Speeches by Quigley.

“I was not aware of that, but I think that this one-sentence Bill is probably the SNP’s hard border to getting any further. Above all, the most pressing question is this. Before those in the SNP ask for more powers, why not first demonstrate that they can effectively use the powers they already have? Before reaching for…”

“That is a bit of a reach. How will the Scottish Government manage border security between England and Scotland? How will they ensure consistency with UK immigration policy? How will they safeguard against misuse or confusion about legal status? These questions remain unanswered, and regrettably this Bill would create f…”

“I will make slightly more progress and then give way. The Bill proposes the devolution of immigration powers to the Scottish Government, under the argument that economic migration could support rural and island communities. Let me be absolutely clear: I agree that migration, when done properly, can be a lifeline. It ca…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I wish I had all the answers to his questions, because I am sure it would have saved us time. It is now six minutes to 11, and I could have had a longer breakfast. Duplicating things for one part of the country does not solve a problem; it creates one. If the SNP cannot …”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. Let us be clear that setting up a separate immigration system in Scotland would not come free or cheap. We are talking about creating entire new departments, new staff, new infrastructure, new IT systems and likely new border controls, all of which would need to be designed, staffed and mai…”

“I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. While the Bill clearly seeks to help and support employers in Scotland with workforce issues, consideration must also be given to employers in England that do not want an extra layer of bureaucracy added to their recruitment processes. Moreover, this Bill does not explain how a dev…”

“The hon. Gentleman is asking us to take a leap of faith. The Bill is one line. If he had the answers to those questions already, the referendum result might well have been different. [Interruption.] Sorry, the Bill is two lines. The Bill could create uncertainty for employers, particularly in sectors that rely on a fle…”

“Indeed I do. For example, will there be immigration checks at the border? What happens when someone granted immigration status in Scotland seeks work in Newcastle, Manchester or London? Will employers in those cities suddenly be tasked with verifying whether an individual is subject to Scottish immigration rules? These…”

“I thank my hon. Friend—I will call him that—for his calm and measured intervention, as usual, but I do believe that there was a referendum, and we are all fully aware of the result. I am sure I will still enjoy chatting to him in future.”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. You are quite right to keep us on track. The Bill fails to account for its impact on the broader UK internal market. If Scotland is granted the power to admit migrants under its own criteria, we will be left with a host of unanswered questions. What is the mechanism for managing the flo…”

“I think I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I am sure that his constituents will be able to explain why. The project has been plagued by delay after delay, the costs have soared to more than £360 million, and islanders have been left without the reliable transport they were promised. One vessel is now year…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Glenrothes and Mid Fife (Richard Baker) for securing this debate on the role of shipyards in economic growth, which is particularly important to coastal communities such as those in my constituency. I say to my hon. Friend…”

“Hello there. So, 2024 was the second lowest turnout ever, and you have said in your response to the Commission’s report that that is at least in part due to the crisis in confidence in our political system. How concerned are the Government about the low turnout and do you have any plans to address it?”

“Thank you. Labour’s policy on first past the post admits that there are flaws in the current voting system contributing to the distrust and alienation we see in politics. I have two questions around that. Has the ministry made any assessment about the nature of those flaws in the first-past-the-post system and what imp…”

“On a connected note but slightly aside, a senior aide to a political party in the UK was jailed in the US for agreeing to launder money for undercover agents posing as drug traffickers. That aide was subject to a search and arrest warrant in relation to accusations that he was illegally financing a political party in M…”

“Funding of elections has been mentioned regularly by the Electoral Commission and AEA. How will the Government ensure that sufficient funding is made available so that the system does not fail?”

“What assessment have the Government made of the impact that the introduction of voter ID has had on elections?”

“Stuart, did you want to add something to that?”

“You are right that the numbers are quite small, but do you think there is some work that needs to be done around the acceptability of ID and voter ID itself? I think there is a core group of people who are quite fearful of what might be done with ID.”

“How do the new accessibility requirements introduced in the Elections Act 2022 operate in practice? Can you take me through what happened with the new accessibility requirements?”