Commons
Proceedings
9 July 2026
Point of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance following remarks made outside this House by the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) that have caused profound offence to the community I represent. To describe the Dunblane tragedy as “one murder” diminishes what happened to 1…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
10 June 2026
2 contributions
Economic Growth
1. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Scotland.
UK Government funding is transforming a former Ministry of Defence site in Stirling into a major film studio, creating opportunities for skilled jobs, innovation and growth across Scotland’s screen sector. As this industry is international and relies on a skilled workforce to thrive, a joined-up app…
Commons
Debate
28 April 2026
2 contributions
Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges
A referral to the Privileges Committee, particularly involving a Prime Minister, should be rare. The bar should be high, because we have so many other processes available to us in this place, and with this issue, many of those processes are already in action. The Foreign Affairs Committee, excellent…
To finish my metaphor—not about the SNP—we must hold steady, make the adjustments needed and focus on getting safely to better conditions. That is the task in front of us, and that is why I will support the Prime Minister to continue doing the job that he was elected to do, keep a steady hand on the…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 April 2026
3 contributions
Mountain Rescue
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. In Stirling and Strathallan we are served by three outstanding teams: Lomond Mountain Rescue Team, based in Drymen; Killin mountain rescue, operating from Killin and Callender; and Ochils mountain rescue, operating from a neighbouring con…
Thank you, Ms Lewell, for calling me back. Please give me one second to find out where I was—is it still Tuesday?
As I was saying, if we want to avoid such situations in the future, we need to involve mountain rescue and the wider search and rescue community much earlier in the policymaking process…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 March 2026
Voluntary Groups and Community Centres
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey.
I approach this debate from a position of experience, because I have seen volunteering and community centres from many levels: user, volunteer, trustee, community councillor, local councillor and leader of Stirling council. I am not talki…
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 March 2026
Social Enterprises and Community Ownership
In constituencies such as mine, social and community enterprises are thriving. They are practical working solutions, driven by local people who care deeply about where they live. We see that in employee ownership, such as in United Auctions, where employees now have a direct stake in the business. W…
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Heating Oil Support
Many households in the rural part of my constituency—including in Carron valley, whose community council I met on Friday—rely on heating oil and live in older housing stock that can be difficult to make energy-efficient. Many of those communities also have an older population. Does the Minister reco…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
14 January 2026
2 contributions
Economic Growth
14. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Scotland.
Does the Secretary of State agree that yesterday’s SNP budget, which metes out another round of civic vandalism to local authority budgets, demonstrates a failure to understand that economic growth is built from the ground up and requires well-funded local authorities delivering schools, infrastruct…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 December 2025
Local Media
Back in 1991, when I was 15 years old, I applied for work experience at Central FM in Stirling. I was meant to be there for a week, and I stayed for 10 years as a broadcaster. Those were golden days of Scottish local radio, shaped by stations such as Central, Radio Forth and Radio Clyde, by familiar…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
26 November 2025
2 contributions
Skills, Development and Training: Forth Valley
5. What discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on skills, development and training for the Forth valley area.
Years of SNP underfunding have pushed Forth Valley college into financial crisis. Just when we needed to deliver skills for Stirling’s film studio, the Grangemouth transition, and shipbuilding and defence in the Forth and Clyde, the Alloa campus faces closure. Does the Secretary of State agree that …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 November 2025
ExxonMobil: Mossmorran
Does this decision not just underline the urgent need for a robust industrial strategy in Scotland that protects jobs, strengthens the supply chain and ensures a manufacturing basis that is fit for the future?
Commons
Debate
11 November 2025
Remembrance Day: Armed Forces
On Sunday, I was at the war memorial in Stirling city centre to lay a wreath and to reflect. Stirling’s memorial was completed in 1922. Six hundred and ninety-two names were recorded on the monument that first year, and behind every name was a story of a life lived and a life given to war. I want to…
Commons
Debate
11 November 2025
BBC Leadership
We have heard an awful lot today about the professionalism of the journalists at the BBC, and I wholeheartedly agree with that, but there are less of them now than there were last year and we hear that the BBC is in the fight of its life across a whole number of fronts. Well, when you are in a fight…
Commons
Proceedings
23 October 2025
Business of the House
For 17 years, the Stirling Observer has run its “Give a Gift” appeal, rallying big-hearted people, businesses, schools and community groups to make sure no child wakes up on Christmas morning without a present to unwrap. This year’s appeal launched this week. Will the Leader of the House join me in …
Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
4 contributions
Devolution in Scotland
When the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999, there was an expectation that devolution would not stop at Holyrood, but would build stronger systems of local government. Donald Dewar put it best in his first speech:
“A Scottish Parliament. Not an end: a means to greater ends.”
We should cele…
I completely agree—that goes back to what I was saying. Donald Dewar said:
“A Scottish Parliament. Not an end: a means to greater ends.”
If we all remembered to think about the evolution of devolution, and strived to make it as good as it can be, we would all be doing the people of Scotland a serv…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 September 2025
Future of Terrestrial Television
I entirely agree that we must do all we can to protect digital terrestrial television for as long as it is needed. As a former radio presenter, I would argue that free radio could do with the same future protection. Colleagues have rightly made the case for the broadcasting medium; I want to make th…
Commons
Debate
3 September 2025
Hospitality Sector
In my constituency of Stirling and Strathallan, castles and scenery may draw tourists, but it is the people in our pubs, cafés, restaurants, clubs and hotels who make them feel welcome. In my constituency, we have no shortage of world-class heritage, picturesque rural communities, scenery, and pubs,…
Commons
Oral Questions
1 September 2025
Welfare Fraud
Does the Minister share my surprise that a Member of the party responsible for more than a decade of rising poverty, record benefit delays, and billions lost to fraud and error is now suddenly concerned about tackling that? Across the House, while we recognise the need to tackle fraud in our welfare…
Commons
Proceedings
17 July 2025
Business of the House
Sometimes, when the puns keep coming, you just have to “Roll With It”.
In my constituency, Braehead community garden is a remarkable 2-acre, community-led project where residents grow fruit and vegetables in raised beds and polytunnels. It also has an apiary, a workshop and a 30 kW solar array. It …
Commons
Proceedings
17 July 2025
Strategy for Elections
In Scotland, where we have votes for 16 and 17-year-olds in council and Scottish Parliament elections, I have found that some of the most engaging, respectful and searching questions have come from those in that age group, whereas in general elections a 16 or 17-year-old’s response is often, “I’ll g…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 July 2025
Credit Unions
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch (Katrina Murray) on securing this important debate.
At a time when we are all looking for practical ways to support our communities, a simple but powerful action s…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
1 July 2025
Winter Fuel Payment: Northern Ireland
Does the Minister agree that it is only because of the Barnett formula and a Labour Government that Scotland—including communities in Stirling and Strathallan—now has record funding of £50 billion this year, and it is deeply concerning that the SNP Government in Scotland have no clear plan to invest…
Commons
Proceedings
19 June 2025
Business of the House
The programme launch for this year’s Bloody Scotland—the country’s leading crime writing festival—took place at the Golden Lion hotel in Stirling. It is the 13th annual festival and this year includes events programmed by Scotland’s king of crime writing, Sir Ian Rankin, and takes place on the weeke…
Commons
Oral Questions
19 June 2025
Topical Questions
T5. United Auctions in my constituency has recently become the UK’s first employee-owned livestock auctioneer. Will the Secretary of State commit to doing more to encourage employee ownership models as a great option for rural businesses that want to thrive, attract new talent and remain rooted in t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 June 2025
Social Mobility: Careers Education
For too many people, the belief that intelligence, hard work and perseverance will be rewarded no longer holds true. The ladder of opportunity that once allowed previous generations to climb to a better future is now harder to reach and sometimes even harder to ascend. This is not just a personal fr…