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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finlay Carson | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Richard Leonard | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Christine Grahame | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Kenneth Gibson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Willie Coffey | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Fergus Ewing | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Gillian Martin | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Natalie Don | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Daniel Johnson | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Evelyn Tweed | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Kate Forbes | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Meghan Gallacher | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Tom Arthur | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Mark Ruskell | Green | 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% |
| Ariane Burgess | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Liam McArthur | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| John Swinney | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Bill Kidd | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Elena Whitham | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Angela Constance | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Alasdair Allan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Alex Rowley | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Rachael Hamilton | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Alexander Stewart | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Claire Baker | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Douglas Lumsden | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Bob Doris | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Michelle Thomson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Roz McCall | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Ruth Maguire | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Gillian Mackay | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Lorna Slater | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Kaukab Stewart | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Colin Smyth | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Alexander Burnett | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Martin Whitfield | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Mairi Gougeon | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Paul McLennan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jamie Halcro Johnston | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Graham Simpson | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Sandesh Gulhane | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Alex Cole-Hamilton | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Foysol Choudhury | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Murdo Fraser | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| 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 |
| Liam Kerr | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Fiona Hyslop | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Oliver Mundell | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Jamie Greene | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Monica Lennon | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Emma Harper | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Karen Adam | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Emma Roddick | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jackie Baillie | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Anas Sarwar | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| John Mason | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Sue Webber | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Mercedes Villalba | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Joe FitzPatrick | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jeremy Balfour | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Stephanie Callaghan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jamie Hepburn | Scottish National Party | Aye | 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% |
| Sarah Boyack | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Michael Matheson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Edward Mountain | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Gordon MacDonald | Scottish National Party | Aye | 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% |
| Annie Wells | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Jenny Gilruth | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Rhoda Grant | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Neil Bibby | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| James Dornan | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Brian Whittle | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Beatrice Wishart | Liberal Democrat | Absent | n/a |
| Alison Johnstone | Green | Absent | n/a |
| Stephen Kerr | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Humza Yousaf | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Màiri McAllan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Neil Gray | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Annabelle Ewing | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Sharon Dowey | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Colin Beattie | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Graeme Dey | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jackie Dunbar | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jim Fairlie | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Maurice Golden | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Audrey Nicoll | 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% |
| 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% |
| Angus Robertson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ash Denham | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Maggie Chapman | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ross Greer | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Clare Haughey | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Nicola Sturgeon | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Marie McNair | 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% |
| Baroness Clark | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Douglas Ross | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| 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% |
| Fulton MacGregor | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Russell Findlay | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| George Adam | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Patrick Harvie | Green | Absent | n/a |