Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
15 July 2026
Independence Referendum
Some 54% of Scots now back nuclear power, and the SNP tells them that they cannot have it. In May, over half of Scots—57%—voted for parties committed to the Union. Now, I know that some parties might describe that as nearly 60%, but it is definitely a majority. However, the SNP’s answer, as we are h…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 June 2026
3 contributions
High Street Regeneration and Unlawful Storefronts
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) for securing this debate. Local businesses are the heart and soul of our communities. The independent café, the family butcher and the local hardware shop create jobs, pay taxes and invest…
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend on business rates.
I have heard repeatedly from businesses in Mid Dunbartonshire that they are unable to afford to hire young people and give them their first experience of work, or that they have had to cut their hours due to rising costs. At the same time th…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
25 June 2026
Neuropsychiatric Conditions: PANS and PANDAS
I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) for securing this debate, and for all her work to raise the profile of these childhood conditions. I also thank the Backbench Business Committee for selecting this topic for debate.
As she said, my hon. Friend first …
Commons
Oral Questions
Wales
17 June 2026
Job Creation
I have repeatedly asked the Government to publish their assessment of Scotland’s nuclear potential, without success. Perhaps the Minister can help me in the meantime. What does she regard as the greatest benefit of the Wylfa site in Wales: the long-term, skilled jobs, the local investment that it dr…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
10 June 2026
Economic Growth
The Government have pledged major investment in Scotland, which I welcome, but too many Scottish high streets are still being hollowed out by Labour’s job tax hikes while illegal vape shops, mini-marts and barbers thrive. Following yesterday’s announcement for England, does the Secretary of State ha…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
10 June 2026
Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Increase of Borrowing Limits) Order 2026
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. It is good to hear that cross-Government working under the Scotland Act is creating this statutory instrument to increase the amount that the Scottish Government can borrow in line with the fiscal framework. We therefore support the statutory i…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 June 2026
2 contributions
Energy Costs
Will the hon. Lady give way?
It is good to hear the Government’s intention to reduce energy prices. The hon. Member for Gorton and Denton (Hannah Spencer) is right to call for more affordable energy. In France, electricity is about a third cheaper than it is here, with nuclear at the heart of the system. Does the Minister agree…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 June 2026
2 contributions
Energy Costs
Will the hon. Lady give way?
It is good to hear the Government’s intention to reduce energy prices. The hon. Member for Gorton and Denton (Hannah Spencer) is right to call for more affordable energy. In France, electricity is about a third cheaper than it is here, with nuclear at the heart of the system. Does the Minister agree…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 April 2026
Business of the House
I want to continue to highlight the importance of local railways—an issue that has already been raised by the hon. Member for Bathgate and Linlithgow (Kirsteen Sullivan). This year is the 200th anniversary of Scotland’s first modern railway, the Monkland and Kirkintilloch line. It opened in 1826, ju…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 April 2026
3 contributions
Housing Needs: Young People
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the housing needs of young people.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. Everyone has the right to a safe, secure and healthy home, yet for far too many young people across the United Kingdom, that feels increasingly out of reach. …
I absolutely agree, and I would add that the Scottish Liberal Democrats are also contributing to the push for additional affordable housing in Scotland.
The ONS also found that a median-priced home was affordable to the highest-income 40% of households in Scotland and Wales, while in England it was…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 April 2026
NHS Federated Data Platform
My hon. Friend is making some important points. Just yesterday, I highlighted the Scottish Government’s decision to buy Chinese buses, which come with a serious security risk. It would be wrong of me not to do the same when the UK Government take the same risks. We have some of the finest minds in t…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
15 April 2026
Economic Growth
The SNP is willing to support the Chinese economy by buying buses from China that raise serious security concerns, but when it comes to supporting defence jobs at the British-owned Rolls-Royce site in Glasgow, it pulled the funding. Does the Secretary of State agree with me that the SNP is failing S…
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
Oil and Gas
Does the hon. Lady agree that UK production in the North sea can never put us in a position like Norway, because Margaret Thatcher gave away our oil industry to private companies and we have no sovereign fund?
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Business of the House
The development of the nuclear site at Wylfa in Wales is set to bring thousands of jobs and revitalise the local community. A similar site near my constituency would play an enormous role in the shift away from oil and gas towards energy independence and bringing costs down. Will the Leader of the H…
Commons
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
2 contributions
Civil Service Pensions Recovery Plan
11. What estimate he has made of the cost of the civil service pensions recovery plan.
On 23 February, the Cabinet Office confirmed that hardship loans would not be available to dependants or surviving spouses of civil service pension scheme members. That left one of my constituents alone, with two children and just one income after sadly losing their partner. Can the Minister explain…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
6 contributions
Energy Security and Net Zero: Scotland
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Scotland’s contribution to energy security and net zero.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq, and a privilege to lead this debate on a matter that will have such an impact on Scotland’s economy, our cost of living and our national se…
The Liberal Democrats are keen that we move to a source of green energy. We are calling for the energy profits levy to be looked at again, as it was introduced as a windfall tax in particular circumstances, when there were very high profits.
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
25 February 2026
Relations with Scottish Government
Transport in Scotland is devolved, but Labour’s new electric vehicle tax is not. Scotland is home to the largest constituencies by area in the UK. This will mean that many rural Scots, who already pay more for electricity at home, will pay more tax despite having less access to charging infrastructu…
Commons
Debate
24 February 2026
2 contributions
Online Harm: Child Protection
We have all learned that if an online service is free, we are the product. That is the business model used by the social media giants. They track what we watch, what we click, what we like and what we fear. They then build detailed profiles of our behaviour and they turn that behaviour into data and…
I absolutely agree; it is important that it is clear who is accountable for the harms that occur. That is why I urge the Government to work with the Liberal Democrats to introduce age ratings for social media. As the hon. Member for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) so clearly laid out, ratin…
Commons
Proceedings
12 February 2026
Business of the House
Retired civil servants in my constituency and across the UK are being offered interest-free loans after serious delays to pension payments following the transfer of their pension scheme administration to Capita in December 2025. Will the Leader of the House grant time for a debate on the administrat…
Commons
Proceedings
9 February 2026
Brain Tumour Survival Rates
I thank the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) and my hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) for securing this important debate. I am here speaking tonight on behalf of my friend George, who is now in his eighties and still fundraising for research into brain tu…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 February 2026
2 contributions
Russian Influence on UK Politics and Democracy
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Pritchard. I thank the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for his well-informed opening speech, and congratulate the petitioners on bringing this important issue to the House.
Russian interference is happening today. It is a deliberat…
I agree with the hon. Member. We need to investigate the circumstances fully and, if it proves necessary, reconsider any decisions that have been taken.
Russian interference is a shared threat, and we are weaker when we act alone. We must shut the loopholes in election law that let Russian money bu…
Commons
Debate
5 February 2026
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Genocide Risk Assessment
The recent events we have seen unfold in Gaza have been horrific. They are without doubt some of the worst atrocities to have taken place in modern times, carried out by Israel and centred in one small region. The targeting of civilian infrastructure has caused maximum suffering for the civilian pop…
Commons
Oral Questions
5 February 2026
Business of the House
On 11 September last year, I stood in this House to request time for a debate on the Nolan principles of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. In the light of the serious concern arising from the release of the Epstein files, the links to the retired…
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
2 contributions
Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
It seems that with increasing frequency I stand in this place welcoming Labour U-turns, and today I welcome yet another. The decision to lift the two-child cap is clearly the right moral choice, and it will lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.
For those in Scotland, this is a part…
I apologise.
Removing the two-child cap is a vital step, and I hope that the Government choose to listen to more Liberal Democrat proposals.
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
22 January 2026
2 contributions
Digital Identity Scheme
4. What recent steps he has taken to establish a digital identity system.
I welcome the Government’s U-turn on digital identity cards, but they must go further. We are now looking at a largely redundant system that is expected to cost nearly £2 billion. Will the Minister explain why this is the best use of public money and whether he agrees that the resources would be bet…