Scottish Parliament – June 12, 2025 – 3
A Migration System that Works for Scotland
Result
✅ Motion passed.
Aye: 67 MSPs
No: 42 MSPs
Absent: 20 MSPs
Parliamentary analysis
Strong conflict: Gov proposesThis vote is most similar to a group of votes where the government is proposing a motion and the opposition is strongly opposing it (few defections, high turnout).
This usually suggests an important point of principle, that even if the government is likely to win, is a significant public signal of opposition.
Motion
Motion type: Other(?)
S6M-17906: That the Parliament recognises the contribution to Scotland’s communities, public services and economy by those who have chosen to migrate to Scotland and build their lives here;
notes that stakeholders from multiple sectors across Scotland have expressed significant concerns with the UK Government’s immigration white paper, and that proposals submitted by the Scottish Government to the Home Office were not included in the published paper;
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;
calls on the UK Government to engage with Scottish Government officials urgently to ensure that the needs of Scotland’s businesses, public services and communities are supported, rather than harmed, by the reforms outlined in the UK immigration white paper, and further calls on the UK Government to ensure that a new youth mobility scheme is designed, with engagement from young people across the UK nations, to be as broad and inclusive as possible, restoring the greatest freedom of movement for young people as can be agreed with the EU.
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 | Absent motion | Turnout | For motion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All MSPs | 129 | 109 | 67 | 42 | 20 | 84.50% | 61.47% |
Government counts
| Grouping | MSPs on date | Vote participant count | For motion | Against motion | Absent motion | Turnout | For motion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government | 63 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 6 | 90.48% | 100.00% |
| Opposition | 66 | 52 | 10 | 42 | 14 | 78.79% | 19.23% |
Party voting counts
| Grouping | MSPs on date | Vote participant count | For motion | Against motion | Absent motion | Party turnout | For motion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 30 | 23 | 0 | 23 | 7 | 76.67% | 0.00% |
| Green | 8 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 75.00% | 100.00% |
| Scottish National Party | 63 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 6 | 90.48% | 100.00% |
| Labour | 23 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 4 | 82.61% | 0.00% |
| Liberal Democrat | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 80.00% | 100.00% |
Voting list
| Person | Party | Vote | Party alignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christine Grahame | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Roz McCall | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Douglas Lumsden | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Ruth Maguire | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Gillian Mackay | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Lorna Slater | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Daniel Johnson | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Mark Ruskell | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Alexander Burnett | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Martin Whitfield | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Colin Smyth | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Gillian Martin | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Natalie Don | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Paul McLennan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Graham Simpson | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Alex Cole-Hamilton | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Foysol Choudhury | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Murdo Fraser | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Alex Rowley | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Rachael Hamilton | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Alexander Stewart | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Bob Doris | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Finlay Carson | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Richard Leonard | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Claire Baker | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Michelle Thomson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Kenneth Gibson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Willie Coffey | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Kaukab Stewart | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Fergus Ewing | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Evelyn Tweed | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Tom Arthur | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Meghan Gallacher | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Kate Forbes | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Mairi Gougeon | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jackson Carlaw | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Stuart McMillan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Pam Duncan-Glancy | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Maree Todd | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Carol Mochan | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Jamie Halcro Johnston | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Ariane Burgess | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Liam McArthur | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Sandesh Gulhane | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Angela Constance | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Alasdair Allan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Bill Kidd | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Elena Whitham | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| John Swinney | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Tim Eagle | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Clare Adamson | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Keith Brown | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Paul O'Kane | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Oliver Mundell | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Neil Gray | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Colin Beattie | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jamie Greene | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Karen Adam | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Mercedes Villalba | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Stephanie Callaghan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Audrey Nicoll | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Angus Robertson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ross Greer | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Rona Mackay | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Richard Lochhead | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Shona Robison | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Paul Sweeney | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Clare Haughey | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Michael Matheson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Nicola Sturgeon | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ivan McKee | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Shirley-Anne Somerville | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Tess White | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Gordon MacDonald | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Pauline McNeill | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Kevin Stewart | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| David Torrance | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Michael Marra | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Craig Hoy | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Douglas Ross | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Rhoda Grant | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| James Dornan | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Brian Whittle | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Patrick Harvie | Green | Absent | n/a |
| George Adam | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Stephen Kerr | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Humza Yousaf | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Liam Kerr | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Fiona Hyslop | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Màiri McAllan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Monica Lennon | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Emma Harper | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jim Fairlie | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Maurice Golden | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Annabelle Ewing | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Sharon Dowey | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Graeme Dey | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jackie Dunbar | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Emma Roddick | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Joe FitzPatrick | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jackie Baillie | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Jeremy Balfour | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Jamie Hepburn | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ben Macpherson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Elizabeth Smith | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Pam Gosal | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Anas Sarwar | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| John Mason | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Sue Webber | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Mark Griffin | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Davy Russell | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Miles Briggs | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Willie Rennie | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ash Denham | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Maggie Chapman | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Sarah Boyack | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Edward Mountain | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Marie McNair | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Annie Wells | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Jenny Gilruth | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Baroness Clark | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Collette Stevenson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Siobhian Brown | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jenni Minto | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Fulton MacGregor | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Russell Findlay | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Neil Bibby | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Beatrice Wishart | Liberal Democrat | Absent | n/a |
| Alison Johnstone | Green | Absent | n/a |