Alan Gemmell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 15 Oct 2024 · House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill · Hansard source

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  rose—

• 15 Oct 2024 · House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill · Hansard source

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  I agree with the hon. Gentleman that trust in politics is at a low point, in part because of the egregious failures of the Conservatives when in government. This is a small and initial step that we can take to start to increase trust in politics, and that is partly why my party won the election.

• 15 Oct 2024 · House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill · Hansard source

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  Would the hon. Gentleman care to comment on the 14 years of Tory Administration, which were full of reforming zeal and could have transformed this country in so many ways, yet failed my country so much. I just wanted to let the House know that no family in Central Ayrshire, other than potentially the distant descendants of the Earl of Eglinton and Winton, might support hereditary peers remaining in the other place. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will vote with us tonight and begin this important step of reform.

• 10 Oct 2024 · Sport: Team GB and ParalympicsGB · Hansard source

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  It is a great privilege to have listened to so many of my colleagues’ maiden speeches this afternoon, including my hon. Friend the Member for East Kilbride and Strathaven (Joani Reid) and my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales), whose—rightly very proud—mum was in the Chamber. In today’s debate, we have heard about the importance of sport in communities across the UK, and I want to share with the House the truly inspirational achievements of my constituent Kayleigh Haggo, a Paralympian from Ayr. Kayleigh is a six-time world record holder in frame running, and was preparing to win gold in Paris this year when she was told two years ago that her sport would not be included in the games. In her own words, it felt like her whole world crashed around her, but with true Olympian spirit, Kayleigh spent the last two years becoming one of the best boccia players, and is ranked 13th in the world. She was selected for Team GB and made it all the way to the quarter-finals in Paris. This is a truly inspirational feat. We are all so very proud of what Kayleigh has achieved by representing Ayrshire in Team GB. I tried to contact Kayleigh to suggest that she might want to watch this debate, but it seems that she has a more important thing going on: it is her wedding day. I hope that the House will join me in congratulating her on her achievements, and on this very special day.

• 8 Oct 2024 · VAT: Independent Schools · Hansard source

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  Fourteen years of Tory neglect have left many of our schools on their knees. The situation is no better in Scotland. After 17 years of the SNP, Scotland’s once world-beating reputation for education has been tarnished. I regularly meet and hear from teachers whose passion and dedication is palpable, including Mrs Boyd and Miss McKay, the primary 6 teachers at Struthers primary school in Troon. Some 21 of their pupils have sent me individual letters asking me to join the fair trade campaign to “Be the Change”. However, over a quarter of children in north Ayrshire now live in poverty. That means that 6,234 children are held back, even before the school day begins. Conservative Members have forgotten about the effects of austerity on constituencies such as mine. They and the SNP are living in their own fantasies. Having squandered reserves through financial incompetence, SNP-run North Ayrshire council faces £12.6 million of cuts in its upcoming budget. The situation has only been worsened by the council tax freeze imposed by the SNP in Holyrood. The council now proposes cutting 90 teaching posts between 2025 and 2027, and removing a total of 230 hours of pupil support assistance, equivalent to eight full-time staff; all school crossing patrols; one full-time post from the music service; and one full-time educational psychologist. That will be a travesty for children in north Ayrshire, and casts further shame on the SNP’s education record in Scotland. The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies has said that this VAT policy will raise more than £1 billion, and will see significant additional education spend in England, which means significant Barnett consequentials for Scotland, and for the young people in my constituency. Today’s generation of young people deserve no less, after suffering year after year of excuses. This Government are not prepared to settle for more of the same.

• 11 Sept 2024 · Building Safety and Resilience · Hansard source

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  I was pleased to hear the Minister make reference to new towns. My constituency of Central Ayrshire benefits from the new town of Irvine, where I was born. Just recently, Irvine was part of the Government’s long-term plan for towns programme, and secured a commitment to £20 million to help us bring Irvine back to its best days. I hope that the Minister agrees that new towns are essential to economic growth and development, both in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

• 11 Sept 2024 · Building Safety and Resilience · Hansard source

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  Before the Minister moves on to service charges, I remind the House of something that I said last week, following the Prime Minister’s statement, about a similar fire that took place in Irvine in my constituency in 1999. A fire ripped through a 14-storey block of flats, leading to one fatality. Thanks to the work of my predecessor, Sir Brian Donohoe, building regulations were changed following that fire. I hope that the Minister will consider those building regulations and the Garnock Court fire as he examines what went wrong in the terrible tragedy at Grenfell.

• 11 Sept 2024 · Port Talbot Transition Project · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the deal that he has announced. As a former British trade commissioner to India, I assure him that it is a better deal from a better and more serious Government than the Conservative Government. Will he tell the House what direct conversations he has had with Tata about future investments in the UK?

• 10 Sept 2024 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State spent the last Sunday of the election campaign in Prestwick, near our town’s world war two Polish war memorial. Within days, he was in Odesa and has stepped up and sped up the support that the UK is delivering. Does he agree that we have started as we mean to go on and that this Government will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes?

• 4 Sept 2024 · Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report · Hansard source

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  Today’s report lists a series of terrible failures that let down the Grenfell community. The Grenfell fire affected communities in every part of the UK, and I wish to pass on the thoughts of my constituents in Irvine to the families and loved ones. A fire at a 14-storey block of flats in Irvine in 1999 spread via external cladding. The Garnock Court fire resulted in one fatality and led to changes to Scottish building regulations, which the then local MP fought to have implemented. I hope my right hon. Friend will look at the lessons from the Garnock Court fire as he starts to address this terrible injustice.

• 3 Sept 2024 · Inward Investment: Fiscal Steps · Hansard source

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  International investment is important for the aviation and aerospace sectors, and aviation and aerospace are important for my constituents in Central Ayrshire, with 55% of Scotland’s aerospace jobs based in Prestwick. Can my right hon. Friend tell me what more the Government will do to ensure continued international investment in these sectors?

• 3 Sept 2024 · Inward Investment: Fiscal Steps · Hansard source

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  8. What fiscal steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to encourage inward investment.

• 26 Jul 2024 · Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make my maiden speech in this debate on energy policy—a subject of great importance to my constituents and people across the UK. I congratulate you on your recent election. I pay tribute to other hon. Members who have taken an early opportunity to give their maiden speeches, including the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Sarah Bool). It is the first time I have followed someone on the road to canonisation— [ Laughter. ] I would also like to thank my colleagues from Scotland who are speaking today, including my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed), and to agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) about how good it is to hear so many Scottish voices on this side of the House. My right hon. and learned Friend the Prime Minister said that this Government will be one of service, and it is an honour to speak in the Chamber as the Member for Central Ayrshire—the place where I was born and raised, and where I live. It is a privilege to be in Parliament and in government, and to be here in the service of the community where I grew up. I pay tribute to my predecessor, Dr Philippa Whitford, who was a popular and assiduous local MP, whose public service included a much celebrated career as a consultant breast cancer surgeon. I also pay tribute to two previous Labour MPs, Sandra Osborne and Sir Brian Donohoe. Sandra is known as a champion of women’s rights, and a campaigner against poverty and for peace in the middle east. Brian is better known to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, as the chairman of the Members’ pension fund. He uses his voluminous knowledge to good effect but, having spoken to him at some length this weekend, I do not recommend individual consultations at this time. I also thank my husband. The spouses and families of politicians sacrifice a lot for our careers. Damien has been at my side around the world, and I am grateful to him for his support. Many hon. Members have spoken of their constituency’s beauty, while inviting other Members to visit. I do not feel the need to make that invitation, as I was happy to see Members from this place, the other place and the Scottish Parliament in Troon last weekend for the final days of the Open. They were there not just for one of the best coastlines in Scotland, great seafood and wonderful pubs and hotels, but to see a world-class golfing competition that sold more than 250,000 tickets and will deliver more than £200 million to the local and Scottish economies. Central Ayrshire is blessed with great towns and villages, and people who work daily for our communities. Earlier this month, I met the Friends of the Broadway Prestwick, who are working tirelessly to raise millions of pounds to bring a 1930s cinema in the heart of the town back to life. Their passion and commitment is inspiring. I visited the Troon lifeboat station and was told that from 1871 to today, 668 lives have been saved by its brave volunteers. In Irvine, each year the Marymass festival, also known as Murmuss, sees tens of thousands of people come to enjoy our parade, the crowning of the queen and teams of people trying to climb the greasy pole. If new Members need help in that area, I am happy to invite the winning team of this year’s competition in the autumn. Marymass includes horseracing on Irvine moor, at which my dad has been known to commentate. On the same moor in 1887, Keir Hardie gave his first recorded political speech in which he emphasised the need for working class representation in Parliament. Much of Central Ayrshire has a connection with Robert Burns, Scotland’s national bard. Burns lived in Irvine for a time and co-founded the Bachelors’ Club in the village of Tarbolton. Lochlea, in Craigie, is one of Scotland’s newest distilleries and is on land that Burns once farmed. It will be for my hon. Friends the Members for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Lillian Jones) and for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Elaine Stewart) to tell more about the man and the myth. I might remind the House of a prominent American who also made a visit to the constituency. On 3 March 1960, Sergeant Elvis Presley spent a precious two hours in Prestwick airport. I think we can say that the rest was history for that man’s career after some time spent on our precious soil. If hon. Members are looking at me today, they may see a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on here too. Prestwick is today a centre of the Scottish aerospace sector, with big ambitions. I was delighted to welcome my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to meet GE Caledonian during the election campaign to hear about the tens of millions of pounds of investment it has already secured. NATS in Prestwick —helpfully not the Nats from the Opposition Benches, but the UK’s leading provider of air traffic control services—employs 600 highly skilled people at its centre and ensures that the 2.5 million flights to and from the UK each year arrive and depart safely. Spirit, one of the UK’s largest aerospace manufacturers, announced recently that its Prestwick operations, with over 1,200 people, would be better served by a third-party owner, following an acquisition by Boeing. I have had assurances from the company that Prestwick is an integral part of the Airbus supply chain and will continue to be a key supplier to Airbus under any new owner. Aviation is critical to UK and Scottish GDP, and we should all be proud that it is an industry where the UK leads. I am proud that so much of it is in Central Ayrshire, where there is the potential to do much, much more. I come from an ordinary working-class family from my constituency. My mum progressed from working in a factory to representing people at mental health tribunals as a lay advocate. My dad lost his job in the ’80s and became a council binman—a job he was proud of. With great teachers and support, I have had incredible opportunities, including a life-changing chance to study piano at the junior school of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music, and latterly being the UK’s trade commissioner in south Asia, working with brilliant British, Indian and Bangladeshi colleagues to bring some tens of thousands of jobs to the UK and billions of pounds of investment. With the Scotch Whisky Association, I helped secure a 50% reduction in tariffs on Scotch in the state of Maharashtra. I was delighted to find out that Ardagh Glass in Irvine makes much of the glass that the Scotch whisky market exports around the world. But on returning to my community to stand as their MP, I was shocked. Far too many people were struggling, including the woman in Springside who said she turned off her freezer and cried every night from hunger, the man in Girdle Toll who said that he spent much of his life savings on knee surgery rather than waiting in agony, and the family in Troon who have been waiting two decades to access social housing and have given up hope. Grandparents and parents were asking from where their children’s jobs would come. I blame failed policies and failed politicians for this poverty and lack of opportunity. That is why I was proud to campaign for a Labour Government led by my right hon. and learned Friend the Prime Minister to deliver jobs and bring down bills with GB Energy, increase funding to our NHS and schools, and ensure that the lives of working people across the whole country improve. From sport and culture to trade and enterprise, this Government will turn struggle into hope and hard work into real opportunity. I have seen the difference that having opportunities makes. I was particularly happy this week to address a group of young people from north Ayrshire who had been inspired by Parliament’s Education Centre and by the chance to stand as an MP in this place—I just hope that not too many of them will do it soon. I thought that representing the UK around the world was the best job I could have had, but representing the families of Central Ayrshire will be the privilege of my life.