A survivor’s objection was the human counterweight to the result: “we do not need more inquiries”. Yes won decisively, but the vote was not a blank cheque for another report; it was a demand to widen the search while the room’s patience with delay ran thin.
The winning case was about completeness and accountability. One of the floor’s most-respected Yes arguments said “all involved need holding accountable”, while another pointed to “credible evidence of wider institutional failures” and argued that limiting the inquiry to a handful of towns would let other councils and police forces escape scrutiny.
No voters did not defend inaction so much as challenge the instrument. The chamber’s most-respected No voice said “We already know what went wrong and what we need to prevent it happening again”; another put the objection more bluntly: “The gap is charges, not a longer inquiry.” That was where the sides talked past each other — Yes treating wider evidence as a condition of justice, No fearing that more evidence-gathering would postpone it.
The strongest common ground was action, not confidence in institutions. Even a Yes voter warned that “another 2000 page report telling people what has happened will do very little”, while several No voices called for recommendations to be implemented, victims supported and perpetrators prosecuted; the margins also carried angry suspicions of political cover-up and partisan protection.
The verdict therefore widened the inquiry on paper, but narrowed the room for excuses: discovery may be the demand, yet delivery is the test.
25 Opinions
As a survivor myself we do not need more inquiries, they dont help survivors. The enquiries done show there was services that let them down. They have now implemented measures to safeguard. More inquiries are point scoring politics and only touch incidents that happened 10+ years ago and action has been taken since to protect children. Now we need to develop them recommendations.
We already know what went wrong and what we need to prevent it happening again. More inquiries will only delay that action happening.
The inquiry should be ongoing and completely open about it's findings. I'm not saying name the MPs that are found to be involved but make it known that there are MPs on the list.
It has to be expanded because all involved need holding accountable otherwise then it is not full and true justice. And all the victims deserve to receive their own justice.
Every crime should be punished
The wider the terms of an enquiry, the less likely that there will be sacking and jail. It becomes " institutional system failures white men do grooming too oh dear what a shame lessons learned moving on".
This is a national scandal, made worse by repeated cover ups and 'long grass' actions. There should and must be a full inquiry and all the people responsible including in government, local authorities, social services and police need to be charged and prosecuted, punished and jailed.
That enquiry needs teeth and action. Grooming gangs Rolph Harris Jimmy Saville Jim Torbett Celtic FC!!! The Gray family here in Scotland need the support as COPFS in Scotland have their hands tied by the Swinney administration who do not want an enquiry for political reasons as they rely on the vote of Celtic fans to keep their gravy train going. Vicarious liability would give the Gray family the leverage to bring enablers to court.
There’s credible evidence of wider institutional failures, so the inquiry should be expanded to establish who was responsible, hold them properly accountable, and ensure the lessons are acted on to prevent it happening again.
Limiting this inquiry to just a handful of towns lets dozens of complicit councils and police forces off the hook. However I think another 2000 page report telling people what has happened will do very little, what is actually needed is criminal prosecutions, jail time for perpetrators, and complicit officials stripped of pensions.