Christine Jardine MP: speeches

Speeches

• 27 Feb 2025 · Church of Scotland: Declining Congregations · Hansard source

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  Scotland’s Churches Trust estimates that the Church of Scotland could lose 30% of its churches in the coming years. St Andrew’s in Clermiston in my constituency could be one of them. It celebrated its 70th anniversary this year, but could face closure because of declining congregations and lower incomes. That threatens a valuable community space that is particularly used by vulnerable and elderly people. Can the Second Church Estates Commissioner outline how the Church of England could work with the Church of Scotland to share best practice on managing churches with smaller congregations to preserve those valuable community spaces?

• 27 Feb 2025 · Church of Scotland: Declining Congregations · Hansard source

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  6. If the commissioners will have discussions with their counterparts in the Church of Scotland on support for places of worship with declining congregations.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Draft Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Amendment) (Provision of Information) Order 2025 · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I do not intend to say much, but it is important to have it on the record that the Liberal Democrats support the draft order, too. There should be no obstacle so great that we do not try to overcome it in protecting our children and vulnerable groups. This is an important step in that.

• 25 Feb 2025 · Draft Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance) (Consequential Modifications) Order 2025 · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Hobhouse. I intend to speak very briefly because, although I do not disagree with some of the comments made by the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, it was agreed some time ago that this order should happen. While we may have reservations about how it could develop, we have to recognise the achievement of our two Governments in reaching agreement on introducing this new Scottish benefit. Historically it is something for which Liberal Democrats have advocated, because we believe in policies that promote social equality and support for individuals with disabilities. This order ensures a smooth transition from DLA to SADLA, maintains the entitlements and legal protections for recipients in Scotland at its heart, and aligns Scottish disability assistance with the social security system, separate from UK-wide benefits like the personal independence payment. If we believe in devolution and that decisions should be made at the point at which they are closest and most relevant to the community, then this is a move forward and it is something we should welcome and support.

• 13 Feb 2025 · LGBT+ History Month · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure and an honour to follow the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen). I concur with everything she said about the work being done by the Women and Equalities Committee. It is important to recognise where we stand in history, because when we talk about LGBTQ rights, women’s rights or racial equality in this place, we often talk about the journey that we have been on and what we have achieved. Yes, we have achieved a lot, but we face enormous challenges at this moment in our history. Our country’s LGBTQ community need to look at us today and know that we will stand up for them and that we will fight for their rights, including their right simply to be who they are. But we have faced challenges before, and we have overcome them. I think of Scotland, particularly my home city of Glasgow, where I was brought up. In the 1970s, and when I was a student in the 1980s, it had unfortunately garnered for itself the unenviable reputation of being one of the worst places in Europe to grow up gay. Attitudes were somehow more polarised in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK. In 1957, a poll showed that more than 80% of Scots did not want homosexuality to be decriminalised; the figure was 51% in England. In preparing for this debate, I found an article in a 1982 student newspaper from the University of Liverpool, whose student union disaffiliated with the University of Glasgow because it refused to allow a gay society to form. According to the union president, that refusal was on the ground that the age of consent for homosexual sex was 21 and, given that most students were younger than 21, the union did not want to “give the impression that the Union in some way bestows an unofficial blessing on their activities… many members of the Gay Society are not interested in a constructive approach to changing the membership’s attitude…but using this as a ploy to gain momentum to destroy the character of the Union as we know it.” We hear an echo of that language today, but imagine how young LGBT people must have felt hearing and reading it. That was the kind of attitude they faced on a daily basis. And imagine if we had been able to tell them that, 40 years later, Glasgow would be in the top five places in Europe for LGBT people to visit and enjoy and that, despite those attitudes, a long, rich history has developed of the community across Scotland coming together to support each other. We have improved so much, as those figures show. Edinburgh Befrienders, later known as the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard, opened in 1974 and was the UK’s first bespoke helpline for gay and lesbian people—beating Switchboard, which still exists, by just one day. Edinburgh was also home to Scotland’s first LGBT bookshop, Lavender Menace, and in 1995 welcomed 3,000 people to Scotland’s first Pride march. It is now huge, the event of the year, and I have been privileged to speak at it twice. Of course, much of this change has been possible only because of public figures, including: former MPs such as Robin Cook, who equalised Scots law and English law on homosexuality; Val McDermid, whose 1987 novel “Report for Murder” featured Lindsay Gordon, Britain’s first fictional lesbian detective; and award-winning author Jackie Kay, the second woman and first lesbian to hold the post of Makar, Scotland’s national poet, and whose work has dealt with race, gender, transgender identities and her own sexuality. Thanks to such people and places, so many attitudes, laws and the understanding of LGBT+ people have changed for the better. The age of consent was finally equalised for gay and straight people in England, Scotland and Wales in 2000. Same-sex couples were recognised for the first time in 2004 with civil partnerships. In the same year, trans people gained formal recognition in law for the first time with the Gender Recognition Act. And 20 years ago, same-sex couples gained the right to adopt. My party, its politicians and activists played a key role in that fight. As for me, the fight for LGBT+ rights is not just another political issue but, like the fight for all human rights, is part of who I am, what I believe and what my party stands for. As has already been mentioned, it was thanks to the allyship and hard work of my noble Friend Baroness Featherstone that, in 2013, hundreds of thousands of campaigners and activists across the country finally had their voices heard with the achievement of marriage equality for same-sex couples. However, I sometimes think that focusing on the successes of the LGBT rights movement in the UK leads us to think that everything has been easy, that progress came without any great effort, and that it was quick and natural. We forget the negatives. We forget the fights we had to go through, and our country’s moments of shame. Shame is the only word for the treatment of gay men like Alan Turing, who was imprisoned, chemically castrated and shamed for his sexuality. Shame is the only word for the fact that, before 2000, anyone could be dismissed from the armed forces simply for being gay. Shame is the only word for the public distrust—indeed, hatred—that many gay men faced during the AIDS crisis. I grew up during that crisis, and the fear and stigma was sometimes palpable and, despite the public solidarity and support from many lesbian groups, it continued. And, of course, shame is the only word to describe the lasting impact of section 28 on a whole generation of young LGBT people who were not allowed to see themselves represented in schools or have appropriate protection from homophobic bullying. We may think that these negatives are all in the past, but in recent years we have seen horrible debates on LGBT rights, particularly trans rights, and they have become increasingly toxic. Many trans people see their identities denigrated, their experiences ignored and their lives sidelined in debates about their own rights and their own lives. Too many people forget that at the centre of these culture wars are real people who simply want to live their life and be left alone to be who they are. It is time that we moved the debate forward. It is time that we thought about the people and not the politics, by focusing on the solutions to the issues that the LGBTQ community still faces. We must tackle the growth in hate crime, the misogyny and objectification faced by lesbians, and the intersectional issues faced by black and minority ethnic or disabled LGBTQ people. I am delighted that we will hear about the Government’s draft conversion practices ban Bill soon. How can we support schools and businesses in eradicating homophobic and transphobic bullying and harassment? We have to think about how we can support trans people in accessing better support, and how we can help non- binary people to gain recognition in law. I hope that the Government will address all these points, and today I am more confident that they will. The hon. Member for Luton North mentioned her daughter as hope for the future. My daughter is considerably older—in her 20s. A couple of years ago, we went to Edinburgh to see a play, “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie”, about a young cross-dressing guy who wants to wear a dress to the prom, which causes all sorts of hassle. We went because I had seen the film and loved it. About halfway through the play, I began to find the audience more interesting. I realised that everybody under the age of about 35 or 40 was totally engaged in what was happening, cheering for Jamie and booing his opponents. It was great. Everybody over the age of about 60 looked stunned. They were looking round, thinking, “What’s going on?”. My daughter Mhairi and I came out and, as we walked along the road, I said, “Your generation really don’t care, do they?” . She said, “No, we don’t get it. We don’t know why it’s a problem, and we don’t know why politicians don’t see that.” I thought to myself, “This toxic argument, which we all want to end, will end, because the younger generation will not allow their peers to be punished for being who they are in the way that mine were.” I thank the Government for having this debate, and I thank everyone who is here. Please let us send the positive message that we will stand up and make sure that acceptance comes sooner.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Infected Blood Compensation Scheme · Hansard source

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  I thank the Paymaster General not only for his statement, but for the clarity and commitment in his answers. As he may remember from previous occasions in the Chamber, I have the personal experience of having lost a very close family friend in the 1990s who was a victim of this. His widow died without compensation, and his children are now among those waiting to hear what will happen. I thank the Minister for his application and commitment, but as others have mentioned, there remains the issue of speed and best practice going forward. He mentioned that he will simplify the process. Can we have updates from him in future on what the Government are doing to examine best practice, and how can future victims of such scandals be assured that they will not have to wait as long as 40 years?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q13. Every 22 minutes, a child in this country loses a parent or a loved one. That is 40,000 children every year facing a trauma that many of us here know can last a lifetime. Charities such as Winston’s Wish do a fantastic job providing support for young people, particularly when schools are closed or there is no one else to turn to. However, at the moment there is no simple way for the children to know about those charities or for the charities to contact the children. Will the Government back my private Member’s Bill this summer to enable that to happen? Will the Prime Minister meet me to discuss how we can ensure that another generation of children will not have to face that trauma?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Energy Infrastructure: Chinese Companies · Hansard source

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  (Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero if he will make a statement on the potential security implications of the involvement of Chinese companies, including Mingyang, in energy infrastructure projects.

• 12 Feb 2025 · Energy Infrastructure: Chinese Companies · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her comments and general reassurances, but there are specific concerns at the moment. China can produce what is useful to us for the development of renewables, particularly in the North sea, and we can benefit from those investments. China also needs access to our markets. However, security issues involving companies working in offshore renewable development have become apparent in recent weeks and have been raised numerous times. It has been reported that the Chinese company Mingyang is interested in producing turbines for a new project in the North sea. Around £60 million of Scottish Government funding has been earmarked for a wind turbine factory near Inverness, in addition to a potential £27 million for Orient Cable to provide subsea cables for island communities. That is despite the European Union bringing anti-trust cases against China and the Norwegian Government blocking Mingyang from its green infrastructure projects. Will the Minister reassure the House that the Department will follow the same rigorous processes to assess those risks as the previous Government, which ultimately blocked Huawei from the 5G network? This must include an assessment of any opportunities for remote access to the turbines, as the software will normally remain in the control of the manufacturers even once commissioned, leaving them vulnerable to being switched off. We need local control. Will the Department reassure the House that discussions are ongoing with the Scottish Government to ensure that no public money is invested before this risk assessment has taken place? How will Ministers work with the Scottish Government and Cabinet colleagues to ensure that offshore and undersea infrastructure is safe?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. The charity that organised the campaign “The Darker Side of Pink” estimates that 31 women lose their battle against metastatic breast cancer every day, which means that more than 20,000 have died since I first raised this matter two years ago during Prime Minister’s Question Time. What will the Government do to increase awareness, understanding, the availability of drugs and screening for women facing this challenge?

• 6 Feb 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

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  I welcome the commitment that the Minister has given the House and the determination to show our opposition to Trump’s disgraceful approach, but I am disappointed that she does not see this as the ideal moment to commit to recognising the state of Palestine. What is being done across Government to reassure the communities in this country who have suffered outrageous abuse since 7 October 2023?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Domestic Violence Prevention Services · Hansard source

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  We welcome the Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls, but a recent report from the National Audit Office makes grim reading, stating that one in 12 women are victims of violence every year and that there were more than 2 million victims in the year up to June 2024. It also suggests while there is a welcome focus on victims, we are not doing enough in terms of prevention. How will the Minister ensure that this mission will focus on education and prevention in schools as well as seeking to support every survivor, and is she speaking to the Scottish Government about co-ordination?

• 4 Feb 2025 · Apprenticeships · Hansard source

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  Order. Given the number of speakers, we will now have to move to two minutes per speech, unfortunately.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Apprenticeships · Hansard source

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  Order. Before the hon. Member responds, I remind Members that a lot of people want to get in on this debate, and we need to keep questions much shorter in order to do that.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Apprenticeships · Hansard source

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  I call the Opposition spokesperson, Rebecca Paul.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Apprenticeships · Hansard source

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  Order. Was there a question?

• 4 Feb 2025 · Apprenticeships · Hansard source

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  I remind Members to bob if they wish to be called in a debate. To get in all the speakers we have, please try to limit yourselves to three minutes. I call Peter Bedford—he is not here. Jim Shannon, please.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Apprenticeships · Hansard source

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  Order. We are out of time. I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, Max Wilkinson.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Apprenticeships · Hansard source

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  We are out of time. The hon. Member indicated at the start that he did not mind. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the value of apprenticeships and National Apprenticeships Week.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Six Nations Rugby Championship: Viewing Access · Hansard source

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  I will call Charlie Dewhirst to move the motion, and I will then call the Minister to respond. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, as is the convention for 30-minute debates.

• 30 Jan 2025 · Women’s Health Strategy · Hansard source

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  I am sure we all welcome the move to reduce waiting lists and recognise that the women’s health strategy is a 10-year plan. But given the enormous problems highlighted by the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) and my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Dr Chambers), does the Minister appreciate that, to many women who are having trouble accessing often fragmented gynaecological services, it will seem like a vital facility is about to be lost and that the Government’s promises of “never again” will sound hollow? What will the Government do to reassure all the women who are concerned about this move?

• 29 Jan 2025 · Rural Housing Targets · Hansard source

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  Order. I remind the hon. Member that we have less than two minutes before we have to move on to the Front-Bench spokespeople.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Rural Housing Targets · Hansard source

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  Before I call the Minister, I ask him to ensure that we have two minutes at the end for the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) to wind up.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Rural Housing Targets · Hansard source

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  Order. I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to be called in the debate. Please limit your remarks to five or six minutes.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Schools · Hansard source

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  Would the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) like to make some remarks? We will then move on to the Front Bench at eight minutes past.