Scottish Parliament – Nov. 12, 2025 – 5

Better Bus Services (Amendment 2)

Result

✅ Motion passed.

Aye: 81 MSPs

No: 35 MSPs

Absent: 11 MSPs

Abstain: 2 MSPs

Parliamentary analysis

Divided opposition: Government Aye, Opposition divided

This 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(?)

The result of the division on amendment S6M-19632.2, in the name of Sue Webber, is: For 35, Against 83, Abstentions 0. S6M-19632.2: As an amendment to motion S6M-19632 in the name of Mark Ruskell (Better Bus Services), leave out from "further agrees" to end and insert "recognises that competition is essential to keeping bus fares fair and reasonable;

calls on the Scottish Government to enhance the reliability and punctuality of bus services through the greater interlinking of timetables and integrated ticketing across bus and rail providers;

agrees that good road surfaces are essential to improve bus services;

notes that communities across Scotland, but particularly in rural areas, struggle to access bus services, and urges the Scottish Government to take action to make buses safer and to expedite the process to remove bus passes from passengers who commit antisocial behaviour."

Original motion(S6M-19632): That the Parliament agrees that communities across Scotland deserve affordable, accessible and reliable bus services;

further agrees that more bus services across Scotland should be run in the public interest to improve services and reduce fares for all passengers;

celebrates that 250 million bus journeys have been taken by young people in Scotland since the introduction of free bus travel for under-22s, and calls on the Scottish Government to expand free bus travel to more young people.  

Original motion(S6M-19632): That the Parliament agrees that communities across Scotland deserve affordable, accessible and reliable bus services;

further agrees that more bus services across Scotland should be run in the public interest to improve services and reduce fares for all passengers;

celebrates that 250 million bus journeys have been taken by young people in Scotland since the introduction of free bus travel for under-22s, and calls on the Scottish Government to expand free bus travel to more young people.  

Original motion(S6M-19632): That the Parliament agrees that communities across Scotland deserve affordable, accessible and reliable bus services;

further agrees that more bus services across Scotland should be run in the public interest to improve services and reduce fares for all passengers;

celebrates that 250 million bus journeys have been taken by young people in Scotland since the introduction of free bus travel for under-22s, and calls on the Scottish Government to expand free bus travel to more young people.  

Original motion(S6M-19632): That the Parliament agrees that communities across Scotland deserve affordable, accessible and reliable bus services;

further agrees that more bus services across Scotland should be run in the public interest to improve services and reduce fares for all passengers;

celebrates that 250 million bus journeys have been taken by young people in Scotland since the introduction of free bus travel for under-22s, and calls on the Scottish Government to expand free bus travel to more young people.  

Motion in TheyWorkForYou

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 129 116 81 35 2 11 89.92% 69.83%

Government counts

Grouping MSPs on date Vote participant count For motion Against motion Neutral motion Absent motion Turnout For motion percentage
Opposition 66 58 23 35 1 7 87.88% 39.66%
Government 63 58 58 0 1 4 92.06% 100.00%

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 63 58 58 0 1 4 92.06% 100.00%
Labour 21 18 18 0 0 3 85.71% 100.00%
Liberal Democrat 5 5 5 0 0 0 100.00% 100.00%
Independent 3 1 0 1 1 1 33.33% 0.00%
Reform UK 1 1 0 1 0 0 100.00% 0.00%
Conservative 28 26 0 26 0 2 92.86% 0.00%
Green 8 7 0 7 0 1 87.50% 0.00%

Voting list

Download as CSV

Person Party Vote Party alignment
Paul O'Kane Labour Aye 100.00%
Mark Ruskell Green No 100.00%
Tim Eagle Conservative No 100.00%
Shona Robison Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Angus Robertson Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Carol Mochan Labour Aye 100.00%
Davy Russell Labour Aye 100.00%
Maree Todd Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Willie Rennie Liberal Democrat Aye 100.00%
Rachael Hamilton Conservative No 100.00%
Jenni Minto Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Craig Hoy Conservative No 100.00%
Michael Marra Labour Aye 100.00%
Alex Cole-Hamilton Liberal Democrat Aye 100.00%
Douglas Lumsden Conservative No 100.00%
Bob Doris Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Liam Kerr Conservative No 100.00%
Roz McCall Conservative No 100.00%
Graeme Dey Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Gillian Mackay Green No 100.00%
Karen Adam Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Kaukab Stewart Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Natalie Don Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Beatrice Wishart Liberal Democrat Aye 100.00%
Fergus Ewing Scottish National Party Abstain 50.00%
Emma Roddick Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Gillian Martin Scottish National Party Absent n/a
Monica Lennon Labour Absent n/a
Jackie Baillie Labour Absent n/a
Murdo Fraser Conservative Absent n/a
Audrey Nicoll Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
John Mason Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Jackson Carlaw Conservative No 100.00%
Mark Griffin Labour Aye 100.00%
Ariane Burgess Green No 100.00%
Graham Simpson Reform UK No 100.00%
Baroness Clark Labour Aye 100.00%
Shirley-Anne Somerville Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Marie McNair Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Neil Bibby Labour Aye 100.00%
Annie Wells Conservative No 100.00%
Pauline McNeill Labour Aye 100.00%
Douglas Ross Conservative No 100.00%
Fulton MacGregor Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Annabelle Ewing Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Michelle Thomson Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Christine Grahame Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Neil Gray Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Jamie Greene Liberal Democrat Aye 100.00%
Lorna Slater Green No 100.00%
Emma Harper Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Jim Fairlie Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Joe FitzPatrick Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Stephanie Callaghan Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Nicola Sturgeon Scottish National Party Absent n/a
Jamie Hepburn Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Alison Johnstone Green Absent n/a
Colin Smyth Independent Absent n/a
Mercedes Villalba Labour Absent n/a
Mairi Gougeon Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Pam Gosal Conservative No 100.00%
Elizabeth Smith Conservative No 100.00%
Sue Webber Conservative No 100.00%
Richard Lochhead Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Alex Rowley Labour Aye 100.00%
Rona Mackay Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Martin Whitfield Labour Aye 100.00%
Miles Briggs Conservative No 100.00%
Rhoda Grant Labour Aye 100.00%
Ash Denham Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Maggie Chapman Green No 100.00%
Paul McLennan Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Edward Mountain Conservative No 100.00%
Clare Haughey Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Foysol Choudhury Independent Abstain n/a
Sandesh Gulhane Conservative No 100.00%
Collette Stevenson Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Gordon MacDonald Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
George Adam Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Siobhian Brown Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Bill Kidd Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Elena Whitham Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Kevin Stewart Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
David Torrance Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Finlay Carson Conservative No 100.00%
Richard Leonard Labour Aye 100.00%
Brian Whittle Conservative No 100.00%
Fiona Hyslop Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Màiri McAllan Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Jackie Dunbar Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Ruth Maguire Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Colin Beattie Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
James Dornan Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Maurice Golden Conservative No 100.00%
Daniel Johnson Labour Aye 100.00%
Ben Macpherson Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Russell Findlay Conservative Absent n/a
Michael Matheson Scottish National Party Absent n/a
Patrick Harvie Green No 100.00%
Anas Sarwar Labour Aye 100.00%
Paul Sweeney Labour Aye 100.00%
Alexander Burnett Conservative No 100.00%
Ross Greer Green No 100.00%
Stuart McMillan Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Pam Duncan-Glancy Labour Aye 100.00%
Sarah Boyack Labour Aye 100.00%
Liam McArthur Liberal Democrat Aye 100.00%
Jamie Halcro Johnston Conservative No 100.00%
Tess White Conservative No 100.00%
Ivan McKee Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Clare Adamson Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Angela Constance Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Alasdair Allan Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Jenny Gilruth Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Claire Baker Labour Aye 100.00%
Oliver Mundell Conservative No 100.00%
Sharon Dowey Conservative No 100.00%
Alexander Stewart Conservative No 100.00%
Stephen Kerr Conservative No 100.00%
Kenneth Gibson Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Willie Coffey Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
John Swinney Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Keith Brown Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Tom Arthur Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Kate Forbes Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Meghan Gallacher Conservative No 100.00%
Jeremy Balfour Independent No n/a
Evelyn Tweed Scottish National Party Aye 100.00%
Humza Yousaf Scottish National Party Absent n/a