Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 March 2026
Business of the House
Tomorrow marks the 85th anniversary of the Clydebank blitz, when across the nights of 13 and 14 March 1941, my hometown of Clydebank suffered horrendous losses: 528 people were killed, and of the 12,000 homes, only eight remained undamaged. I will be attending the service of remembrance at Kilbowie …
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
12 March 2026
Topical Questions
For years scotch whisky has faced sky-high import tariffs in India—as high as 150%. The Scotch Whisky Association has described the tariff cuts as “transformational”, and the Scotch whisky industry supports thousands of jobs in my constituency. Does the Minister agree that the increased bilateral tr…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 March 2026
Rough Sleeping: Families with Children
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Wavertree (Paula Barker) on securing this debate on such an important issue.
The levels of homelessness in our United Kingdom are appalling, and it is shameful that a wealthy country …
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 March 2026
Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing
My West Dunbartonshire constituent Janice shared with me the very personal story of her daughter, who three years ago became so unwell that she was admitted to hospital. She was desperately ill, but she survived. The signs had been there, but they were missed, with the diagnosis coming at the very l…
Commons
Debate
5 March 2026
Palliative Care
The hospice sector in Scotland is under severe and growing financial pressure, with two thirds of hospices making cuts or planning to do so in the near future. That is due to underfunding that has left hospices stretched to breaking point; many are forced to cut services at a time when they are need…
Commons
Proceedings
5 March 2026
Business of the House
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of my constituent Jagtar Singh Johal’s acquittal of all charges in the only court case against him in India that has actually proceeded to trial. Despite that, he remains arbitrarily detained in an Indian prison, as he has been for more than eight years now.…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 March 2026
Local Museums
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) on securing today’s debate. In my constituency of West Dunbartonshire, local history and strong ties to our past have shaped our communities and towns. In post-industrial area…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
2 March 2026
Topical Questions
Scottish colleges are struggling to cope with huge cuts to staff and funding, including West College Scotland in my constituency. The Scottish National party has cut funding by 20% in five years. What can the Minister do, working with other Departments such as Defence, to ensure that Scottish colleg…
Commons
Oral Questions
Church Commissioners
26 February 2026
2 contributions
Church Attendance: Christmas 2025
3. What assessment the Church has made of the potential implications for its policies of trends in levels of church attendance during Christmas 2025.
Long-term trends suggest a decline in regular weekly church attendance; however, there was a rise in church attendance across the UK this Christmas, and I enjoyed visits to various churches in West Dunbartonshire, not least the Hope Community church in Clydebank and Dalmuir Barclay church. Christmas…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
2 contributions
Cancer Diagnosis
4. What steps his Department is taking to support the diagnosis of cancer patients.
I welcome the focus of the national cancer plan on diagnosing cancer faster. That is needed across all cancers, but particularly for leukaemia. Research by Leukaemia UK has found that one in four patients face an avoidable delay in their diagnosis, and that 37% of patients are diagnosed in an emerge…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 February 2026
2 contributions
Banking Hubs: Rural and Post-Industrial Communities
Will the Minister take another intervention on that point?
Alexandria is one of many post-industrial communities within my constituency, and the Bank of Scotland recently announced the closure of the town’s last remaining bank, but as a result the new Alexandria banking hub opened in my constituency in November 2025, which is a very welcome addition to the …
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
11 February 2026
2 contributions
Engagements
Q9. It is a source of great pride to Scottish Labour MPs that, as Chancellor, Gordon Brown lifted more children out of poverty than any other Chancellor before him. It is also a source of great pride that— [ Interruption. ]
It is also a source of great pride that the torch has now been passed to our Government. By removing the two-child benefit cap, we will lift more children out of poverty in a single Parliament than ever before—2,260 children in West Dunbartonshire and 95,000 children in Scotland. Does the Prime Mini…
Commons
Debate
9 February 2026
UK-India Free Trade Agreement
I welcome the UK-India free trade agreement. It is truly historic and a groundbreaking deal for the UK, for Scotland and for my West Dunbartonshire constituency. As the Minister said, India is the fastest-growing country in the G20 and it is set to become the third-largest economy in the world by 20…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 February 2026
National Cancer Plan
I congratulate the Minister on this excellent and ambitious plan. If we are to achieve its targets, improvements need to be made on delivering earlier and better diagnosis, particularly for cancers with extremely low survival rates, such as acute myeloid leukaemia, which has a five-year survival rat…
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
I rise to support the Bill and do so proudly on behalf of the families I represent in West Dunbartonshire. The two-child benefit cap makes poor children poorer. It punishes children for their circumstances and it has no place in our United Kingdom. Tackling child poverty is a proud Labour tradition …
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
3 February 2026
Topical Questions
T8. The rotten culture of secrecy and cover-up at the heart of the SNP Government is laid bare by the Glasgow Queen Elizabeth university hospital scandal. Grieving families were lied to and dismissed, and whistleblowers bullied and threatened. Will the Public Office (Accountability) Bill protect Sco…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
29 January 2026
Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report
I have no doubt that my 6,000 WASPI women will be very angry about this decision. Will today’s announcement mean that the legal proceedings challenging the Government’s original decision will continue? What plans do we have, if any, to get round the table and try to avoid legal proceedings?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
29 January 2026
Business of the House
As Member of Parliament for West Dunbartonshire, I have the honour of following in the footsteps of a very distinguished predecessor, Lord McFall, the Lord Speaker, who steps down this week after 40 years at Westminster. He has served my community and our democracy with great wisdom, courtesy, grace…
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
28 January 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
The gender pay gap for full-time employees in Scotland widened from 2% in 2024 to 3.5% in 2025. It is utterly unacceptable that, on the SNP’s watch, women in Scotland are earning less for the same hours. What can the UK Government do to improve matters for women across the country?
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
22 January 2026
Topical Questions
T3. The SNP Government dropped the ball on an £11 million investment, led by Rolls-Royce, in building a specialist welding centre on the Clyde—a vital opportunity to support the Royal Navy. It is only thanks to this Labour Government providing £2.5 million of support to the programme that it is goin…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
21 January 2026
Engagements
Q4. West Dunbartonshire is set to benefit from record UK Labour Government investment: £60 million of local growth funding has just been announced for the Glasgow city region, to add to the £20 million for Dumbarton’s town centre regeneration, the £20 million Pride in Place funding for my home town …
Commons
Oral Questions
20 January 2026
2 contributions
UK Citizens Detained Abroad
8. What steps her Department is taking to support UK citizens arbitrarily detained abroad.
Exactly 3,000 days ago, my constituent Jagtar Singh Johal was imprisoned in India, and 3,000 days later, he remains arbitrarily detained. He faces the death penalty on trumped-up charges, having been brutally tortured to make a confession. While in opposition, our Prime Minister rightly recognised m…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 January 2026
Public Office (Accountability) Bill
Will the Minister update the House on the progress made in her positive discussions with the Scottish Government relating to the provisions of non-means tested legal aid? Will Scottish families enjoy the same access to justice as those in the rest of our United Kingdom, and at the same time?
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 January 2026
Sale of Fireworks
In my constituency, on 5 November last year we experienced not only horrific effects on animals but unacceptable criminal conduct and large-scale chaos. Police riot vans were deployed after a 40-strong mob pelted people, local businesses and cars with explosives, and emergency services were attacked…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 January 2026
Business of the House
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in his statement to the House on 11 November, advised that he would “retake” the earlier decision of the Government on the question of how 1950s-born women were affected by the maladministration of pension age changes communication. I have almost 6,000 W…