HOLYROOD DRUG DEATHS DEBATE: TEMPERS FLARE IN SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

An addict administering illegal drugs to himself in the Thistle consumption centre which John Swinney says has saved lives.

by BILL HEANEY

Just attending meetings of the Scottish Parliament could be a waste of the time it takes driving from his doubtless palatial home on leafy Loch Lomondside to Holyrood in Edinburgh.

The millionaire leader of the Scottish Reform Party thinks that what is being discussed in the chamber could be better spent than splashing out money on diesel at £2 a litre to fill whichever one of the five flashy cars he chooses to to transport him along the M8.

Unless Lord Malcolm chooses to take the train, of course, or one of the half a dozen boats he owns along the Forth and Clyde Canal from Bowling to the fringes of the Meadows near Morningside, where private school pupils do their rowing training.

Parliamentary debates, according to Lord Malcolm, are neither worth the breath used to deliver them or the paper they are written.

He told MSPs on Thursday: “In the past month, we have had quite a lot of bad news from the Scottish Government. In education, our programme for international student assessment scores have plummeted. One in five children remain in poverty.

“On homelessness, rough sleeping is up 20 per cent, and asylum seeker applications are up 40 per cent. Meanwhile, empty promises have been made to workers at Ferguson Marine [Firth of Clyde] and Alexander Dennis [Falkirk].

He added: “Most distressing of all, last year, we lost 1,133 fellow Scots to cruel, needless drug deaths. Can the First Minister explain why so much time in the chamber is taken up with meaningless debates on independence, Europe, Gaza and net zero, instead of focusing on these daily tragedies in Scotland? Is it any wonder that two million Scots did not vote in the Holyrood election in May?”

Furious First Minister John Swinney replied: “Those are all important issues. They are the subject of discussion and debate in the Parliament and in committees, and they are the issues on which I am questioned.

“The parliamentary programme of debate and discussion is agreed by all parties in the chamber. It is proposed by the Parliamentary Bureau and agreed to by members of the Parliament.”

Malcolm Offord persisted: “We tried yesterday to replace one of next week’s meaningless debates on Europe with a more pressing debate on Scotland’s drug emergency.

“That was in order to give the Parliament an opportunity to explore alternative solutions, such as access to rehabilitation, the right to recovery or harm-reduction methods, but no—the Government marches forward on a flawed strategy of rolling out consumption rooms in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee.

“The Thistle [drugs rehab facility] in Glasgow is funded with £7 million over three years, yet Glasgow’s drug deaths increased by 6 per cent in the year it was opened.

“A man died outside the Thistle last year, and we have all seen the horrific photos of the needle tree just outside it.

“In fact, the Thistle administered 7,827 needles last year, but it cannot state how many people it got clean. Why does the First Minister think that the answer to Scotland’s drug epidemic is more consumption rooms and decriminalisation?”

First Minister’s red face was reflected in his reaction

He said: “The first point to make is that issues in relation to Europe are very important to people in Scotland. We are suffering direct economic harm because we left the European Union against our wishes—it was forced on us by people such as Malcolm Offord. That is the reality of Malcolm Offord’s stance.

“The Government’s strategy on tackling drugs is informed by our extensive engagement with a whole range of partners and stakeholders around the country.

“It is factually incorrect for Malcolm Offord to say that it would be a change in strategy to provide access to rehabilitation.

“That is just complete rubbish—total and utter factual inaccuracy.

First Minister John Swinney, Reform leader Malcolm Offor, Drugs minister Maree Todd.

“This Government has increased rehabilitation capacity as part of the drug strategy, so Malcolm Offord, not for the first time, peddles disinformation in the Parliament.

“Malcolm Offord challenges me directly about the Thistle consumption room. If we did not have the Thistle consumption room, more people would have died.

“I will explore the steps necessary to tackle the drug deaths position in Scotland, and I am open to exploring ideas in that regard. We will engage constructively to enable that to happen.”

John Swinney added: “That diversion on Europe takes us to a factual inaccuracy. The reality is that, even though our growth is low, it has been faster and better than the growth in Germany, France and Italy, so that does not get us anywhere.

“Back in 2020, Nicola Sturgeon admitted that she had taken her eye off the ball on drugs and she replaced her minister [Dundee MSP Joe Fitzpatrick].

“This year in the spring, both Maree Todd and John Swinney were warned by Police Scotland and Public Health Scotland that the use of synthetic opioids was rampant and that drug deaths were trending up again.

“In the summer, they both went to the World Cup and, in the autumn, they announced that there had been record drug deaths. How many more deaths will it take for the minister to take any responsibility? Will the First Minister now explain to Parliament why Maree Todd deserves to keep her job?”

The First Minister concluded: “I take absolute responsibility for all the issues that are handled by my Government and in my name, so I take complete responsibility for the issues that the member raises.

“On the question about drug strategy, as I told Michael Marra [Scottish Labour leader] in exchanges last week, I was warned in February about the upsurge in the devastating effect of synthetic opioids.

“As a consequence of that February briefing, I asked for there to be reconsideration of the Government’s approaches and interventions, and they were discussed at an all-stakeholder summit with our partners—the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Police Scotland, the Scottish Drugs Forum and a variety of other organisations—to test and assess the approaches that we were taking.

“I will always and constantly be prepared to challenge interventions if that will save lives in Scotland. It is important that I push back on the misinformation from Malcolm Offord about rehabilitation, because we have actively increased rehabilitation capacity as part of our drug strategy.

“On the question of the Minister for Mental Wellbeing, Public Health, Sport, Alcohol and Drugs Policy, Maree Todd is a totally committed and dedicated minister who is determined to confront the challenges that are faced in Scottish society. That will always be the case for ministers in my Government.”