Scottish Parliament – Jan. 9, 2025 – 3
Building a Migration System that Supports Scotland’s Economy, Public Services and Communities (Amendment 1)
Result
✅ Motion passed.
Aye: 68 MSPs
No: 28 MSPs
Absent: 13 MSPs
Abstain: 21 MSPs
Parliamentary analysis
Divided opposition: Government Aye, Opposition dividedThis vote is most similar to a group of votes where the government is proposing a motion, but there is division among opposition MPs/parties in opposing it (but generally, leaning against).
Motion
Motion type: Amendment(?)
S6M-16034.1: As an amendment to motion S6M-16034 in the name of Kaukab Stewart (Building a Migration System that Supports Scotland’s Economy, Public Services and Communities), insert at end ";
remains committed to ensuring that all migrants in Scotland have all of their rights fulfilled;
recognises the pervasive and increasingly hostile anti-migrant rhetoric from some politicians and media sources;
believes that further action is required by both the UK and Scottish governments to support people displaced due to the climate crisis, and calls on the UK Government to remove the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) conditions that limit the support and services available to many, especially those seeking asylum."
Original motion(S6M-16034): That the Parliament recognises the social, economic and cultural contribution made to Scotland by those who have chosen to live here;
notes the establishment of Scotland’s Migration Service at a cost of up to £1.5 million in the draft Budget 2025-26 to help employers, investors and individuals navigate the UK immigration system;
further notes that the Parliament has previously endorsed a motion calling for the development of a differentiated, more flexible migration policy tailored to meet Scotland’s specific needs, and calls on the UK Government to accept the Rural Visa Pilot proposal and to work directly and constructively with the Scottish Government to ensure that the needs of Scotland’s employers, communities and public services are fully reflected within the immigration system.
Annotations
No annotations for this decision.
Whip reports
No whip reports for this decision.
Overall counts
| Grouping | MSPs on date | Vote participant count | For motion | Against motion | Neutral motion | Absent motion | Turnout | For motion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All MSPs | 130 | 96 | 68 | 28 | 21 | 13 | 73.85% | 70.83% |
Government counts
| Grouping | MSPs on date | Vote participant count | For motion | Against motion | Neutral motion | Absent motion | Turnout | For motion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition | 66 | 37 | 10 | 27 | 21 | 8 | 56.06% | 27.03% |
| Government | 64 | 59 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 92.19% | 98.31% |
Party voting counts
| Grouping | MSPs on date | Vote participant count | For motion | Against motion | Neutral motion | Absent motion | Party turnout | For motion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish National Party | 64 | 59 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 92.19% | 98.31% |
| Labour | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 0.00% | n/a |
| Liberal Democrat | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 75.00% | 100.00% |
| Green | 8 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 87.50% | 100.00% |
| Conservative | 31 | 27 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 87.10% | 0.00% |
Voting list
| Person | Party | Vote | Party alignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liam McArthur | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Sarah Boyack | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| John Mason | Independent | Aye | 98.31% |
| Mark Ruskell | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Patrick Harvie | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Lord Sarwar | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Pam Gosal | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Tim Eagle | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Martin Whitfield | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Pauline McNeill | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Annie Wells | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Jenni Minto | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Elena Whitham | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Siobhian Brown | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Collette Stevenson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Tess White | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Alex Cole-Hamilton | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Clare Haughey | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Foysol Choudhury | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Sandesh Gulhane | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Graeme Dey | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Ruth Maguire | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Colin Beattie | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Roz McCall | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Oliver Mundell | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Fulton MacGregor | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Claire Baker | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Douglas Lumsden | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Emma Roddick | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Emma Harper | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Alison Johnstone | Presiding Officer | Absent | n/a |
| Ross Greer | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ash Denham | Alba | No | 1.69% |
| Maggie Chapman | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Rhoda Grant | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Paul McLennan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Carol Mochan | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Stuart McMillan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Pam Duncan-Glancy | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Paul Sweeney | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Richard Lochhead | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Shona Robison | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Alex Rowley | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Audrey Nicoll | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Elizabeth Smith | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Alasdair Allan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Jenny Gilruth | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Kevin Stewart | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| David Torrance | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| George Adam | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Gordon MacDonald | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Neil Bibby | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Edward Mountain | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Nicola Sturgeon | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Rachael Hamilton | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Kenneth Gibson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Annabelle Ewing | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Michelle Thomson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Alexander Stewart | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Neil Gray | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Richard Leonard | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Liam Kerr | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Jamie Hepburn | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Meghan Gallacher | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Joe FitzPatrick | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Gillian Martin | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Monica Lennon | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Stephanie Callaghan | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Keith Brown | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Davy Russell | Unknown | Absent | n/a |
| Ariane Burgess | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jamie Halcro Johnston | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Willie Rennie | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Angus Robertson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Jackson Carlaw | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Paul O'Kane | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Mairi Gougeon | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Craig Hoy | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Angela Constance | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Bill Kidd | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Màiri McAllan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Baroness Clark | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Shirley-Anne Somerville | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Ivan McKee | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Murdo Fraser | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Michael Matheson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Jackie Dunbar | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Douglas Ross | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Ben Macpherson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Fergus Ewing | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Karen Adam | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Willie Coffey | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| John Swinney | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Jamie Greene | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Maurice Golden | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Finlay Carson | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Stephen Kerr | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Beatrice Wishart | Liberal Democrat | Absent | n/a |
| Graham Simpson | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Miles Briggs | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Maree Todd | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Alexander Burnett | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Mark Griffin | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Sue Webber | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Rona Mackay | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Christina McKelvie | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Marie McNair | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Sharon Dowey | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Christine Grahame | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Bob Doris | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Brian Whittle | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Fiona Hyslop | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Humza Yousaf | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Tom Arthur | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Jackie Baillie | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Kate Forbes | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Evelyn Tweed | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Jeremy Balfour | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Daniel Johnson | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Natalie Don | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Mercedes Villalba | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| Colin Smyth | Labour | Abstain | n/a |
| James Dornan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 98.31% |
| Lorna Slater | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Gillian Mackay | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Clare Adamson | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Russell Findlay | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Jim Fairlie | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Kaukab Stewart | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Michael Marra | Labour | Absent | n/a |