THIS Monday afternoon during Home Office Question Time, I asked the Tory Minister if he would join with the civic and political consensus in Scotland and reintroduce the post-study work visa. This visa allowed international students from outside the EU who have chosen to attend one of our world class universities to stay in Scotland to work for up to two years after their graduation.
This system contributed to our higher education sector attracting the brightest and best students from all over the world, an arrangement which also helped generate income for our education system, and raised Scottish influence abroad by building lasting and positive relationships with the world’s future leaders. What better way for Scotland to have a positive international impact than to extend a welcome and help educate young people from across the globe, all at the same time as opening ourselves up to learn from other cultures first hand.
Many businesses in Scotland, our wider civic society and members of all political parties, including the Scottish Conservatives, currently support the reintroduction of this important measure, which was abolished by the UK Coalition Government between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in 2012.
In the aftermath of the referendum, given the apparent harmony around this issue, the Smith Commission specifically identified this as one area where the UK and Scottish Governments should work together to develop new proposals for the benefit of both our economy and education system.
In his answer to me on Monday, the Minister for Immigration stood at the Dispatch Box in the House of Commons and said that he would “look carefully’ at the future recommendations of Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee who are currently conducting an inquiry into this very issue.
At almost the same time as this parliamentary exchange was taking place David Mundell gave a speech to a specially selected audience of business, council and third sector leaders in Edinburgh, in which he declared that 2016 would see the arrival of “Holyrood 2.0”.
Surely there’s some irony in the fact that, on the same day as the Tories are crowing about the great new dawn in Scottish politics, they are conducting politics as usual.
In a section of his speech somewhat misleadingly titled “Delivering the Smith Agreement in Full” he declared his commitment to this new politics, by stating that he personally “promised that the UK Government was listening to the views expressed and would respond”.
The Secretary of State’s interpretation of “listening” is clearly not the same as mine.
Later that same day, the Scotland Office slipped out a Written Ministerial Statement on it’s ongoing work to implement the recommendations of the Smith Agreement.
Calling the original document a “historic achievement”, the UK Government’s man in Scotland proceeded to write off this very issue, and dismissed the notion that I raised earlier in the day, saying that the Tory Government would not now support the reintroduction of this previously successful programme, and had “no intention to do so”.
This is a rather shoddy way for the Tories to go about the business of Government. It’s simply not good enough for Scotland’s interests to be swept under the carpet in such an offhand manner.
As we build towards the Holyrood election in May, the Tories’ strategy is clear. They are desperate to shift the attention from their own broken promises on delivering the powerhouse Scottish Parliament that people voted for in such an overwhelming manner.
They are evasive on their approach to ensuring that Scotland is not left in a financially worse position following these negotiations, and they are in denial about the verdict that the voters of Scotland cast on their party in the Westminster elections last year.
The Tories’ record in office does not match their public bluster in any way, shape or form.
They refused to accept any amendments from opposition parties whatsoever to the Scotland Bill as it progressed through the House of Commons, and so failed to keep the promises made in the Vow in the lead up to the referendum.
They’ve failed to deliver on the all-party consensus on important issues such as the reintroduction of the post-study work visa, and have continually denied the wishes of the Scottish electorate on issues from welfare reform to military action in Syria.
In the build-up to May’s Holyrood vote we’ll hear a lot more from all parties about their plans for the future, and how to create a better Scotland.
The Tories in particular should remember that their actions will speak louder than their words.
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