Current Petitions

Our final current petition today is PE1325, by Patrick Scott Hogg, calling for the Scottish Parliament to support the erection in the vicinity of the Parliament building or at an appropriate place on the Royal Mile of a statue of Thomas Muir, who lived from 1765 to 1799. Do members have views on how to deal with the petition?

We could probably close it, as the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body and the City of Edinburgh Council have given good reasons why there should not be such a statue in the vicinity of the Scottish Parliament. The council has offered to give advice and assistance to the petitioner. We wish the project well, but we should close the petition.

I support closing the petition, but wish to put on record once again my disappointment at the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body’s continued decision not to allow the erection of statues in the vicinity of the Scottish Parliament. Robin Harper can perhaps take back to members of the corporate body the point that there are public artworks displayed in the Parliament. It continues to be wrong not to recognise major influences on the political world—in the widest sense—and for the corporate body to be unable to make a decision on or to support the idea that we should do something to commemorate major political influences in Scotland and the rest of the world. However, as I said, I support Nanette Milne’s recommendation to close the petition.

Thank you very much.