Elaine Stewart MP: speeches

Speeches

• 7 May 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q11. Last month’s data showed that NHS waiting lists in Wales fell for three months in a row. In England, the waiting lists have fallen for six months in a row. In Scotland, after nearly 20 years in charge, the SNP Government have left our NHS on its knees. Instead, remarkable acts of charity from rock legend Rod Stewart are helping people to get the care they need. Does the Prime Minister agree that Scotland needs a new direction so that my constituents in Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock do not rely on charity for their healthcare?

• 24 Apr 2025 · Co-operation with Devolved Governments · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that this Labour Government’s plan for change has helped to deliver 1,500 more GPs to help stop the 8 am rush and that the Scottish Government should work with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to look at how the SNP-run health service in Scotland could learn from such action?

• 7 Jan 2025 · NHS Waiting Times · Hansard source

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  6. What steps his Department is taking to help reduce NHS waiting times.

• 7 Jan 2025 · NHS Waiting Times · Hansard source

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  Almost one in six Scots is stuck on an NHS waiting list. People are borrowing money and remortgaging their homes to go private, because they cannot bear the pain. With an SNP Government who have abandoned the principles of an NHS free at the point of entry, does my right hon. Friend agree that Scotland’s health service needs a new direction?

• 12 Dec 2024 · LGBT Veterans: Etherton Review · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for giving an update to the House. I also thank him for showing a clear understanding of the hurt and pain suffered by LGBT veterans over the years. It is important to acknowledge that no amount of financial compensation will ever wipe the painful memories away. However, these are clear steps towards cleaning the stain on our nation that these violations have caused. As Lord Etherton says in his independent report, the failure to get this right “risks prolonging the sense of injustice rather than achieving closure.” This debate, of course, goes beyond financial redress. It is about correcting an injustice lived by veterans who lost their livelihood and their place in society. It is about acting to repair long-lasting damage that cost many men and women their physical and mental health. It is about giving people back their sense of pride and freedom. They defended our freedoms, while we were denying them their own. One such individual is a constituent of mine whom I sat with in November as he explained the very real horrors he suffered. He joined the Royal Navy in October 1979 shortly before his 17th birthday. He trained originally as a naval airman, and then later as a marine engineer. In 1982, after three years in service, he was accosted in the middle of the night by four military police, placed in a blacked-out van and taken to the Royal Navy hospital, Stonehouse. There, he was forced to strip and was subjected to what he calls “an invasive medical procedure” carried out by Royal Navy doctors. In front of an audience of military police, this physical abuse was just the start. With his uniform given to forensics, he was issued a dirty dressing gown, driven to a cell block and placed in a strip cell. He encountered silent guards. He was given his meals on the floor. He was accompanied to the toilet and to the showers. The silence continued for three days. My constituent was never offered any legal advice, nor any legal representation. He was interrogated several times by senior officials, who told him they saw him as a threat to other servicemen because of his homosexuality. He was told he would be detained until such time as they believed it safe to release him. He was not charged with any offence, nor was he aware of when he would be released. For 20 days, he was consigned to a strip cell with the light permanently on, and with silent guards banned from talking to him. During that time, my constituent’s father contacted the Ministry of Defence in London to say that his sister, who had leukaemia, was now being kept on a life support machine. His father wanted to give him his chance to say goodbye, but was told he was at sea. When my constituent was released into the custody of the regulating branch of HMS Drake, he was told his sister had passed away. Months went by and, while not detained, my constituent was classed as an “offender at large”. On 28 March 1983, without warning, every available rating and officer not on duty at HMS Drake was ordered to gather in the gym. Alongside others who had also previously been detained for being homosexual, he was ordered to dress in full dress uniform. They were then marched into the gym. There, in front of an audience of hundreds, an officer with sword drawn stood in front of him and removed his cap. The captain of HMS Drake read out numerous charges in full graphic detail—charges that had never been put to him. His description of the shouts, insults and threats from a baying crowd was awful to listen to. No attempt was made to silence the crowd. He was then dismissed from the service with immediate effect. He was handed his civilian clothes and dumped on the streets of Plymouth far from home with £54 to his name. The long-lasting effects of that experience were—his word—“catastrophic”. Drug and alcohol addiction plagued his life for almost 30 years, with a vicious cycle of precarious work and unemployment. At this point, I want to quote directly from him: “I carried with me a sense of great shame, for not only was being gay seen as criminal still in the armed forces, but something you were almost forced to declare you had been dismissed for from the armed forces every time you applied for work. Further to this, I spent those 30 years of self-destruction believing I deserved the treatment I received, for I had been caught and as such blamed myself for the mess my life became.” Only 30 years later has he been able to recover a sense of pride, self-worth and self-confidence. He subsequently went to university and gained a first-class honours degree in English literature and creative writing, and recently obtained a master’s research degree in English literature, both at the University of Chester. That is just a snapshot—a small part of the physical and mental health impacts that the LGBT ban had on my constituent’s life. We have an opportunity to bring an honourable end to this dishonourable attack against members of our own armed forces. The way LGBT armed forces personnel were treated does not reflect today’s armed forces. I welcome the fact that Lord Etherton and the Ministry of Defence have worked together with an incredible community of veterans to achieve this announcement today. Finally, I urge the Government to continue to work with the community to promote the scheme and ensure that every veteran affected by the ban receives the compensation they deserve.

• 5 Sept 2024 · Great British Energy Bill · Hansard source

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  I begin by congratulating the previous speaker, the hon. Member for Caerfyrddin (Ann Davies), on making an excellent maiden speech. I also congratulate all new Members who have made interesting and inspiring contributions today. I am delighted to be making my maiden speech as part of the debate on the Great British Energy Bill. GB Energy will, of course, be headquartered in Scotland. With clean energy infrastructure already in place and the workforce to match, Ayrshire would be an ideal setting. However, regardless of where it is located, GB Energy will create thousands of jobs and deliver energy security and lower prices for consumers throughout the UK. As it is customary, it is right that I pay tribute to my direct predecessor, Allan Dorans, who served his constituents well through the last five years. Politics aside, it is important to acknowledge the hard work and dedication that is asked of us elected Members. We carry out our duties and represent all constituents to the best of our ability. In his maiden speech, my predecessor said he hoped that voters in Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock would never again elect an MP to go to Westminster. On that point, I am glad to say he was wrong. I also pay tribute to my Labour predecessor, Sandra Osborne. Sandra was the first Labour and first woman MP for Ayr, from 1997 until 2015. Sandra was an outstanding MP and is still remembered fondly by many throughout the constituency. I also pay tribute to her predecessor as MP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, George Foulkes, who now sits in the other place as Lord Foulkes of Cumnock. Madam Deputy Speaker, allow me to say a few words about my constituency of Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock. It runs all the way from Pinwherry to my beloved Dalmellington, with many rural and coastal towns and villages in between. Ayr is the county town of Ayrshire and hosts vital services such as Ayr university hospital and the University of the West of Scotland campuses, as well as a first-class racecourse that hosts the Scottish grand national. The constituency is also famous as the birthplace of Scotland’s national bard, Robert Burns. Robert Burns is a global icon. His poems and songs are renowned across the world. It would be difficult to pin Burns down on his politics, but our shared admiration for the red, red rose fills me with quiet confidence. Carrick lies to the south of the constituency. Maybole and the seaside town of Girvan both look out on to the Ailsa Craig—yes, I have an island, too. Ailsa Craig is famous for granite, which is quarried to make curling stones worldwide. There is a joke that Scottish women make champion curlers because they are used to sweeping around dead weights. Cumnock and Doon Valley consists of former mining areas, and Cumnock was a home to Keir Hardie, the founder of the Labour party. When critics take a pop at the Labour party, they say, “Keir Hardie would turn in his grave.” They do not realise that he was, in fact, cremated in Maryhill in Glasgow. A fine marble bust of Keir Hardie sits outside Cumnock town hall. It is a popular spot for a photo for leading Labour figures visiting the area. Even Michael Portillo felt obliged to have his picture taken for his travel documentary. He, too, will be happy that this Government have been so quick to act to improve the great British railways. When hon. Members decide to travel to my constituency, they will also find the magnificent Dumfries House in Cumnock. Saved by an intervention in 2007 from the Prince of Wales, now His Majesty King Charles, the project has developed much-needed educational, research and employment opportunities across the area, with great success. There are many gems to be found across the constituency. However, my fond memories are of growing up in a small village called Dalmellington and being born and raised in Bellsbank, as part of a scheme built to house the miners moving into the area. Picnics at the spectacular Loch Doon, pit parties with all the miners’ weans and playing kerby in the street—it was a simple life, but filled with joy. I am the proud daughter of a miner and an NHS worker. Given that, I was delighted to stand on a manifesto to end the injustice of the mineworkers’ pension scheme, and I was proud to ask about that very issue in my first question to the Government yesterday. As the youngest of four siblings, times were tough growing up in our house—it was a case of first up, best dressed. These humble beginnings make my journey to this place even more remarkable. The journey was made easier by my two beautiful children, who have supported me all the way. My friends keep me grounded every day, and I thank them for that. I have always been keen to push and challenge myself, which is why I decided at the age of 18 to move to New York, where I worked as an au pair. If someone had told my younger self where I would be standing today, I simply would not have believed it. The odds were stacked against me—back then, the glass ceilings were still very much in place. Around that time, I assume a young Kamala Harris felt the same. Thankfully, progress has been made. I am thrilled to sit as an MP in this place alongside a record number of women. I am thrilled to see a Government with a record number of women in Cabinet. I am thrilled that this Government have appointed the first female Chancellor in history. Yes, progress has been made. In November, I am sure that the whole House will welcome the prospect of yet another glass ceiling being smashed in the world of politics. I returned from the United States to become a youth worker. Through my work in the third sector, on projects such as the Zone initiative and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, I have supported communities to help them flourish. Over the years, I have worked tirelessly in those communities to give children and young people the opportunity to socialise and to champion them. It is about providing vital training and employment opportunities to deprived areas. My work in this place and in my constituency will continue in the same vein, as it always has—supporting communities through public service. My direct experience of how local communities are suffering is exactly why I am standing here today. The chance to change the lives of people, who are often vulnerable and feeling left behind, is a passion that lies deep in my soul. I will end with this: the day before his tragic, untimely death, the late leader of the Labour party John Smith ended his last speech by saying: “The opportunity to serve our country—that is all we ask.” I promise to serve my constituency to the best of my ability.