Commons
Oral Questions
23 March 2026
Topical Questions
T9. It has been reported that under the SNP, Police Scotland has written off 25,000 crimes without investigation, including shoplifting, theft and vandalism. Does the Minister agree that that is a surrender to criminals which leaves people wondering why they report crimes in the first place and show…
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Business of the House
Tomorrow I will be enjoying Kelso’s musical theatre performance of “Beauty and the Beast” at Tait Hall; on Saturday, I will be at Lauder Amateur Dramatic Society’s performance for its 76th year at Lauder public hall. From the Leader of the House’s marvellous performances here in the House of Commons…
Commons
Debate
18 March 2026
3 contributions
Fuel Duty
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. I want to highlight the choices that people living in rural constituencies such as mine are making. In Coldstream, the price of diesel per litre has gone up from £1.41 to £1.69 over the past few days. That is a huge increase, but because of the prospecti…
To pick up the hon. Member’s point about fairness, he will be aware that the Institute for Fiscal Studies has highlighted that Scottish taxpayers are £710 on average worse off compared with taxpayers in England as a result of the Scottish Government’s higher rates of income tax. Does he think that i…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
Topical Questions
Grooming gang survivors have told us that they were trafficked between England and Scotland. Police were aware of those allegations of abuse but failed to do anything about them. Will the Minister explain how the grooming gang inquiries on either side of the border will work together to ensure that …
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 March 2026
Rural Roads
I want to highlight the fact that in Scotland we have a particular challenge. Scottish Borders council is responsible for maintaining 1,900 miles of road, which must be one of the biggest distances in the whole of the UK, but in Scotland, because of the decisions that the SNP Government are making, …
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 March 2026
7 contributions
Member Defections: Automatic By-elections
The hon. Lady is making the case well on behalf of the Petitions Committee. Over the years, there have been a number of examples of some of my former Conservative colleagues ending up alongside Lib Dems in the House of Commons. In those circumstances, is the hon. Lady of the view that there should h…
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. I do not want to downplay his greatness as a local constituency MP, but I am sure that, like me, he recalls the 2019 election in which he was first elected, and how many conversations we had with voters on the doorstep about the relative merits of the ri…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
12 March 2026
2 contributions
Hospitality Sector: Business Confidence
12. What assessment his Department has made of recent trends in levels of business confidence in the hospitality sector.
Hospitality businesses in the Scottish borders are being squeezed by rising energy costs and wage and supply bills. Does the Minister think that this Labour Government’s jobs tax has helped or hindered the hospitality sector?
Commons
Debate
11 March 2026
Finance (No. 2) Bill
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. I am sure that, like me, he has received many emails and letters from farmers over the last few days, given that the price of red diesel, heating oil and fertiliser has gone up in the light of recent uncertain events. Does that not demonstrate and remind…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
10 March 2026
Topical Questions
Over 50% of properties in the Scottish Borders are not on the mains gas grid and are completely dependent on heating oil. They are being hammered by the increase to the price of heating oil over the last week or so, and they need to see concrete action from this Government to stop the excessive pric…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
9 March 2026
2 contributions
Universal Credit: Foreign Nationals
4. What assessment he has made of trends in the number of foreign nationals claiming universal credit.
According to the Government’s own figures, most foreign nationals who are claiming universal credit are not in work. The Government do not seem to want to do anything to bring that figure down, so will the Minister tell us how much this is costing the UK taxpayer?
Commons
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
Topical Questions
T2. Thousands of former public sector workers are facing delays to their pension payments. Both MyCSP and Capita have catastrophically failed as the administrators of these pension funds, but the real failure is the Cabinet Office’s inability to negotiate contracts that include financial sanctions…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 March 2026
4 contributions
Public Right to a Vote of No Confidence
I beg to move,
That this House has considered e-petition 734311 relating to the public being given a right to a vote of no confidence.
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Barker. I thank the more than 120,000 people across the United Kingdom who have signed this petition and secur…
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point that goes to the nub of the motivation behind the petition, which lies not so much in a desire for constitutional change but in a feeling of being let down by this Government—a Government who promised change but has delivered none. All the promises they made h…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
25 February 2026
2 contributions
Hospitality Sector
6. What discussions he has had with the First Minister of Scotland on support for the Scottish hospitality sector.
Last week, I met Nick and Trish who own Burts Hotel in Melrose. Like many other people, they explained the immense pressure that they are under as a result of the Minister’s Government’s jobs tax and the SNP Government’s eye-watering hike in business rates. Does she think the Government’s increase i…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 February 2026
4 contributions
Firearms Licensing
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Alec. I thank the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for opening the debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee and the manner in which he did so, in a very measured speech.
I acknowledge the deeply emotive and tragic cases that ha…
The hon. Lady makes an important point, which nicely leads into my next point. Poorly resourced police forces could be overwhelmed, and might even refuse to accept new applications, which happened in Gloucestershire in 2024. That would have a significant impact on people who rely on firearms for the…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
12 February 2026
2 contributions
Rural Mobile Connectivity
I congratulate the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) on securing this important debate. My speech about mobile connectivity in my constituency in the Scottish Borders will echo many of the remarks that the hon. Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) has just made—I suspect we will get a lo…
Does the Minister acknowledge that there are issues with the data that has been provided both by the telecoms companies and by Ofcom? We have all shared experiences across the Chamber today in which maps produced by Vodafone, EE or whoever appear to demonstrate good coverage in our constituencies, b…
Commons
Proceedings
12 February 2026
Business of the House
The Scottish Government’s Fire and Rescue Service has been reviewing the future of Hawick fire station. Like thousands of local residents, I have signed the petition calling for it to be retained as a 24/7 service, but it has been announced that the decision will be delayed for six months. Does the …
Commons
Oral Questions
5 February 2026
Business of the House
The Leader of the House will be aware of the Countryside Alliance’s annual “Rural Oscars” awards. I am delighted that eight of the finalists come from my constituency: Briggsy’s Butcher, the Allanton Inn, the Buccleuch Arms, the Blackadder in Greenlaw, the Gordon Arms, Fine Feathers, the Ancrum Pant…
Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
5 February 2026
2 contributions
Grooming Gangs
1. What steps she is taking to increase prosecution rates for grooming gang perpetrators.
Baroness Casey’s audit of group-based child sexual exploitation found
“a collective failure to properly deter and prosecute offenders or to protect children from harm.”
These crimes happen across borders and in every part of the United Kingdom, so what more can be done to ensure that prosecution s…
Commons
Debate
4 February 2026
3 contributions
Lord Mandelson
No matter which party we represent, no matter what deeply held differences we have and no matter how different our beliefs, everyone in this Chamber—indeed, anyone who serves the public—does so in the interests of this nation. We all signed up to serve our country, to do the best by Britain. Peter M…
My right hon. Friend is right. The Prime Minister’s position, particularly after his remarks during Prime Minister’s questions earlier, raises serious questions about what he knew and when, and why on earth he made the appointment.
I have been doing this job as a Member of Parliament since 2017, an…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
28 January 2026
Engagements
Q7. The Scottish press is full of stories about the plot by Scottish Labour MPs to bring down the Prime Minister. One Scottish Labour MP said he is terrible, another Scottish Labour MP said the handling of the Budget had been incompetent, and yet another Scottish Labour MP predicted that Scottish La…
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
2 contributions
Chinese Embassy
What does that mean?
The Government’s decision to approve China’s spy embassy is utterly wrong and puts national security at risk. Now that the embassy has been approved, if—or rather when—we get evidence that China is using the embassy for surveillance, torture or other inappropriate means, will the Government guarante…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 January 2026
Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children
I have heard from literally hundreds of parents and teachers in the Scottish Borders who want social media to be banned for under-16s. We all know that these apps are addictive and are causing serious mental health challenges for our young people. I am now getting messages from parents who have hear…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 January 2026
2 contributions
Sale of Fireworks
I pay tribute to my constituent Julie McMillan, who has emailed me with her concerns about fireworks every year for the 19 years that I have been a Member of this place or of the Scottish Parliament. Many other people have raised the same concern. I urge caution about what has happened in Scotland. …
The Minister is being exceptionally generous with her time. The reality is that we will be back here again this time next year, because there will be another petition calling for the same things. What guarantees can the Minister give about the progress that will be made between now and this time nex…
Commons
Debate
15 January 2026
New Towns
The hon. Member is making an excellent speech about the importance of new towns. I was brought up just outside Kilwinning, which is part of the Irvine new town in Ayrshire. She and I are probably of a similar age, so does she remember the campaign—the iconic campaign—in the 1980s: “What’s it called?…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 January 2026
Business of the House
The Scottish Borders are being inundated with new energy infrastructure projects. SNP Ministers in Edinburgh blame the Labour Government here, and the Labour Government here blame the SNP Government in Scotland—frankly, it has become ridiculous. Ultimately, responsibility rests with the Scottish Gov…