Gillian Mackay was asked if she would set limits on how many people can move to Scotland – and branded ‘arbitrary’ limits on immigration as ‘inhumane.’
Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay (Image: PA)
The Scottish Greens have been branded “extremists” after its co-leader suggested that Scotland should welcome an unlimited number of immigrants. It is also a position that far-left politicians in the SNP agree with, and John Swinney won’t put a number on how many foreign migrants he wants to welcome to the country.
Immigration is becoming one of the biggest concerns among Scots, even though it is a reserved matter. There have been a number of sexual assault cases involving migrants living in hotels, including in Glasgow, Falkirk and Elgin.
But the left-wing parties are refusing to discuss the impact of asylum seekers moving into communities, with the First Minister even claiming that “there’s no place for rhetoric on immigration during an election campaign or any other day of the week.” These comments don’t match up to reality.
We previously told how school girls in Dumfries have been handed rape alarms due to safety concerns about groups of migrants who live in a hotel and have been spotted hanging about school grounds. Calls have been made by the Scottish Tories to shut down all hotels that house asylum seekers.
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On BBC’s Sunday Show, the issue of immigration was discussed due to staff shortages within social care and healthcare. The UK Government’s new Visa crackdown on workers bringing their families with them was blamed for this by the SNP and the Scottish Greens.
Co-leader Gillian Mackay was asked “when it comes to people coming into the country, would you set any limits on it?” She responded: “I think setting arbitrary limits on what is ultimately humans wanting to go in and work in another country or come and stay in another country, I think is a bit inhumane, really.
Demonstrators during an anti-immigration protest, organised by Unite the Clans Scotland, outside Holyrood in Edinburgh
“We need these people to come in and work in a great many industries, as well as social care, putting further barriers in their way, like the ones we’ve seen that can’t bring their families with them, ultimately, will only do us as a nation harm. We need to be that open and welcoming country, make sure that we provide a country that is good for them to come and work in wealthy jobs, and ultimately that helps society at large and make sure that we have workers in these really vital industries.”
Scottish Conservative MSP Craig Hoy
Her comments were slated by the Scottish Tories who accused her of ignoring concerns from Scots. Scottish Conservative candidate for Dumfriesshire Craig Hoy said: “We know the extremist Greens are out of touch, but this is a new low even for them. Scots are rightly concerned about the strain that illegal immigration is putting on local services, yet left-wing politicians don’t want to hear about this.
“This issue is so serious, it’s got to the point where schoolgirls in Dumfries town centre are carrying rape alarms because of the appalling behaviour of immigrants living in an asylum hotel. We know that John Swinney can’t be trusted to stand up to the Greens demands. That’s why you need to vote Scottish Conservative on your peach ballot – that’s your secret weapon to stop an SNP majority.”
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