Newly elected trans Indian migrant MSP backs push for Scottish taxpayers to fund reparations for Palestine

A trans Indian migrant - newly elected to Holyrood - has backed calls for Scottish taxpayers to fund reparations to Palestine.

Q Manivannan was elected as a Green Party MSP to represent Edinburgh and Lothians East last week.

The self-described "queer Tamil immigrant" made headlines after it emerged they were in the country on a student visa, and had been fundraising for a graduate visa.

The migrant, along with fellow trans Green MSP Iris Duane, endorsed a "manifesto" by Art Workers for Palestine Scotland before the election.

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The manifesto called for a "programme of reparative justice from Scotland to the Palestinian people" as one of its demands.

The art worker group also demanded the Scottish Government launch a report into the "historical and contemporary complicity of Scotland in the colonisation and occupation of Palestine".

Rachael Hamilton, Scottish Tory deputy leader, told The Telegraph: "Ordinary Scots will be appalled that these Green MSPs are not only aligned with an organisation pushing anti-Semitic tropes but are advocating that taxpayers pick up the tab for a misguided virtue-signalling stunt.

"This pair clearly don’t care about the sky-high taxes hard-working Scots are paying or the cuts our public services are experiencing if they think this is appropriate. It also lays bare their contempt for the country they represent.

"It seems the new intake of Green MSPs are even more extreme than those who went before them.

"The thought of John Swinney cutting a deal with these crackpots is truly terrifying."

The Scottish Greens have not endorsed the manifesto as a party, but said they would support "international calls" for reparations for countries impacted by colonialism.

Historians generally do not consider Scotland to have been any more involved in the British Mandate of Palestine than other nations within the UK, but some activists have pointed to the fact Arthur Balfour was born in Scotland.

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The Conservative politician served as Foreign Secretary in 1917 and issued the declaration which supported a homeland for Jewish people in the Middle East.

And some scholars have claimed the Scottish Presbyterian thought influenced British Christian Zionism, which some have argued contributed to the country's support for a Jewish state.

The new Green MSP will earn £77,111 per year in their new role in Holyrood.

Despite the salary, holding elected office in a devolved legislature does not count as a form of employment.

This allows Manivannan to legally serve in Holyrood on their student visa.

The Green MSP is now in a race to receive a graduate visa, which will allow them to work in the UK for three years, before their student visa expires at the end of the year.

Malcolm Offord, Reform's Scottish leader, said he would introduced legislation to block foreign students from becoming MSPs after the SNP allowed temporary visa holders to stand for office last year.

Co-leader of the Scottish Greens, Ross Greer accused political opponents of "nasty and unseemly" complaints about Manivannan.

Mr Greer said: "It is disgusting to see the Tories and Reform to be attacking a legitimately elected MSP who just wants to get on with the job."

But he admitted there would be some "slightly different" arrangements for Manivannan, who he insisted would be "laser-focused" on serving constituents.

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