Question is posed - what kind of country do we want to live in?

Angus with pupils at Laxdale School where he fielded questions about world affairs.

Not least what a departure from the Single Market will mean but indeed the impact Brexit will have on the poorest people in our community.

What kind of country do we want to live in? This was the question posed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in light of the Prime Minister’s ‘plan’ for Brexit.

The lack of any statement to Parliament and the fact that Theresa May’s speech appears to be the plan in full, further drives forward the case for Scotland to take its own direction.

In the event of a vote in Parliament, SNP MPs will vote to veto the trigger of Article 50 which would start proceedings to exit the EU. This is not to stand in the way of a democratic decision made by people in England and Wales, but to represent Scotland where the result was to remain.

A new YouGov poll shows a large majority of people in Scotland think that Brexit will negatively impact the local economy.

I share that view and I will together with my colleagues continue to put the case for a fair deal for Scotland, but it is reassuring that the Scottish Government is working extremely hard to ensure Scotland’s voice is heard and that we have future options.

Fishing: I recently met with UK Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill MP to discuss the crew shortage crisis impacting on the West Coast fishing industry.

Mr Goodwill said he will look at the details of a scheme which was run in the past under the former Immigration Minister, Damian Green, which enabled non-EEA fisherman to come in.

Constituency: Last week I had meetings with many constituents in Stornoway and was also very pleased to visit Laxdale Primary School’s Gaelic Medium P3/4 class.

The pupils had sent me copies of letters they had sent to Santa at Christmas which were heart-warming and full of empathy for those less fortunate than them.

They are very knowledgeable of world current affairs and during my visit to the class I was grilled on pressing issues such as Syria, Brexit, Trump and the situation in Gambia.

I think the future of the islands will be in good hands.