Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
7 contributions
Devolution in Scotland
I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way, but the Scottish child payment is not just praised by charities; it was their idea. The Child Poverty Action Group campaigned for it for a long time and the Scottish Government opposed it. It was parties in Opposition and charities who made it happen, so th…
My hon. Friend represents my home town, so it is always great to hear what is happening there. The UK Government inherited an awful situation from the Conservatives on water quality in rivers—that is beyond doubt—but in the UK we know how much sewage goes from sewerage systems into rivers. In my con…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 October 2025
Heathrow: National Airports Review
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement, her leadership, her focus on growth and her commitment to fit this project within the Paris agreement. I welcome the four tests that it will be judged against, but I have a suggestion for a fifth test—people might not be surprised to hear that it foc…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
4 contributions
Mandatory Digital ID
I thank the hon. Member for securing this debate, because it is an issue that the general public are engaging in. He will know that Scotland has its own identity card, known as the Scot card, which is used to store benefits data, debt data, the checks to make sure people can work with vulnerable peo…
Does the hon. Gentleman share the concern of Big Brother Watch that there is a mandatory ID system in Scotland in all but name? Does he share the concerns of my residents that the data could be leaked?
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
15 October 2025
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill
The hon. Member will know that countries right across the world are moving towards SAF. Has he reviewed them to understand what is unique about the UK that means that we are vulnerable, while other countries are able to drive ahead? Are these countries undertaking the same bureaucratic reviews of th…
Commons
Debate
14 October 2025
2 contributions
Energy Profits Levy: North-east Scotland
Will the Minister give way?
I thank the Minister for giving way, but I note that he took my intervention second rather than first—I am not offended!
On the position in Scotland, it is worthing remembering that Scotland’s Deputy First Minister said at the SNP party conference at the weekend that the Scottish Government want to…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 October 2025
Security Update: Official Secrets Act Case
I thank the Minister for his statement and for introducing some facts to the debate—I can see that some alternative realities have come crashing down.
I want to focus on the future and the Minister’s commitment to protecting democratic life in the UK, particularly through the cyber-security measure…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 October 2025
Manchester Terrorism Attack
I thank the Home Secretary for her statement and pay tribute to everyone who helped defeat the attack last week. I also pay tribute to the Home Secretary for the leadership she has shown so early in post, which has been fantastic. In an earlier reply, she lamented the decline in interfaith work acro…
Commons
Debate
16 September 2025
Sentencing Bill
The hon. Member is speaking with great authority from her experience as a magistrate, but she criticises the Bill for having no concrete plans to expand prison capacity. Could she talk about her party’s plans to increase prison capacity, how much they would cost and when that capacity would come on …
Commons
Debate
15 September 2025
2 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
I am passionate about ensuring that single parents can enter the workforce, and a big barrier to that is childcare. When thinking about which amendments the hon. Member will support, has she discussed the matter with any organisations representing single parents? Forty-eight hours does not seem like…
Does the hon. Lady agree that the best protection against unfair dismissal is trade union membership?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 September 2025
Official Secrets Act
I thank the Minister for his statement. I think we have a duty—all democracies have a duty—to protect democracy from its enemies. I do not doubt that our allies face exactly the same challenges, so I would be interested to know what discussions we have had with our allies about this very challenge. …
Commons
Debate
10 September 2025
Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]
I thank the shadow Minister for the way in which he is approaching the debate. Local authorities all over England are letting contracts every single day, and all manner of contracts could go wrong. What is peculiar about this power that means there is a risk of bankruptcy?
Commons
Proceedings
10 September 2025
Qatar: Israeli Strike
I thank the Minister for his statement. I do pray that one day he will come to the Dispatch Box with good news for us, to be frank. In my surgery at Oxgangs library on Saturday, a UK-Palestinian woman came to see me. She brought date cookies, which had been freshly made by her mother. I had hoped to…
Commons
Proceedings
9 September 2025
Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack
I agree with those Members who have raised concerns about the impact that this cyber-attack might have on jobs. It also has an impact on our reputation as a country when two iconic brands basically have to go offline. I do not expect that this will be the last attack on either a retailer or an autom…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 September 2025
Indefinite Leave to Remain
It is a delight to serve under you today, Mr Pritchard. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for introducing the petition, and I thank all my constituents who signed it. I make my comments in the context of my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
…
Commons
Proceedings
3 September 2025
Property Taxes
The Government inherited bond yields higher than those in many other countries. Right now bond yields are going up in Japan, Germany and the United States. Is the Chancellor responsible for all that?
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 September 2025
3 contributions
Pavement Parking
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship with a 90-second speech limit, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) for securing this debate. In 2023, I met Elaine and her guide dog Tessy and she was able to show me first hand the impact that pavement parking was …
I do not speak for RNIB Scotland or Guide Dogs Scotland but people with visual impairments leading isolated lives are a real concern for them. They want those people to be out working, meeting their friends, shopping and so on. Cars parked on the pavement are a barrier to that happening, so this iss…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
1 September 2025
Lisbon Maru Memorial
I thank my hon. Friend for this debate. A few days ago, in my office, I met relatives of people who died on the Suez Maru, which was lost in similar circumstances, with about 550 prisoners of war on it, a great number of whom were machinegunned in the water by members of the imperial Japanese navy. …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 September 2025
Borders and Asylum
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; I had forgotten how much I enjoyed bobbing.
We all want to be proud of the UK’s asylum system, but because of the mess we inherited from the previous Government, none of us are there right now; that is just a fact. I thank the Home Secretary for the methodical work …
Commons
Proceedings
22 July 2025
Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery
I thank the Minister for his statement, and particularly for the news that there will be a thorough investigation. I have two quick questions. First, are the reports correct that the previous Government did not meet representatives of the sector for 13 years? I know the Minister said that he had met…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 July 2025
Independent Water Commission
I congratulate the Secretary of State on the scale of ambition he has shown today. Although there are many issues in the water sector in Scotland—not least the combined sewer overflow discharges into the Water of Leith at Colinton Dell—one thing we understand is that to reduce CSO spills, we have to…
Commons
Proceedings
21 July 2025
Asylum Hotels: Migrant Criminal Activity
I thank the police for how they have dealt with the violent disorder that we have seen from a minority of people in recent days. I would much rather that the police were investigating the crimes that are allegedly behind the incidents. I also thank the Minister for showing zero tolerance to the mino…
Commons
Debate
17 July 2025
3 contributions
Global Plastics Treaty
I make my comments in the context of my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing the debate. It is on an issue that resonates strongly with many residents in Edinburgh South West—it is not an overs…
I agree with my hon. Friend. I know that it is important to his constituency, because I can remember how people were really concerned about plastic cotton buds getting washed up on Portobello beach. Thankfully, through changes, that is now much rarer, but it is still an issue.
In Scotland alone it …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
17 July 2025
Business of the House
I thank the Leader of the House for her statement, and for the good humour and patience that she has brought to the Dispatch Box over the last year. Last week Mike and Clare, two climate activists from Edinburgh South West, brought to this place dozens of climate change posters created by children i…
Commons
Proceedings
17 July 2025
Strategy for Elections
I welcome this announcement, and I can only speculate about why the Conservatives did not decide to clean up party funding when they were in Government. I want to echo some of the comments about proportional representation. Personally, I feel that it is at the heart of many of the problems the count…