Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
6 July 2026
2 contributions
High North
10. What steps he is taking to protect British interests in the High North.
Protecting our interests in the High North depends not only on our armed forces, but on a resilient defence industrial base. Constituencies such as mine are home to highly skilled defence and engineering businesses that play an important role in supporting our national security. How is the Departmen…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
2 July 2026
2 contributions
Employment Rights Act 2025
1. What recent progress his Department has made on implementing the Employment Rights Act 2025.
I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as co-chair of the Unison group of Labour MPs. For too long, many workers have been expected to keep themselves available for work without any certainty over the hours or income that they would receive. The right to guarant…
Commons
Debate
29 June 2026
Northern Ireland Office
I will do my best on that score, Madam Deputy Speaker. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) on securing this important debate.
I want to draw on a consistent message that the Northern Ireland Committee has heard throughout a number of inquiries, whether into public …
Commons
Debate
20 May 2026
Banking Hubs
We successfully managed to apply for an interim banking hub in Kilsyth, which opened only four weeks ago. One of the grounds for having that hub was the closure of the Santander branch in Cumbernauld. There was a push then saying that the nearest alternative was the Santander branch in Kirkintilloch…
Commons
Debate
27 April 2026
Dunmurry Police Station Attack
I associate myself with the comments made by the hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Sorcha Eastwood) and the Secretary of State about the bravery of the PSNI and the delivery driver. This attack serves as a timely reminder that, for a handful of individuals in Northern Ireland, a return to violence is ne…
Commons
Oral Questions
27 April 2026
Topical Questions
BriggsAmasco in my constituency invests heavily in apprenticeships for the next generation of mastic asphalt tradespeople. According to BriggsAmasco, only 11 people in that part of Scotland are fully qualified in this work, and the only route to qualifying is through training programmes in England. …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 April 2026
Pension Schemes
I thank the Minister not only for the statement, but for his engagement with us over the last six months. A constituent of mine applied for her MyCSP pension quote back in August and finally got the quote last week, but she is still a considerable distance away from actually getting money into her b…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 March 2026
Northern Ireland: Legacy of the Past
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain, and I am planning on being brief today. As a member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, it gives me great pleasure to contribute to this debate and to the work that the Committee has done—the formal and informal evidence that we t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 March 2026
Banking Services: Accessibility
I congratulate the hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George) on securing this timely and appropriate debate. I will tell you a tale of three towns with relatively big populations on the outskirts of Glasgow, of a number of banks, of the actions of one banking group in particular, and of a community fi…
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Heating Oil Support
I welcome the Minister’s statement. Some of the most vulnerable people in my constituency live in the village of Banton, which is not on the gas grid. However, the rest of my constituency would be considered urban. Will the Minister make representations to the Scottish Government so that they do not…
Commons
Debate
12 March 2026
International Women’s Day
It gives me great pleasure and pride to contribute to the debate. I have only been here 18 months, but this is one of my favourite debates in the Chamber because it gives us the privilege of listening to experiences from across the House and recognising women who make a difference in everybody’s loc…
Commons
Oral Questions
4 March 2026
2 contributions
Economic Growth
11. What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing economic growth in Wales.
This Government’s decision to invest over £2 billion in creating Britain’s first fleet of small modular reactors in Anglesey will create thousands of jobs, and bring significant economic benefits to the whole region. Does the Secretary of State agree that the Scottish Government should join the Wels…
Commons
Debate
2 March 2026
Representation of the People Bill
Last summer, along with the other North Lanarkshire MPs, I participated in North Lanarkshire council’s school placement scheme. Two young people, Scott and Shanna, joined my office. At the time, they were 17 and 16 respectively. They began by doing a six-week summer placement, but they now regularly…
Commons
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address Motion
There have been plenty of times when the standards of behaviour of holders of political office at all levels have fallen below what is acceptable. None of us has the moral high ground on this, as every party has had issues—some dealt with quietly and some in the court reports. While my question is t…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
Topical Questions
T8. Cumbernauld will get its first direct service to London in the spring, when Lumo’s new Stirling to London Euston service starts stopping at Greenfaulds station. How will the Department ensure that rail reform allows communities such as mine to continue to benefit from open access services?
Commons
Debate
15 January 2026
6 contributions
New Towns
I beg to move,
That this House has considered new towns.
I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for finding time for this important debate. As we reach the 80th anniversary of the New Towns Act 1946, it feels like exactly the right moment for the House to pause and reflect on what was, …
The fact that you could not go anywhere in the ’80s without seeing that statement meant that people across the country knew about Cumbernauld. I remember seeing that wording on the tube on my first trips to London. Other new towns tried to get in on the act. “Living in Livingston” did not quite hit …
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
15 January 2026
2 contributions
Town of Culture and City of Culture Competitions
2. What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the new town of culture and UK city of culture 2029 competitions support communities.
I am seeking advice from the Secretary of State. What advice would she give to my local cultural organisations in Cumbernauld, including new and emerging arts and music spaces and the local theatre, which are excited by the prospect of the town of culture competition? How can they engage with and be…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
17 December 2025
INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth
I pay tribute to all the Ministers across all the Departments who have worked together to get this over the line. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) for not giving up and making sure that it happened.
Grangemouth matters to all of us; we all have constituen…
Commons
Proceedings
17 December 2025
Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and Reconciliation
This week’s exhibition in the Upper Waiting Hall is a memorial quilt produced my members of the South East Fermanagh Foundation. It is a very moving way to remember the innocent victims of terrorism. The dates on the quilt panels remind us of how long the families have been fighting for justice. Can…
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
Violence against Women and Girls Strategy
There has been more than one week during my time in this place where every piece of casework that has come to my office has had a violence against women and girls component to it. The complexity of this issue cannot be underestimated. I do not want to pre-empt the launch of the strategy, which is ea…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 December 2025
Fairtrade Certification
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) for securing this debate. Clearly, fair trade matters, and it does to all of us. I will spend a little time outlining why it matters so much to me and where I first came …
Commons
Proceedings
9 December 2025
Northern Ireland Troubles: Operation Kenova
I commend the right hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) for securing the urgent question. We have talked about the experiences of the Kenova families in terms of having confidence in the process, and we recognise the complexity of the 28 years of the troubles. The Secretary of State has hi…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
2 contributions
Financial Inclusion Strategy
5. What progress she has made on the financial inclusion strategy. [R]
I welcome the Minister’s response. I am a long-standing member of the NHS credit union, which is one of the credit unions affected by the withdrawal of the family protection plan by CMutual on 30 November. Policyholders over the age of 70 who have paid premiums well in excess of what they would have…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 December 2025
Northern Ireland: Legacy of the Past
Again, I thank my hon. Friend for the work done on the report. Building on the question from the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith), does the report highlight the importance of ensuring that we have ECHR-compliant processes in place if we want to ensure that t…
Commons
Proceedings
4 December 2025
Business of the House
Next week marks 70 years since Cumbernauld was designated a new town on 9 December 1955. It was part of a visionary programme that reshaped communities across Scotland and the UK. While we rightly celebrate that legacy of ambition and innovation, many new towns, including my own, face significant ch…