Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 January 2026
Venezuela
It would be hard to find an occasion on which a British Prime Minister has looked as irrelevant and spineless on an era-defining international issue as this one does on this occasion. We are witnessing an existential threat to the international rules-based order, and the Prime Minister cannot rouse …
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
5 January 2026
Asylum Hotels
Those protesting at hotels are usually there because they have been served misinformation and far-right political rhetoric by those with sinister political agendas. One way we found to tackle that is to give proper information—tell the stories of what drove people to this country and the real condit…
Commons
Oral Questions
27 November 2025
Access to Arts and Culture
UK Music’s excellent “This is Music” report found that it has become increasingly difficult for new musical artists to be heard and for careers to be built. Recompense through streaming services is minuscule and artist remuneration a real issue. On the live side, Brexit has made touring the EU almos…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
26 November 2025
2 contributions
Asylum and Returns Policies
4. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential impact of the UK’s asylum and returns policies on Scotland.
This Government’s new heinous asylum and immigration policy marks a dark moment for many who have chosen Scotland to be their home, even leaving children born in Scotland at risk of deportation. I do not know if the Minister has noticed that we are facing a population and demography crisis that the …
Commons
Debate
19 November 2025
2 contributions
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
When the Bill was introduced, I thought that it was the ultimate horror and an attempt to outdo Reform, but it was a mere aperitif compared with the main course of the horrors of this week. On these specific measures, does the Minister recognise the possible impact on support agencies and services t…
Like me and several other hon. Members present, the hon. Gentleman spent hours in Committee considering these measures, only for the Home Secretary to come along this week and trump them with even harsher measures. Does he agree that it almost feels like we are all wasting our time considering measu…
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
Asylum Policy
In its manifesto, Labour promised to defend migrants’ rights and build an immigration system based on compassion and dignity. Instead, we have a policy that is welcomed by Reform UK and has even found favour with Tommy Robinson. Throwing refugees into destitution, denying any meaningful route to cit…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
17 November 2025
Asylum Hotels
The Government are currently spending some £2.1 billion on hotels, but the system is not working. It does not have to be that way. The Public and Commercial Services union and Together With Refugees have shown that a humane asylum system, which expedites asylum hearings and supports employment, coul…
Commons
Debate
11 November 2025
BBC Leadership
Debates about partiality are something that we in Scotland are more than familiar with—particularly those in the 50% on the side of Scottish independence—but these sustained attacks on the BBC by forces that seek to undermine it and mould it into their instrument must be resisted. Surely that could …
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
5 November 2025
Engagements
Q5. On Monday, the Defence Secretary said at the Dispatch Box that the Scottish Government were a “threat” to national security—a charge repeated this morning by the Scottish Secretary. What he in effect was saying is that a democratically elected Government elected by 1.3 million Scots poses a thre…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 November 2025
Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Stourbridge (Cat Eccles) on securing this debate.
When politicians such as the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), Conservative Members or, indeed, the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) wan…
Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
2 contributions
Devolution in Scotland
Just to explain why Labour is not in power and we are, I will list a few things we have done for the Scottish people and see what the hon. Member thinks: free tuition, free personal care, 1,100—
Does the hon. Member recognise the over 100 SNP achievements? I could list them if she wants, but I am not going to be allowed to do so. Does she recognise the real gains and progress that we have made in Scotland? [ Interruption. ] I know Labour Members like to shout down SNP Members—they are sitti…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
22 October 2025
Pride in Place Programme: Regeneration
As long as I get any opportunity, I will continue to ask why Perth, and Perth and Kinross, is not getting one penny from the current allocation. Why has Perth and Kinross never had one single penny from any Government allocation? Why did this Labour Government take away the £5 million that we finall…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
6 contributions
Mandatory Digital ID
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the matter of mandatory digital ID.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship once again, Mr Turner. I did not know I was so popular today. I am delighted to see so many colleagues joining us in this short debate. I warmly welcome the Minister to …
I am not going to waste time responding to all that nonsense. It is a voluntary scheme. Does the hon. Member know the difference between voluntary and mandatory? All he needs to do is shake his head or nod. The detail is at hand. This new scheme has been objected to because it is mandatory—one of th…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
Creative Copyright
The Government continue their haphazard approach to artificial intelligence and copyright. I wish they would get that resolved. One thing that has concerned and upset the sector was the comments of a newly appointed special adviser to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, wh…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 October 2025
Pride in Place
I congratulate all Members who have secured funding in this pride in place settlement, but once again Perth and Kinross has been totally and utterly ignored. We did not receive one penny in levelling-up funding from the Tories, and we have received nothing from this Labour Government. Worse than tha…
Commons
Debate
13 October 2025
Digital ID
Just as we opposed ID cards under Tony Blair, we will oppose digital ID under this Labour Government, as they seek once again to impose this unwanted scheme on a sceptical public. The whole idea of digital ID is an attack on our liberty and privacy. It is a treasure trove for hackers and those who w…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 October 2025
Manchester Terrorism Attack
First, on behalf of the Scottish National party, I join the Home Secretary in expressing our solidarity with the Jewish community after the horror of the appalling events at the Heaton Park synagogue. Such antisemitic hate must never be allowed to prevail or divide us. In Scotland, the police have i…
Commons
Proceedings
8 September 2025
Palestine Action: Proscription and Protests
The optics of octogenarian priests being arrested alongside hundreds of peaceful protesters are absolutely awful for this Government. We had only three arrests over the weekend in Scotland, because Police Scotland seemed to deploy a much more conciliatory and community-based approach. Does the Minis…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 September 2025
Indefinite Leave to Remain
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely spot on. We are entering dangerous territory with some of this debate, but I am immensely encouraged that so many Labour MPs have turned up today to say something positive about immigration and the positive impacts and effects it has on our society. Will he join me i…
Commons
Debate
4 September 2025
7 contributions
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
For the completeness of history, it is 115 years since the Labour party promised to abolish the House of Lords, and I think we will be waiting another 100 before it even gets close to that. The Minister is absolutely right that the public cannot stand the hereditaries—it is something they are bitter…
I find this to be quite a curious debate thus far. There is not any great energy among Members on the Conservative Benches; I fully expected and anticipated that they would be down here in great numbers to defend their noble colleagues. I think there is only one Conservative speaker left—I look forw…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
3 September 2025
Engagements
Q3. So the Budget date has finally been announced, and once again, Scotland is some sort of distant afterthought. The Budget date has been left to the 11th hour because the Government do not know how to resolve their countless counter-bùrachs. It is a Budget date that has practically wrecked Scotlan…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 September 2025
Borders and Asylum
What a country the UK is becoming! Rarely has the national mood been so ugly and intimidating. People are congregating at hotels, screaming at asylum seekers to go home, and those on the right wing are so emboldened that they feel the streets belong to them. Does the Home Secretary not realise that …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 July 2025
Future of the Post Office
Scotland has seen an 8.3% decline in post offices, while London has seen an increase of 9.3% across the past decade. The Minister will know that outreach offices help people in rural areas and post offices to thrive. The Green Paper recognises that, but the Government seem to dismiss it. What is he …
Commons
Debate
14 July 2025
UK-France Migration: Co-operation
This is a grubby, grotesque little deal, which in itself trades in lives with the selection of who qualifies for this one in, one out basis. This gimmick means we will now have different classes of the wretched, and it does nothing to address the crisis that compels so many people to make these dang…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 July 2025
Business of the House
The city of Perth is still recovering from a devastating fire, which unfortunately resulted in loss of life. Residents were evacuated, and people were unable to access their properties. Last week, together with local MSP John Swinney, I hosted a meeting with affected residents and businesses, and we…