🧵 Migration strengthens Scotland.

It boosts tax revenue, sustains our NHS, and fuels businesses as employers and customers.

Scotland is open, welcoming, and thriving with diversity. Scotland faces a demographic challenge. 📊

An aging population and declining birth rates put pressure on our economy and public services.

To thrive, we must grow our working-age population by prioritising migration.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Watch First Minister @JohnSwinney answer MSPs' questions at this week's #FMQs.

👇 Tune in from 12pm: scottishparliament.tv/meeting/meetin…
JS: “I’m the first to acknowledge that we face challenges in our health service as a consequence of the aftermath of COVID and the aftermath and the implications that’s had on the amount of time that people are having to wait.”

.@StephenFlynnSNP: "On Monday the Prime Minister outlined what he considers to be extremist threats to our society.

In doing so, he actively compared North Korea, Iran and Russia with those people in Scotland who believe in independence." #PMQs .@StephenFlynnSNP: "So can I ask him to rise once to the standards befitting his office and apologise for those puerile and pathetic remarks?" #PMQs

📣 First Minister @HumzaYousaf at #FMQs: "You can judge a man by the company he keeps, and Douglas Ross's company is Boris Johnson, the Conservative Party of Liz Truss, Suella Braverman, Priti Patel, formerly Lee Anderson, Mark Menzies, Peter Bone, Chris Pincher..." HY: "Andrew Bridgen, Frank Hester...and I can see Douglas Ross looking more and more embarrassed. That's the company he keeps. I'm very proud of John Swinney, Kate Forbes, and all the company I keep." #FMQs

First Minister @HumzaYousaf at #FMQs: "Douglas Ross says we all have a zero tolerance approach to hate crime. I'm not entirely convinced, when you take money from a racist misogynist and then refuse to give it back, that is a zero tolerance approach whatsoever." HY: "Those stirring-up offences for racial hatred have existed since 1986. We are simply extending those offences to other marginalised groups." #FMQs

.@MhairiBlack: "For two reasons I think we should scrap the Rwanda policy all together.

First of all, from a moral compass. I think it is a barbaric system, there is no such thing as an illegal human being - especially not those who are fleeing war and persecution." #bbcqt .@MhairiBlack: "Even if you just look at it from a financial argument. The UK Gov'ts own figures show that the taxpayer will pay £169,000 per migrant - that's to send one person to Rwanda.

It's going to cost £1.8bn to deport all 11,000 people that have arrived this year." #bbcqt

.@MhairiBlack: "The DPM said it was his duty to furnish people with 'the facts that are available' in regards to Brexit.

Brexit Britain faces higher food prices, a lack of workers, a shrinking economy & a decline in living standards. Why is he happy to ignore those facts?" #PMQs .@MhairiBlack: "The only thing more deluded than that defence of Brexit, is Labour's support for it.

Just today, the world's fourth largest car manufacturer said Brexit was 'a threat to our export business and the sustainability of our of UK manufacturing options'." #PMQs

📉 Brexit is making us poorer - from rising food prices, to the UK economy being the worst hit of all major economies.

🤷 The evidence is so clear, that even Nigel Farage now thinks Brexit is a failure.

🧵 Why won't Keir Starmer admit it too? A thread:

snp.org/brexit-makes-p… 📣 Keir Starmer is now more of a Brexit supporter than Nigel Farage.

📉 Despite the clear economic damage of Brexit, with the poorest in society bearing the worst brunt, Labour are in denial of this reality.

👇 Let's have a closer look at the impacts.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 We're determined to ensure that no child grows up in poverty anywhere in Scotland.

✂️ While Tory cuts and Brexit push families into poverty, we’re working hard to tackle it.

🧵 Here's a thread on just some of the bold actions we're taking.

snp.org/heres-how-the-… 🤝 We've introduced the Scottish Child Payment, which the Child Poverty Action group called a "game-changer" in our fight against child poverty.

📈 Last year, we've raised by 150%, to £25 per child per week, and extended the payment to all eligible under 16s.

.@StephenFlynnSNP: "Can I ask the Prime Minister to outline the safe and legal route available to a child refugee seeking to flee Sudan and come to the United Kingdom?" #PMQs .@StephenFlynnSNP: "To be clear, Mr Speaker, children in Sudan are already dying.

Now whether it's a Tory slogan to "Stop the Boats" or a Labour slogan to 'Stop Small Boats' - we need some more humanity in this debate. Rather than a race to the bottom." #PMQs

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Watch @NicolaSturgeon answer MSPs' questions at her final #FMQs as First Minister of Scotland.

📺 Tune in now on scottishparliament.tv @NicolaSturgeon 📣 @NicolaSturgeon: "Can I begin by wishing Ramadan Mubarak to our Muslim community. I'm in a very privileged position of having, of any constituency in the country, the highest proportion of Muslims living within my Glasgow Southside constituency." #FMQs

.@StephenFlynnSNP: "What worries the Prime Minister most about Brexit right now?

Is it the likely 4% hit to UK productivity or the 3 former Tory leaders planning to vote down his deal this afternoon?" #PMQs .@StephenFlynnSNP: "The reality is, that whilst Westminster is once again consumed by the damage being caused by Brexit.

The public are facing the biggest fall in living standards, ever. The highest tax burden since the end of the Second World War and inflation at 10.4%." #PMQs

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Watch Deputy First Minister @JohnSwinney deliver the #ScotBudget statement, setting out our actions for a fairer Scotland.

⏰ Tune in now on scottishparliament.tv @JohnSwinney 📣 @JohnSwinney: "The Scottish Government Budget for 2023-24 takes place in the most turbulent economic and financial context most people can remember."

#ScotBudget

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Watch First Minister @NicolaSturgeon answer MSPs' questions at #FMQs.

⏰ Tune in now: scottishparliament.tv @NicolaSturgeon 📣 @NicolaSturgeon: "Pre-pandemic, the poverty-related attainment gap was closing - and the negative impact of the pandemic can't be ignored.

What we see in the statistics published this week is that recovery is now underway and we're starting to see improvements again." #FMQs

.@StephenFlynnSNP: "Thanks to positive and proactive negotiations between the Scottish Government and Unison and Unite health unions, a pay settlement has been reached and strike action averted.

In complete contrast, the UK Health Sec appears unwilling to negotiate." #PMQs .@StephenFlynnSNP: "When will the Prime Minister see the error of his ways and follow the Scottish Government's lead?" #PMQs

📺 Watch First Minister @NicolaSturgeon at #FMQs.

⏰ Tune in now on scottishparliament.tv @NicolaSturgeon 📣 @NicolaSturgeon: "Notwithstanding the challenges that our NHS is facing, A&E units in Scotland are the best performing anywhere in the UK.

And delayed discharges, while far too high, are lower than in England and Wales." #FMQs

.@Ianblackford_MP: "We've had austerity for 10 years after the financial crisis. If we should have learned any lesson - it's that you can't cut your way to growth.

If you take cash out of the pockets of the poorest, then hey presto, they don't have. the money to spend." #bbcqt .@Ianblackford_MP: "If you look at the harsh reality of what has happened, there's a £30bn cut to public spending.

The OBR book - and I'm delighted we have it because we didn't during the mini-budget - tells us that £19.4bn is going to come out of public sector spending." #bbcqt

First Minister @NicolaSturgeon: "While I do welcome the award of this contract, I'm duty-bound to note that the original proposal, back in 2010, was not for five new vessels - it was actually for 13 new vessels." #FMQs NS: "It was said then that all of that work would be undertaken on the Clyde. So yes, let's welcome it, but let's not rewrite history in the process." #FMQs

.@kirstenoswald: "The SNP extend our full support and condolences to Poland after the tragic deaths. And we again call on Russia to end its brutal war in Ukraine." #PMQs .@kirstenoswald: "Yesterday the Prime Minister was asked 6 different times to apologise for the disaster of the Tory mini-budget and the financial crisis it caused.

And all 6 times, he refused to say sorry." #PMQs

📺 Watch @NicolaSturgeon's keynote address to the #SNP22 Conference.

👇 Follow the updates live on this thread and watch on Twitter, Facebook or at snp.org/live. NS: "It is so good to be speaking at Conference in person again, rather than virtually. Getting to hug friends and colleagues is so much better.

Our political family – Scotland’s biggest party by far – is together again. And that feels great." #SNP22

📺 Watch @JohnSwinney's keynote address to the #SNP22 Conference.

👉🏼 Follow the updates live on this thread, or on snp.org/live. JS: "What a great pleasure it is to be back together, in person, at an SNP conference. Seeing old friends, making new ones.

Debating the issues of the day. Making the policies that will help shape tomorrow." #SNP22