Alison Taylor MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Sept 2026 · Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Airspace modernisation has been consulted on in Scotland. Will the Secretary of State do everything she can to ensure that the Scottish airspace modernisation programme remains a priority for NATS?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that excessive drop-off charges can lead to dangerous behaviour around airports? The other day, I observed a taxi dropping off passengers in one of the lanes on the one-way system around Glasgow international airport, and I know that passengers are being dropped off further afield; they then have to walk along the side of the one-way system. Has my hon. Friend experienced difficulties like that in her constituency?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  The UK aviation sector is one of the best in the world. Glasgow international airport, in my constituency, has recently been very successful in attracting new routes. Can the Secretary of State confirm that further such expansion will not be hindered by slow regulatory frameworks?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  On the issue of connectivity to airports, my hon. Friend and I have discussed in the past the fact that there is no rail link to Glasgow International airport. In fact, it is possible to get a train from Glasgow Central station to Manchester airport but not from Glasgow Central station to Glasgow airport. Does she have any comment to make on that matter?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that if there are to be drop-off charges, then at the very least they should be increased only in line with inflation? At Glasgow airport, the increases since 2019 have way outstripped the cost of living and the normal rate of increases in line with inflation.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Strait of Hormuz · Hansard source

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  My constituents in Paisley and Renfrewshire North are feeling the impact of higher energy and petrol prices, and they will appreciate the efforts that my hon. Friend’s Department is making. Would he agree that military action by the world’s superpowers is risking a return to pricing instability, and that all efforts must be made to cease military activities?

• 1 Sept 2026 · Strait of Hormuz · Hansard source

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  6. What steps his Department is taking with international partners to help protect freedom of navigation through the strait of Hormuz.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment · Hansard source

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  I did not have the privilege of meeting Sir David Amess, but I do remember the sense of shock across the country at his murder. He was clearly a man of deep convictions and determination to serve his country and his constituents. My heart goes out to his family and all those who knew him. They are in my thoughts and prayers today. As our neighbours across the Atlantic are reflecting on the 250th anniversary of their nation, I am reminded of America’s great leader Abraham Lincoln and his words at Gettysburg, where he described those who died fighting in the civil war as having given their “last full measure of devotion”. It seems fitting that the same description can be applied to Sir David, and to Jo Cox before him: they gave their last full measure of devotion. They gave everything they had to their constituency and their country. It falls to us to honour their loss and to rededicate ourselves to the service of our country. Like other hon. Members, I was deeply shocked to learn of the murder of the former Member Ann Widdecombe. When I was a newly elected MP, a constituent came to me with an issue that led me to contact Ann; she was incredibly kind and generous with her time. I record my deepest condolences to her family and friends. Serving my constituents of Paisley and Renfrewshire North is the greatest privilege of my life. I am grateful to Mr Speaker for all that he has done to help us do our work safely. For several years, I have served on the Labour-led Glasgow commission, exploring barriers and opportunities for the Greater Glasgow region. One inescapable conclusion from that work is the need for strategic, ambitious planning in transport, infrastructure and culture. I look at what has been achieved in Manchester as an illustration of what can be done with ambition and positivity. For example, Manchester is well served with an integrated transport network. My constituents can take a train to Manchester airport—they can even take a train to the less frequented Prestwick airport—but they cannot take a train to Glasgow airport, hampering access for both travellers and workers. Bus franchising has transformed commuting and leisure travel across Manchester, while Glasgow—one of the first places to have an underground system—has seen no expansion of that network and little thought on integrated transport. My constituency includes Glasgow airport, and significant industrial and high-tech manufacturing, which is constrained not by its ambition but by the lack of ambition for two decades of an SNP-controlled Scottish Government. Following the publication of the strategic defence review, I will be convening a roundtable with defence-related businesses in my constituency to explore how, together, we can play a part in the challenges ahead. For members still planning a holiday, may I highlight some of the delights of Paisley, Glasgow and Renfrewshire, all of which I represent a part of? A Renfrewshire museum holds one of only a handful of copies of the beautifully illustrated “Audubon’s Birds of America”. Previous important visitors to Paisley include John Witherspoon, the only clergyman to sign the US declaration of independence, and former President Ronald Reagan, who had roots in the area. In fact, American influence radiates across Renfrewshire, which hosts a nine acre indoor leisure and entertainment zone at Braehead. We also have the Grid, which is aimed at children of all ages.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Two pupils from Trinity high school in Renfrew in my constituency recently won a public speaking competition run by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the winners, Navya Joshi and Clara Boyd, and the school on their fantastic success?

• 16 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Would the Minister encourage the Government’s traffic commissioner for Scotland to build on the remarkable success of bus franchising in Manchester, and work with the Scottish Government to emulate the success of Manchester’s Bee Network in my constituency of Paisley and Renfrewshire North?

• 14 Jul 2026 · Extreme Heat: Preparedness · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay) for raising such an interesting and timely topic as extreme heat. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. We were warned more than 20 years ago that extreme temperatures would be the consequence of uncontrolled greenhouse gas emissions, and what did we do? Not enough. Not enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and not enough to adapt to climate change. Across the UK, new high temperatures are being set. In my constituency, the highest temperature was recorded at a mere 26.7°C in 2018, but I would not be surprised if that were surpassed soon. What used to be a one in 100 or 200 event has, as we were warned, now become the new normal. While we ask ourselves how to get through this summer, I gently suggest that we need to heed the warnings of climate scientists and think about what the heat map of Europe and the UK will look like over the next 20 years. Short-term fixes such as air-conditioning will set the average household back several thousand pounds, but also add to the demand for energy. As a regular visitor to London these days, I can see how much more extreme the heat is here compared with in my constituency of Paisley and Renfrewshire North. My constituency benefits from a more northern latitude, wide open spaces, lower population, lower density and a mix of urban and rural areas. My constituency will always be cooler than London, at least on the thermometer. Having missed the opportunity over the past 20 years, we need to look forward, with short-term relief and long-term strategies to retrofit buildings, emphasising design and construction techniques that reduce the impact of extreme heat, and to look to the circular economy. We need to consider embodied carbon in buildings, the topic of last night’s interesting Adjournment debate from the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns). As I mentioned last night, local authorities need to look at how buildings are demolished, so that cleared sites do not hypothetically hold embodied carbon and are not adversely affected by industry benchmarks, such as the Building Research Establishment environmental assessment method—BREEAM points are impacted by poor and thoughtless demolition practices. In conclusion, I stand ready to help the Government meet our 2030 and 2050 targets on climate change and greenhouse gases.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Embodied Carbon: Buildings · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for giving such a thoughtful speech, and for leading this debate. As a chartered surveyor, I advised on some of Scotland’s first carbon-neutral developments. Does she agree that developers purchasing cleared sites often struggle to get the appropriate building research establishment environmental assessment method accreditation, due to shortcuts being taken by the previous owners of the sites during the demolition process?