That the Parliament condemns Dame Louise Casey for her reported suggestion that the UK Government set a target date for everyone in the UK to speak English; considers that Dame Casey’s proposal for “everyone to speak one language” in the UK is inherently offensive to Scotland as a multi-cultural and multilingual society; further considers that this suggestion is an implicit threat to the Gaelic and Scots languages, as well as the other minority languages of the UK including Irish, Welsh, and Cornish, and also those communities where such languages as Urdu and Polish may be spoken; considers this proposal to be problematic as it implies that the other nations in the UK do not have equal status; condemns Mark Harper MP for welcoming what it believes is this chauvinistic suggestion, and reaffirms the Parliament’s commitment to protect and celebrate diversity.
Supported by: Ivan McKee, Jenny Gilruth, Ruth Maguire, Colin Beattie, John Finnie, Sandra White, Patrick Harvie, Richard Lyle, Mairi Gougeon, Ash Denham, Gordon MacDonald, Graeme Dey, Joan McAlpine, Rona Mackay, Fulton MacGregor, Clare Haughey, David Torrance, Clare Adamson, Alison Johnstone, Angus MacDonald, Stuart McMillan, Stewart Stevenson, Tom Arthur, Gillian Martin