The SNP has called on Scottish Labour to back a Bill today (Thursday 17th October) to allow a Scottish Visa after the Home Office slapped down calls for an independent scheme.
It comes after Labour’s John Grady MP told a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday that the UK government was working on proposals to bring more workers to Scotland.
These remarks were slapped down by the Home Office in a statement which read “this is not government policy and not something the Home Secretary is considering.”
The MP for the Western Isles, Torcuil Crichton, also took to social media to state:
“When it comes to immigration policy one size does not fit all.
“It shouldn’t be beyond us to devise ways to attract more people to work and settle here.”
Now, the SNP has called on Anas Sarwar to instruct Scottish Labour MPs to back an SNP Bill to allow the creation of a unique Scottish visa to address labour shortages in Scotland.
Later today, Stephen Gethins MP will seek an amendment to the Scotland Act 1998 to enable the Scottish Government to establish the scheme.
The move will come as part of a Ten Minute Rule Bill that Mr Gethins says Scottish Labour MPs must back.
The SNP has long called for a Scottish visa to address labour shortages in Scotland due to Westminster’s hard Brexit and anti-immigration policies with the Scottish Government publishing detailed proposals on how a scheme could work.
Previously Scottish Labour’s Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie signalled during the General Election campaign that Labour was open to talks on the visa.
In a letter to Anas Sarwar, the SNP’s Scotland spokesperson said he was “bitterly disappointed” that the Home Office has rejected any notion of a Scottish visa, but that by backing his Bill today “there is a real opportunity for those of us who represent Scotland to work together in the best interests of our economy and NHS.”
Commenting on his letter, Stephen Gethins said:
“Despite big promises from Scottish Labour on a Scottish visa, they’ve been unfortunately slapped down again by the Home Office.
“If they’re serious about this matter then they can back our Bill to allow Holyrood to move forward with the creation of a unique visa.
“A Scottish Visa will allow us to tackle the Brexit-born staff shortages that have inflicted pain and hardship upon our NHS and Scottish businesses.
“It’s no secret that our social care sector is crying out for workers and who can forget the dreadful scenes of fruit left to rot in the fields of Angus and elsewhere because of Westminster’s bloody-minded anti-immigration policies.
“We stand ready to work with the Labour Party to make this happen so the onus is now on them to step up to the plate and join us in putting Scotland’s interest first – Scottish Labour was all too happy to give a nod to the Scottish visa during the election campaign so now it’s time they made good on their word.
“The Scottish Government published detailed proposals for how a Scottish Visa could work so it’s now on Labour to engage and move forward in the best interests of our NHS and our economy.
“This Bill is a reasonable and practical step to progress a Scottish visa and I urge Scottish Labour MPs to back this Bill today.”
