Alison Taylor MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 17 Dec 2025 · Housing Development: Cumulative Impacts · Hansard source

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  Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that affordability is linked to supply and demand? That is part of the reason why the Government wish to increase the supply, which in turn will bring prices down.

• 17 Dec 2025 · Housing Development: Cumulative Impacts · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent speech. When it comes to young people wanting to get on to the housing ladder, does he agree that five cuts to interest rates is a good start for this Government? I also totally agree with the hon. Gentleman about more positivity in terms of working with local authorities to find solutions. After a 30-year career in property development, I know that development is never easy. It is about finding pragmatic solutions and working together, and there is a role for the MP to get involved, working with our local authorities.

• 17 Dec 2025 · Housing Development: Cumulative Impacts · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I am grateful to the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) for the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. First of all, the right hon. Gentleman spoke about supply, and eventually land prices will drop, given supply and demand. House builders are having to keep house prices up because they bought in at a higher land price, and we hope that supply increases will drive prices down. In my experience, there will always be compromise in development. It will need pragmatic and collegiate teamwork between local authorities and, I dare say, Members of Parliament. I will focus on a particular aspect of house building, which is jobs. The country needs more homes, more of the jobs that will be created, and the investment, infrastructure and services that come with that. The Environmental Audit Committee reported last month on its investigation into cumulative impacts, and I was privileged to participate in its comprehensive and cogent analysis. I particularly want to focus on the importance of jobs and careers in the house building sector. As well as jobs for tradespeople, there is also a need for planners, surveyors and ecologists. As many in this House know, I spent my career before Parliament as a surveyor, latterly involved in large, mixed-use sustainable brownfield development as a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. I have spoken before of the importance of skills, training and, especially, apprenticeships, which is unfortunately an area that the previous Government allowed to decline. Although the need for housing is urgent, it is clear that meeting that need comes with many challenges. Solving those challenges begins with understanding them and refocusing our effort to overcome them. I know from visiting West College Scotland in my constituency that local colleges are enthusiastic to meet the challenges of training and skills. They are ready to adapt and deliver, and they are resourceful and innovative. They will rise to the challenge of delivering the new skills and emerging approaches needed to assess and address the cumulative environmental impacts, managing data and collaborative working. Employers need confidence to recruit apprentices across the board, including many trade apprentices. I hope to see many more level 7 apprenticeships in planning, ecology and surveying skills. I have seen at first hand the value to employers of apprenticeships over traditional routes into surveying. I have seen young apprentices thrive in the workplace while making a real contribution to real projects alongside their learning. With the foundation of a good apprenticeship, the lives of hundreds of young people will be transformed. Although I appreciate how much more needs to be done to ensure that we protect the environment while building the houses our country needs, the rewards to the United Kingdom go well beyond building homes. Let us not forget the significant beneficial cumulative impacts of housing development.

• 16 Dec 2025 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  rose —

• 16 Dec 2025 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to contribute to this important debate. Members on both sides of the House have eloquently set out their views on the provisions of this Budget. From my own experience of running a small business, I empathise with entrepreneurs working hard to build something, to employ people and to be willing to take on the risk of building a business. In my constituency, as in many others, small businesses are an important part of the local community. Obviously, they provide a source of local employment. They make our high streets into destinations. Many of them lend their expertise to local charitable and social organisations in the community, including local sports teams and volunteer organisations. Paisley and Renfrewshire North benefits from the generosity of local businesses in lending expertise, making donations or providing sponsorship. This Budget provides a sure foundation for the services that our entrepreneurs need to establish their business. We need a firm foundation of laws, police to enforce them and courts to oversee the process. We need transport infrastructure and public transport by which workers and customers can get to work places or shops and deliveries can be made.

• 16 Dec 2025 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  As someone who used to be part of a small family business in Glasgow, I wonder whether the right hon. Gentleman agrees that stability in relation to inflation and corporation tax and reducing interest rates are equally important to a small family business.

• 16 Dec 2025 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point. We need a balance about fairness, and there are a lot of things in this Budget that will balance things out in the round, including all the investment in infrastructure. In Scotland, and in my constituency, that is really important for driving economic growth. We need a workforce with the education to produce our goods and services and to drive our business ecosystem forward. This Budget sets a fair balance between taxes and services, a fair balance between benefits and responsibilities, and a fair balance between meeting immediate needs and investing in the future. I know that people are still suffering the hangover from the last Government, and I hope that they will start to really feel the benefits of recovery from this Budget. Last week I was at the Paisley Christmas market. I expect it is quite like markets up and down the country: a mix of established local businesses and young and family entrepreneurs testing out a business idea, or making Christmas gifts or treats for a little extra income. In 2026 some of those stallholders will grow their businesses locally. Some will be taking steps in wider markets and new products, and my constituency of Paisley and Renfrewshire North is a suitable place to do that. Recently named Scotland’s town of the year, Paisley has a supportive infrastructure for new and growing businesses. New net zero commercial property developments across my constituency are making it one of the most welcoming places in the country to locate or grow a business. This Budget gives them a firm foundation on which to build. The Budget’s demonstration of the Government’s commitment to fiscal responsibility is keeping borrowing costs down and bringing much-needed stability to the economy. In education, we are focusing on skills and increasing the availability of apprenticeships. We are negotiating exciting trade deals across the world, attracting important new orders for ships to be built on the Clyde and so much more. I am in no doubt that much more still needs to be done, and I look forward to what my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and colleagues across Government can achieve in 2026.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. Before the people of Paisley and Renfrewshire North gave me the distinct honour of asking me to represent them, I had a substantial career in business. After qualifying as a chartered surveyor, I joined a practice in Glasgow. After a decade, I was given the opportunity to become the sole proprietor of that limited company, and I grew that business, doubling its staff and tripling its turnover. If I were starting out now, I would be grateful to this Labour Government for five interest rate cuts, reducing inflation, and ruling out another wasteful independence referendum in Scotland. I empathise with entrepreneurs who are working hard to build something and employ people, and who are willing to take the risk to build a business. I am not the first Member, and surely will not be the last, to remind this House of the words of the American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes: “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society”. When I owned my small business in Scotland, that business benefited from the actions of Government, which were paid for through taxation. Taxes are not simply a cost to business; they provide the very foundation on which businesses can succeed. I hear Conservative Members complaining endlessly about the cost of welfare, but let us be clear that almost every penny of every extra payment to the least well-off—almost every penny of any increase to the minimum wage—is a penny spent in our local communities. It will be spent on sustaining a household, putting food on the table or buying clothes for the kids. Almost every penny of extra spending will go through the cash registers of a local business, helping to sustain local jobs and supporting those local businesses; not one penny of it will go directly to an offshore tax shelter. This Budget has been a Labour Budget, but it has also been a Budget for growth. I look forward with optimism and confidence for the future, and I look forward to what more can be achieved in Budgets to come.

• 20 Nov 2025 · Migration: Settlement Pathway · Hansard source

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  I agree with the Home Secretary that fairness must be at the heart of the immigration system, but would she say a little more about the route to settlement for the Ukrainian families to whom my generous constituents opened their doors following the horrific invasion of their country?

• 11 Nov 2025 · Remembrance Day: Armed Forces · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure briefly to the debate today. May I associate myself with the words of other hon. Members, reflecting the respect and gratitude we have for servicemen and servicewomen, past and present, and of course, remembering all those who have been lost? Around the country, communities have been gathering around a cenotaph or a war memorial. In Renfrew in my constituency the war memorial stands all year round as a poignant reminder of their service. I therefore welcome the recent announcement by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport that a £2 million fund has been provided to restore war memorials across the UK, as many have fallen into disrepair. I will certainly be following up on that for my own constituency. Last week, it was a privilege to visit Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company in Bishopton. The company is a collaboration between the Royal British Legion and the military charity Erskine. I met veteran employees, many of whom had struggled to transition to civilian life and acquire gainful employment again. I heard at first hand about their journey from military to civilian careers, and was struck by how difficult some of them had found the experience and how brave they all were. Erskine was established in my constituency in 1916 and provides care, employment and housing to many ex-service personnel. Today, I wish to honour them and, on behalf of all my constituents, thank Erskine for all that it does. My constituency sits on the River Clyde, a strategic target during world war two and still home to many strategic defence assets and military personnel. I want every young man or women who makes the choice to serve to know that their service is respected and that we owe them a debt of gratitude and honour. In closing, I simply say to all of them: thank you for your service.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Property Taxes · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 3 Sept 2025 · Property Taxes · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that taxation is intrinsically linked to economic growth and that there are already green shoots of recovery in the economy, with three trade deals and five interest rate cuts?

• 2 Sept 2025 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill · Hansard source

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  I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, which includes the fact that I remain a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. My contribution is to assist the Secretary of State and the Government in ensuring that this important Bill will truly deliver on my right hon. Friend’s ambition for a transformative change in our communities—a vision that we share. Others in the House will want to articulate the advantages of devolving power and increasing strategic focus for the English regions, but I have expertise in commercial leases, so the House will forgive me for focusing on that one point. The Bill represents a crucial step in the vital work of promoting economic growth and opportunity for our communities. Our constituents will all have witnessed at first hand how the previous Government’s failure to promote growth and support economic activity has contributed to the decline in the wellbeing of our communities. I have spent 30 years in the commercial property industry and, as a result, numerous organisations and businesses have contacted me directly about the proposals to ban upwards-only rent reviews. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is already working to make lease terms, including about rent reviews, more transparent. Since 2020, the “Code for leasing business premises, England and Wales, 1st edition”, which includes advice on rent reviews, has been in place for chartered surveyors to adhere to when advising both landlords and tenants. The proposal to implement by legislation a universal ban on clauses within commercial leases for the provision of upwards-only rent reviews creates uncertainty for the funding of property development. My concern is that this legislation would apply to all commercial properties, not just high street retail or small business properties. As currently drafted, the Government’s proposals would impact high street retail, as well as all other commercial sectors. The ambition to protect high street retail and small businesses, particularly in tough economic conditions, is certainly not to be underestimated, and nor is it unwelcome. There is a surplus of vacant, unsuitable, poorly configured and energy-hungry retail units crying out for regeneration in most towns across the United Kingdom, including in the towns of Paisley, Renfrew and Erskine in my constituency, but I do not believe that it is just upwards-only rent reviews that are preventing the regeneration of our towns and cities. With my professional background, I can help to improve this technical aspect of the Bill in order to prevent unintended consequences for the Government’s growth agenda. I understand the desire to support small businesses on our high streets and I understand the pressures faced by those businesses because of difficult trading conditions. Property development can be the foundation stone of economic growth in our regional economies. My experience is that new sustainable development, in the right place, can be transformative, a source of jobs and training in construction, and a source of employment and opportunity in operation. New transformative sustainable development adds vitality to an area, acting as a spur to further development and wider investment. I know that all Members will intuitively feel that upwards-only rent reviews are unfair, but that is a simplistic view. Among the earliest pioneers of upwards-only reviews were the Church of England’s Church Commissioners, who implemented them to ensure certainty of income for the Church and remain among the largest landowners in the country. My concern is that the well-intended focus on the genuine problems of small business and the high street could have unintended consequences for the broader property development sector. In closing, I encourage my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to consider an amendment to the clause to ensure that it is focused where it is needed most, without impacting on all property sectors. I stand ready to help with that endeavour.

• 8 Jul 2025 · Alcohol and Cancer · Hansard source

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  In Scotland, we have minimum alcohol pricing per unit. Will the Minister and the APPG consider that when making future interventions?

• 2 Jul 2025 · Spending Review 2025: Scotland · Hansard source

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  I used to run a small business. Does the hon. Member acknowledge that interest rates and inflation also have a huge impact on small businesses?

• 2 Jul 2025 · Spending Review 2025: Scotland · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) for bringing us such a worthwhile debate. The spending review confirmed what we in Scottish Labour have known for a long time—the UK Government can be a positive force for good in Scotland. Soon after the general election, the Labour Government provided the largest real-terms block grant in the history of devolution to the Government in Scotland. The spring statement built on that by increasing direct funding to the Scottish Government and providing a substantial direct investment amounting to more than £9 billion extra for public services over the next three years. In my constituency, the Glasgow city region will see substantial investment in Renfrewshire, and in particular in the innovation district around Glasgow airport. I regularly meet innovative companies in my constituency, and they are ready to make use of that investment to create jobs and opportunities across the city region. Hard on the heels of the spring statement came the publication of the Government’s industrial strategy, which identifies a key growth opportunity for UK aerospace in securing a British engine position on the next generation of single-aisle aircraft. The Rolls-Royce factory in my constituency is set to play an important role in manufacturing the components for the engines, and that will secure high-value skills and jobs. The spending review delivered on the Government’s commitment to economic growth by tackling the long-term effects of low pay and low growth that have stymied Scotland’s ambitions for far too long. Is it too much to hope that the national Government in Edinburgh will take the opportunity of their final year in power to wake up to the opportunity that lies ahead?

• 2 Jul 2025 · Spending Review 2025: Scotland · Hansard source

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  I completely disagree with the hon. Gentleman. In my view, low growth in Scotland has been related to the threat of a second independence referendum, and I would put the blame for the low growth firmly in the hon. Gentleman’s hands. [ Official Report, 3 July 2025; Vol. 770, c. 6WC.] (Correction) I sincerely hope that the Scottish National party will wake up to that opportunity in its last year in government, but the last 18 years have offered little evidence that it will. A former Member of this House and a former First Minister, the right hon. Alex Salmond, was very fond of repeating these lines of Burns, although Members will excuse me if I do not deliver them as well as he did: “But facts are chiels that winna ding, An’ downa be disputed” These are the facts: 10,000 children live in temporary accommodation in Scotland; one in six Scots is on NHS waiting lists; Scottish GDP is trailing behind the rest of the UK by nearly £3,000 per person; and the SNP Scottish Government have overseen an unacceptable fall in educational attainment. In fact, their report card is a fail. The spending review puts an end to the excuses. With my apologies to John F Kennedy, the nationalists need to stop asking, “What can my country do for me?” and start asking, “What can I do for my country?” They need to stop asking, “How can we blame someone else?” and start asking, “How can we build a better life for the people of Scotland?” They need to stop calculating what they think will be best for the cause of separation, and start calculating how to use the opportunity of the spending review to get people the jobs they need and the future they deserve.

• 26 Jun 2025 · Aviation Sector · Hansard source

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  7. What steps she is taking to support the aviation sector.

• 26 Jun 2025 · Aviation Sector · Hansard source

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  Has the Minister had discussions with the Scottish Government on how best to use the substantial increase in the Scottish budget to support the aviation sector? In particular, what do the Government plan to do to make up for the lack of investment in connectivity around Glasgow international airport in my constituency?

• 26 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  On 5 July, Renfrewshire hosts the annual Sma’ Shot Day parade, as it celebrates the victory of weavers over their employers in the 19th century. For more than 30 years, Mr Tony Lawler, a Paisley Buddy, has led the procession, beating the Charleston drum. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Tony as he retires from the role, and does she agree that celebrating workers’ rights is a worthwhile topic for a future debate?

• 7 May 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister please give consideration to women’s safety in and around railway stations? Will she focus on unmanned railway stations? I have many in my constituency.

• 7 May 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  10. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Scientific and Regulatory Procedures: Use of Dogs · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for introducing the topic. This issue resonates deeply with many people across the country, including in my constituency, where the concern for animal welfare is strong and heartfelt. Dogs hold a deeply special place in British life. As someone lucky enough to share my home with one, I know the joy they bring: the quiet comfort, the loyalty and the unconditional love. They are more than pets—they are family. In 2023, thousands of dogs were used in the UK for experiments. Many were subjected to painful and frightening procedures. In some research labs, dogs have tubes pushed down their throats, sometimes three times a day, to force-feed them chemicals. It is called a procedure—but to dogs, it is just fear and pain. Using dogs in research is not just cruel; it is unreliable. More than 90% of drugs that pass animal tests still fail when they reach human trials. They either do not work or they are unsafe. In 2006, a trial in the UK for a new drug meant to treat leukaemia and arthritis had already been tested on monkeys and had not revealed any major side effects. When it was given to healthy human volunteers, however, within hours their bodies went into shock. They were left fighting for their lives and nearly died. That is not just a tragedy, but a warning. Those drugs were tested on animals first, but animal suffering does not prevent human suffering. We cannot keep pretending that what happens in a dog’s body will predict what happens in ours. Time and again, it does not. We need better science. A growing number of experts now call for a shift towards modern, human-relevant methods such as organ on a chip, 3D bio-printing and advanced computer modelling. Those are not dreams of the future; they are available now, and Britain should be leading the way. We are a nation known for scientific firsts, from the discovery of penicillin to mapping the human genome. We also pride ourselves on being a country of animal lovers. That combination gives us a unique opportunity and a responsibility to lead the world in building a better kind of research. This issue is not just a fringe concern; it speaks to public values, ethical urgency and a real chance to build science that is not just cutting-edge, but truly humane. The petitioners are looking for better science, kinder choices and British leadership in shaping a more compassionate future, and I welcome this debate.

• 25 Apr 2025 · Devolution (Immigration) (Scotland) Bill · Hansard source

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  Does my right hon. Friend agree that the state of the national health service in Scotland is contributing to the low birth rate in Scotland, and we need to invest in maternity, fertility and post-birth services for mothers?

• 25 Apr 2025 · Wickford Town Centre Regeneration · Hansard source

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  As a former chartered surveyor, with 30 years in commercial property before entering this place, I congratulate the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) on the very proactive approach he is taking in speaking to the numerous stakeholders. I think that is exactly the correct approach in such a situation.