in support that saw him falling through the cracks."
Ms Young, who was elected as a regional MSP for Central Scotland and Lothians West, continued: "It is clear to me that the choices and opportunities on offer to our young people today are narrowed and diminished below what any of us knew.
"Too many feel left behind by those in politics, those with power and those who know only privilege, but I believe in that better future for all our children and I have come here to fight for them."
She was one of several new Edinburgh and Lothians MSPs who have made their maiden speeches at Holyrood over the last two weeks.
Edinburgh and Lothians East Labour MSP Katherine Sangster spoke in a debate on the Scottish Government’s plans for childcare from the age of nine months to the end of primary school.
Ms Sangster said: “My involvement in politics began with campaigning for fairer access to childcare for working parents some 10 years ago.
“Childcare is one of the most important investments that we can make in Scotland’s future. When childcare works, parents can participate fully in the workplace, women are more able to continue their careers and children get the best possible start in life. However, for too many families, that is not the reality.”
And she proposed Labour’s amendment, calling on the government to do more to reduce the costs of childcare for working parents, improve the flexibility of the childcare system, support childminders and give parents more choice over the childcare that works for their family.
Edinburgh and Lothians East Green MSP Q Manivannan also spoke in the childcare debate, quoting a Pregnant Then Screwed survey which found that, for half of Scottish mothers, it did not make financial sense to go to work.
He said: “Right now, we are doing less than England, and families are paying the price. We must go further.
“We went into the election with the most ambitious offer of any party—for 1,140 funded hours for all two-year-olds, regardless of the parents’ working status, and 570 hours for every child from six months old. That would not be means tested or conditional; it would be universal.”
Calum Kerr, SNP MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, urged a phased approach to the new childcare provision, pointing out the extra demands in extending it down to nine months.
He said: “At that level, requirements on staffing ratios, training and equipment are all much higher. I know that we will make sure that we get this right, but a phased approach would give us an opportunity to deliver benefits early while building out that capability.”
But Angela Ross, Edinburgh and Lothians East Reform MSP, questioned whether “expanding a universal taxpayer-funded model on such a scale” was the right way forward.
She said: “The 1,140-hour system costs close to £1 billion without clear and consistent evidence of success. Scotland faces significant fiscal pressures, and we are being asked to support an expansion that would require billions more in spending.”
Irshad Ahmed, Edinburgh and Lothians East Labour MSP, made his debut in a debate on the “summer of sport” with Scotland playing in the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games coming to Glasgow.
He said: “While we cheer on our elite sportspeople, let us not forget the community sports that take place every day. The 2014 games were supposed to leave a legacy, but, sadly, that was not delivered. I hope that the Scottish Government will not miss the opportunity again.
“The Commonwealth games should be the start of a new focus on promoting sport in Scotland. There should be investment in our community sports halls, swimming pools and pitches, and there should be investment in schools so that every child can live up to their potential. That should be the legacy of the 2026 Commonwealth games: a healthier and happier Scotland where everyone can thrive.”
Kate Campbell, SNP MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Musselburgh and Tranent, spoke in the debate on a second independence referendum, condemning the “abject failure” of Westminster to respond to Scotland’s needs.
She said: “We need independence to make fiscal choices about investing in our infrastructure, our people and our communities.
“We hear time and time again that we need to get on with the day job. This is the day job for the SNP: delivering the best that we possibly can for the people of Scotland. The SNP is ambitious for Scotland—not to patch things up or tinker at the edges with devolved power, but to achieve the constitutional change that we fundamentally need to radically transform our country,”
And speaking in the same debate, Edinburgh and Lothians East Green MSP Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, who uses a wheelchair, compared her personal situation to that of Scotland.
“I am disabled not solely because of my illness but because of the barriers that I face every day—in healthcare, in moving around, in accessing support and in just trying to live my life like anybody else.
“In that sense, Scotland has been disabled not by an inherent illness, but because we are held back by the needless barriers that Westminster has erected and the arrogant presumption that it knows better than we, the people of Scotland.”