Ian Murray MP: speeches

Speeches

• 4 Dec 2024 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place as the new shadow Secretary of State for Scotland and as a shadow Energy Minister—he has something in common with the right hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn), the leader of the SNP in this House, who also aspires to have two jobs. Unlike the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie), I have actually run my own business, so I know that running a business needs stability, credibility and confidence. The previous Government crashed the economy, leaving it in tatters, and left business confidence at a record low. We are investing for the future, and businesses back that.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Autumn Budget: Discussions with Scottish Government · Hansard source

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  Of course, I could not agree more. It is not just the £4.9 billion, but all the other investment that the UK Government made outside the Barnett consequentials. The Labour Government have delivered billions of pounds more for schools and hospitals in Scotland. It is more money than ever before, but the SNP MPs voted against it. They voted to deny Holyrood its biggest ever Budget settlement by voting against the Finance Bill last week, but of course they will happily spend it in their Budget today. They also voted against Great British Energy, which will be based in the SNP leader’s own constituency. Given what we have read about the SNP’s selection processes, I guess the SNP MPs are keener to send themselves to Holyrood than billions of pounds of extra funding.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Autumn Budget: Discussions with Scottish Government · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question; he is absolutely correct. The UK Budget chose investment over decline, including investment directly in my hon. Friend’s constituency as part of the £200 million towns fund, as well as the biggest Budget settlement in the history of devolution. He is also right to say that our hospitality businesses need the rates relief more than ever. The Scottish Government should use their Budget to deliver growth and investment to help our high streets, and passing on the relief should be the bare minimum.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Autumn Budget: Discussions with Scottish Government · Hansard source

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  What the hon. Gentleman has just proved is that the winter fuel payment in Scotland is actually devolved.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Autumn Budget: Discussions with Scottish Government · Hansard source

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  We have reset the relationship with the Scottish Government, and I have met the Deputy First Minister numerous times to discuss the autumn Budget and other issues. Between the moment when my right hon. Friend the Chancellor stood up and the moment when she sat down, Scotland was better off to the tune of £4.9 billion in Barnett consequentials alone—again, money that the SNP voted against, but will spend today. I encourage the Scottish Government to use that money to strengthen frontline services, bring down NHS waiting times and lift attainment in our schools. There can be no more excuses. We ended austerity, and it is time that they followed.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Autumn Budget: Discussions with Scottish Government · Hansard source

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  No projects have been cancelled. The Perth deal is under consideration by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Treasury. It has not been cancelled; it has merely been paused. The hon. Gentleman should speak to his colleagues in the Scottish Government, who have £4.9 billion extra in Barnett consequentials to spend today. Perhaps he could even have a chat with some of his colleagues sitting next to him, who seem happier in Holyrood than they are here.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Economic Growth: Scotland · Hansard source

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  I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman was keen to ask a question, given that he did not apply for one in the shuffle—nor did any other SNP Member. It is also surprising that he, with all his experience in the House, wants to spend his time in this new Parliament defending the previous Tory Government’s reckless gambles with the economy.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Economic Growth: Scotland · Hansard source

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  The best way to keep the United Kingdom together is to make sure that this is a successful UK Labour Government, and that is what we are determined to do. May I point the hon. Gentleman to the row in front of him? There are nine SNP MPs left, and we have 37 Scottish Labour MPs. That is how we protect the Union.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Economic Growth: Scotland · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman had a second opportunity to apologise for the Conservative party crashing the economy, and the dreadful £22-billion black hole that we inherited, which was hidden from the Office for Budget Responsibility. I ask the shadow Secretary of State to reflect on that before he asks his questions. Of course, he will not have long to wait to find out, as the Chancellor will be here shortly.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Economic Growth: Scotland · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has been a doughty campaigner for the Drumchapel project. She will not have long to wait, as the Chancellor will come to the Dispatch Box shortly and announce the Budget. I am hopeful that all these projects, including some of the anti-poverty projects that my hon. Friend has championed for years in her constituency, come to pass.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Economic Growth: Scotland · Hansard source

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  I welcome my hon. Friend to his place. The Budget, which will be announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor shortly, will herald a new era of investment and growth in Scotland. In our first 100 days, we announced the headquarters of GB Energy in Aberdeen, launched the national wealth fund and announced the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Economic Growth: Scotland · Hansard source

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  I thought the shadow Secretary of State was just describing his previous Government.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Economic Growth: Scotland · Hansard source

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  We do not agree with the Scottish Government on everything—or, indeed, very much at all—but Scots expect us to work together to produce results, and that is what we have tried to do. Yesterday I had my regular meeting with the Deputy First Minister, and this morning I spoke to the Finance Secretary ahead of the Budget. Economic growth is a key area, and I am delighted to highlight shared work on energy, our bringing the Commonwealth games to Glasgow, and the jointly funded £100-million package for the Falkirk and Grangemouth growth deal. Our long- term economic strategy requires the Governments to work together. The Prime Minister and the First Minister have been clear that that is what we are determined to do.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Space Sector: Scotland · Hansard source

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  I was delighted to speak at the Space-Comm expo last month in Glasgow, where I met a wide range of industry members, both national and international, and recently I was fortunate enough to visit the SaxaVord spaceport in Shetland, where I saw wonderful progress. I have also met representatives of Orbex in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, and will continue to champion Scotland’s spaceports, including in Sutherland in his constituency.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Space Sector: Scotland · Hansard source

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  Scotland will be central to the space sector, and I very much welcome the question. We will fully back the space sector, as I said to the Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone). The Minister for Science has been to the UK Space Agency’s new office in Edinburgh, and the Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms has met Orbex. I have met Orbex and been to Unst in Shetland to visit the spaceport up there. We will fully back this; of course, its potential reaches to infinity and beyond.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Space Sector: Scotland · Hansard source

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  Elgin is certainly not the final frontier, so I would be very happy to visit. The Minister for Science recently visited the UK Space Agency’s new office in Edinburgh, and during that visit, he echoed my sentiments about the importance of Scotland’s space sector. The Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms has recently met Orbex as well, and I will remain in close contact with my ministerial colleagues to ensure that we back the sector. I am very happy to visit when ministerial time allows.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Inward Investment: Scotland · Hansard source

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  The No. 1 benefit to my hon. Friend’s constituents in Airdrie and Shotts will be that they have him for their Member, championing them. I am pleased by his welcome for our approach. Airdrie and Shotts has a rich industrial heritage, and a modern industrial strategy will reignite the industrial and technological potential in all our communities. The national wealth fund and Great British Energy will help rebuild Scotland’s industrial base. We want Scotland to be the most attractive part of the UK to invest in, and we will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government to make that a reality. I could not put it better than my hon. Friend did: pro-worker, pro-business and pro-growth—that is this Government.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Inward Investment: Scotland · Hansard source

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  I welcome my hon. Friend to his place; it was a wonderful election result in his constituency of Airdrie and Shotts. Investment in the UK to drive growth is the Government’s No. 1 priority, and we have already started delivery on it. Just this month, we hosted an international investment summit, at which we announced £63 billion of shovel-ready investment across the UK. That includes the likes of Greenvolt’s £2.5 billion investment in Scotland and Iberdrola’s £24 billion investment in green energy. We also announced this week that Glasgow will host the Commonwealth games, which will bring £100 million to the city.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Inward Investment: Scotland · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman will not have to wait long. The Budget is in about an hour’s time, and the Chancellor will lay out all the spending plans in that Budget. The biggest impact on his constituency of Dundee will of course be made by GB Energy, given what that will do to our green energy system; it makes me very surprised that nobody from the SNP voted to back the Bill last night.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Government Industrial Strategy: Scotland · Hansard source

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  I have never known the right hon. Gentleman to be angry or disappointed, but I share his anger and disappointment. This Government back our industry. Nuclear will be a major part of the energy mix going forward, and we need to ensure that we have the right balance. GB Energy has been set up, and the related Bill passed Third Reading yesterday. I am disappointed that neither he nor the SNP voted for it, but that is the vehicle through which we will take these issues forward.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Government Industrial Strategy: Scotland · Hansard source

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  The crisis that we inherited from the previous Government is not just fiscal but industrial, because neither the previous Government nor the SNP had any proper industrial strategy for Scotland. Our industrial strategy will deliver certainty and stability, which businesses need in order to invest in the high-growth sectors that will drive long-term sustainable economic growth. Well-paid jobs are at the heart of our modern industrial strategy, which is complemented by our plan to make work pay. Our strategy is clear: as a Government, we are pro-business and pro-worker.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Government Industrial Strategy: Scotland · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend mentions “Outlander”, which was filmed in Bathgate and Linlithgow, as well as the Lockerbie bombing film starring Colin Firth. The film “Damaged” is in production there. It stars Samuel L. Jackson—I hope he did a few leaflets for her while he was in her constituency. The creative industries are a jewel in Scotland and the UK’s crown, and there is the independent film tax credit announced earlier this week by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Films with distinct homegrown content and talent meet the criteria for that new relief. Productions eligible for the tax break must have a UK writer or director, or be certified as an official UK co-production. That shows that this Government are determined to back our creative industries, and to continue to grow our film and TV industries.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Council of Nations and Regions · Hansard source

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  I hope that, in a later question, the shadow Secretary of State will apologise at the Dispatch Box to the country for crashing the economy, and to pensioners for what has happened to them as a result.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Council of Nations and Regions · Hansard source

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  I was delighted to attend the Council of Nations and Regions, held in a Labour constituency in Edinburgh. I can assure my hon. Friend that our manifesto said “no return to austerity”, and that is what we are determined to deliver.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Council of Nations and Regions · Hansard source

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  I thought that, with a full House, the shadow Secretary of State would have taken the opportunity to apologise for his Government not only crashing the economy, but leaving a £22 billion black hole. That is something this Government are determined to clean up. [ Interruption. ]