Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 July 2026
NATO Summit
I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement and for her focus on Sudan at the summit. The world has never been in a more dangerous place, with Russia playing a dangerous game in and around our waters and harassing our carrier strike group. I welcome the £70 billion for Ukraine pledged at Ankara.…
Commons
Debate
9 July 2026
Israeli Settlements: Trade Ban
I thank the hon. Member for giving way and my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) for securing this very important debate. May I put on record my constituents’ disgust at the actions of Israel in these settlements? Does the hon. Member agree with the Foreign Secretary’s us…
Commons
Proceedings
9 July 2026
2 contributions
Science, innovation and technology Committee
I am very happy to complete this hat trick of Scottish colleagues. I thank my hon. Friend for this excellent report, and I agree about the need to focus on science diplomacy, which is an opportunity for the UK; we should be much more ambitious about what we do.
As a former member of a science and i…
SAINTs, maybe.
Commons
Debate
8 July 2026
Rearmament and Warfighting Readiness
My concern is that the only British company offering to build an advanced jet trainer replacement for the Red Arrows Hawk jet, AERALIS, has gone into receivership because of the delay in the DIP, which means it will not assemble those lovely British jets in my constituency.
Commons
Proceedings
8 July 2026
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
I thank the Minister for his statement and for his engagement on this issue. Coastguard rescue officers are an essential part of our emergency response and are much supported by people in Ayrshire, and I put on the record my thanks for their dedicated service. My hon. Friend the Member for North Ayr…
Commons
Oral Questions
Wales
17 June 2026
2 contributions
Job Creation
9. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help create new jobs in Wales.
Universities in Wales and Scotland are engines of job creation through the crucial role they play in fostering innovation. Will the Minister please update the House on what the UK Government are doing to fuel innovation in Welsh universities?
Commons
Debate
17 June 2026
National Security (State Threats) Bill
May I put on record my thanks to the Home Secretary and the team for the speed with which they have addressed the major issues in the Bill? I also thank the Home Secretary for making it clear on Second Reading that the Bill’s provisions will not apply to humanitarian organisations.
Commons
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Defence Investment Plan
My hon. Friend may know that Aeralis, a British aerospace company seeking to develop a replacement for the Red Arrows, has gone into administration, and the company is in part blaming the delays to the defence investment plan for that terrible outcome. I thank my hon. Friend for the time he has take…
Commons
Debate
2 June 2026
Relationship between Social Security Scotland and the DWP
I congratulate the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) on the debate she has had tonight. I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Elaine Stewart) on her new position in the Department. Does the Minister agree that at £600 million—or the cost of 5,0…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 May 2026
Middle East
I thank the Minister for his statement. I am proud to be part of the Labour Government who took the historic decision to recognise the state of Palestine. However, the prospect of a single, unified Palestinian state is now under enormous pressure from the expansion of illegal settlements. Does the M…
Commons
Debate
20 May 2026
Defence Readiness
I put on record my support and recognition of the bold and principled speech by my right hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) earlier today. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) for his support of the Government’s defence agenda. Does he sha…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 January 2026
Arctic Security
I thank the Foreign Secretary for setting out the UK’s position that the future of Greenland is for the people of Greenland and the Danes to decide. It is not right that one of our closest and oldest allies is threatening us with economic sanctions, so I have two questions for the Foreign Secretary.…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
14 January 2026
2 contributions
Economic Growth
2. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Scotland.
I thank the Secretary of State for the announcement of £11 million of local growth funding for Ayrshire. Ayrshire boasts internationally successful businesses in the engineering, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, defence and energy sectors, and I have been working with my excellent Ayrshire colleag…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 January 2026
Venezuela
The UK’s overriding interest should be to maintain international law, keep as many countries as possible in the global rules-based order and ensure that what has happened in Venezuela is not a gift to Russia or China. Is the Foreign Secretary sure that we can maintain our position at the Security Co…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
11 December 2025
2 contributions
Economic Growth
11. What steps his Department is taking to help create economic growth.
My constituency is home to NATS—the good kind, helpfully, because NATS is the UK’s leading provider of air traffic control services. It employs 5,000 people around the country and 500 in Central Ayrshire, and exports its world-class expertise around the world. Will the Minister meet me to discuss th…
Commons
Debate
3 December 2025
Pension Schemes Bill
Will my hon. Friend allow me to put on the record my thanks to my constituent Patricia Kennedy and the pre-1997 pensions justice campaign for asking for exactly what she suggests? The Minister has taken a brave decision on the Pension Protection Fund pensions, and we should try to do that now for th…
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Power Station: Wylfa
I congratulate the Minister on the announcement and the thousands of jobs that it will create. Is he as disappointed as I am in the SNP’s immature stance on new nuclear in Scotland that would mean that communities like mine in Ayrshire, where we have Hunterston, would not have access to thousands of…
Commons
Proceedings
11 September 2025
UK Ambassador to the US: Appointment Process
I associate myself with hon. Members’ condolences and concerns about my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson).
I thank the Minister for his statement. I too am disgusted and appalled by Epstein’s actions, and my thoughts are with the victims of his crimes. Will the…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
2 contributions
Aviation Sector Support
10. What steps she is taking to support the aviation sector.
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Minister on his new position. I spent the weekend in the bonny town of Ayr for the Ayr show, celebrating the aviation sector’s contribution to my constituency and the wider west of Scotland economy. That contribution includes companies such as BAE, Collins Aerospace…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
9 July 2025
Supporting Scottish Agriculture
Does the Minister agree that Scottish agriculture, salmon and distilleries like Lochlea in my constituency will benefit from our three trade deals? Can she work out why the SNP failed to support them?
Commons
Debate
7 July 2025
Pension Schemes Bill
I thank the Minister for giving way and the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for raising this issue. What will the Bill do for my constituent Patricia Kennedy and the members of the Hewlett Packard Pension Association who are asking for more action on their pre-1997 non-inde…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 June 2025
G7 and NATO Summits
Would the Prime Minister care to comment on what our adversaries will think when they hear the Leader of the Opposition mistakenly say that we cannot afford our defence commitments? Does such a fatuous response keep our country safe?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 June 2025
UK Infrastructure: 10-year Strategy
Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is very nice to finally be recognised by the Chair.
Does the Minister agree that this approach to investment is fundamentally different from the Conservative chaos that led to crumbling schools, hospitals and roads, and light-years away from that of the…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
12 June 2025
3 contributions
UK-India Free Trade Agreement
2. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK-India free trade agreement on the economy.
I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am having some import-export issues myself, as my first book, a provocative and racy thriller, is being published in India in July.
+1 more contribution in this session