Joani Reid MP: speeches

Speeches

• 13 Jan 2025 · Knife Crime · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer, and of course my sympathies also go out to that mother this weekend. Recently published data showed a sharp rise in serious violent crime in Scotland, particularly in our cities and towns. Too many of my constituents feel unsafe in East Kilbride town centre and the Village, particularly at night. Meanwhile, the SNP Government’s chronic underfunding of Police Scotland has resulted in officer numbers being at their lowest level since 2008. Does the Secretary of State agree that the SNP now has the funding in place to increase police numbers, and that protecting our community and citizens should be its priority?

• 9 Jan 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I recently met two special educational needs teachers in my constituency who are two of the thousands of teachers across Scotland who are owed millions of pounds in overpaid taxes. Unfortunately, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the 16 local authorities affected are at gridlock. Will the Leader of the House consider granting time for a debate so that we can help to overcome this intolerable situation for our valuable public sector workers?

• 9 Jan 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I sincerely thank the hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Sorcha Eastwood) for what was a moving, extraordinary and really brave speech—thank you very much indeed. The Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen), rightly said that this is a timely debate. It is timely, but the truth is that violence against women and girls has been a scourge on England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and beyond our islands since time immemorial, and it will take serious, calm and well thought through policies and a collaborative approach to tackle it. That is exactly what the Government are trying to bring. There should be no illusions about how serious a problem this is. Nor should we pretend, as some on the Conservative Benches have appeared to do in recent weeks, that it is a problem only for one culture or ethnicity. That alone will not remove the threat of sex-based violence. In fact, in most places in the UK, including in my constituency, it would be unlikely to make any difference at all to the threat that women and girls face from violent men. If we want to be serious about tackling the grooming that leads to such violence, we must recognise the role that social media companies play in monetising hatred, promoting extreme misogyny for profit and making a packet out of legitimising the exploitation of women. The Minister mentioned in her opening remarks the problem of toxic masculinity, which we all know is ubiquitous online. The profiteers of this hatred dress up their indulgence of extremism as free speech advocacy, but they are in fact consciously hoping to create a world in which women—particularly those who stand against the extreme hatred promoted on social media, which is based on sex and ethnicity—are cowed into submission. In this House, our speech is formally protected, and no billionaire can hope to launch a libel suit to shut us up, but that does not stop them trying to find other means that they hope will silence us—principally the mob. We have all been on the end of it. Every woman in this House knows that anything we say in here that challenges power and privilege can put us at risk in a way that is quantitively and qualitatively different from our male colleagues. There has been far too much admiration for the tech bros, and too little willingness to challenge abuse. I thank the Prime Minister and the Ministers for their robust words this week, which made me proud to be a Labour MP. I hope that they mark a departure from what we have seen, and that we will see many more such responses in future. We should do more to tackle the abuse that the tech industry has been allowed to get away with for so long. I associate myself with every word that my hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) said about the role that pornography plays, but I would add one piece of evidence that I find shocking. Eight-year-old boys regularly access pornography, and that has a well documented impact on violence against women and girls. I will take this opportunity to mention another area of tech that I think needs to be addressed: pimping websites, on which women’s bodies are freely advertised for sale to abusers. UK Feminista carried out a survey just before Christmas, and found that 368 women in my constituency of East Kilbride and Strathaven, and the surrounding area, were freely advertised online as for sale. That is legal. I know that many people argue that that is sex work, but as a socialist and a feminist, I remain wholly and utterly opposed to that dangerous idea. It is grotesque abuse and exploitation of vulnerable women, and it indicates to men that women are commodities to be bought and sold. Money should not make acts of physical abuse legal and lawful.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment, and I hope that we can work across the House to make that happen. My plea to Ministers is that they consider introducing legislation to tackle pimping websites, pornography and the abuses of dating apps. Perhaps the Government could take firmer action against online abuse at its source, and spend money on some of the wonderfully thought through measures that the Minister outlined in her speech, the likes of which we have not seen for some time.

• 12 Nov 2024 · Great British Energy: Job Creation · Hansard source

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  I recently had the privilege of opening an extension to the Kype Muir wind farm in my constituency. The extension alone will generate enough power for 53,000 homes for 30 years. My constituency is also home to part of Whitelee, the largest onshore wind farm in Europe. However, not one of those turbines was manufactured in the UK, let alone locally. What steps is the Minister taking to develop UK manufacturing capacity in that area?

• 12 Nov 2024 · Great British Energy: Job Creation · Hansard source

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  12. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Great British Energy on job creation.

• 6 Nov 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I warmly welcome the additional £47.7 billion that this Budget will deliver to the Scottish Government—the largest settlement in the history of devolution. That additional funding can rebuild Scotland and our failing public services, but the Scottish Government must now take responsibility, admit their failures and take a long-term approach that is serious about addressing Scotland’s challenges. Economic and political stability underpin the Chancellor’s Budget. The undoubted attractiveness of Scotland for domestic and international investment requires the removal of uncertainty, which can hinder investment plans. Only when there is a Government in Scotland who seek to genuinely work collaboratively with the UK Government and the private sector on investment plans for not just the next decade but beyond will we fully reap the benefits of this Budget. However, we have a Government in Scotland who make policy and economic decisions through the prism of the constitution, and who seek, as a matter of ideology, to find points of difference and divergence. That was demonstrated by their failure to even turn up and vote for GB Energy—unquestionably an economic opportunity for Scotland. The Chancellor has committed the UK Government to working closely with the Scottish Government on the industrial strategy and the national wealth fund, but the vehicle for promoting that collaboration—the Council of the Nations and Regions—is unfortunately being undermined by the SNP, which cannot bear the prospect of UK joint working being a success. It has been manufacturing grievances on behalf of local councils regarding representation on the council, although it has been the most centralising Administration that these islands have ever seen, disproportionately stripping local government in Scotland of power and resources. I welcome the efforts of the Secretary of State for Scotland to rise above this petty divisiveness in pursuit of a higher vision for jobs, growth and prosperity. This Budget is a serious, strategic, long-term approach to fixing our country—an approach that we have not seen from the Scottish Government or in the last 14 years from the Conservative Government. It sits alongside an ambitious investment and industrial strategy—again, something that we have not seen from either the SNP or the Conservatives in power in the last decade or so. I am confident that, with this new approach, we can rebuild our economy and country, and I therefore welcome the measures outlined in the Budget to rebuild Britain.

• 5 Nov 2024 · Support for Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation · Hansard source

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  12. What steps her Department is taking to support victims of commercial sexual exploitation through the criminal justice system.

• 5 Nov 2024 · Support for Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation · Hansard source

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  Scottish organisations such as TARA and Routes Out provide exemplary support to women who are exploited through prostitution and sex trafficking. However, these organisations are faced with an endless stream of women, in part because the law in Scotland, England and Wales provides impunity to pimping websites. Does the Minister agree that the UK Government should lead the way by outlawing pimping websites and offering support, not sanctions, to victims of commercial sexual exploitation?

• 15 Oct 2024 · Scotland’s Economy · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (John Grady) on securing this debate. I take the opportunity to highlight one of Scotland’s economic successes, which is now unfortunately a huge economic challenge—the town of East Kilbride. It was Scotland’s first new town and I would argue its most successful, but it was a success as a result of an interventionist industrial strategy. It brought together incentives and investment from the local development corporation and central Government, which resulted in inward investment and technological manufacturing that led to the Motorola plan, the Rolls-Royce plan and many more. A strategic approach by Government to locate and disperse several service jobs means that His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office remain in the town today. The town was a product of strategic thinking, planning and active intervention, and it was a place of hope and aspiration where families could find not just homes but communities, jobs and opportunities. However, the contrast between what it was and what it is now is stark. Although it is still one of our most successful new towns, East Kilbride is not what it once was. It used to have almost full employment, but after the manufacturers pulled out of the town, and the industries that replaced them—such as services and retail—faced some huge challenges as a result of the financial crisis, the town has failed to keep up with the pace of change. Also, the previous Westminster Government and the Holyrood Government have utterly failed in supporting the town. The town feels neglected and let down by two Governments, and the lack of any serious investment industrial strategy has left communities like mine in East Kilbride behind. There is of course now hope with the new Government’s focus on growth and investment, as well as the creation of GB Energy. East Kilbride can use its space and its skills that were formerly used to deliver companies such as Rolls-Royce and Motorola. With a Government serious about driving investment, boosting our economy and creating jobs, towns such as mine in East Kilbride can be rebuilt and renewed. That is the focus of what this Government are trying to do. The work of post-war Governments who transformed our public realm can once again take place. It is a testament to the mission-led Government, who have a long-term strategic vision to rebuild Britain with an industrial and economic policy that puts working people, fairness and growth at its core.

• 10 Oct 2024 · Sport: Team GB and ParalympicsGB · Hansard source

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  I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to deliver my maiden speech. I begin by congratulating my hon. Friends the Members for Corby and East Northamptonshire (Lee Barron), for Worsley and Eccles (Michael Wheeler) and for Redditch (Chris Bloore), all of whom spoke with such passion and commitment about their constituencies. I hope that the people of Corby have many happy celebrations on 2 November when the No. 2/50 bus comes back into service. It truly is an honour to serve the people of East Kilbride and Strathaven. None of us is in this House by right. We propose ourselves, but it is the voters who dispose. The people are the masters of our fate, and all of us have a duty of trust and a responsibility to work hard, and I am determined to repay the trust placed in me by representing my constituents to the very best of my ability. In that spirit, I pay tribute to my predecessor Dr Lisa Cameron. Building on her long-standing career as an NHS psychologist, she did much good work in this place to improve the lives of her constituents. I wish to also pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of my two Labour predecessors: Michael McCann and in particular Adam Ingram, who served my constituency for 23 years. I have been fortunate enough to have had many sources of inspiration and support throughout my career, the very first of whom was the late, great Tessa Jowell. Without her political tenacity, vision and ability to bring people together, we would never have delivered the 2012 Olympic games, which was the greatest sporting event this country had seen in a generation. Tessa recognised the power that sport can have in inspiring and uniting people, communities and countries. My constituency is home to a thriving sporting sector, both professional and grassroots, including Scotland’s only professional basketball team, the Caledonian Gladiators and, my personal favourite, the Claremont Colts, a disability football team for young adults which provides dignity, a sense of belonging and good old-fashioned fun. The unprecedented growth of women’s football has brought me great delight in recent years, but surely the catalyst for that was “Gregory’s Girl”, a trailblazing film about women’s football, which starred the East Kilbride born-and-bred actress Dee Hepburn. East Kilbride is believed to take its name from a woman: the patron saint of Ireland, Brigid of Kildare, who is believed to have performed healing miracles. There is nothing to suggest that Brigid ever visited Scotland, but in East Kilbride, we can say that she visited us, and we have paid her a pretty good tribute through the town we have built. East Kilbride is Scotland’s first new town built in the post-war era to accommodate the overspill from Glasgow, offering an escape from dire overcrowding and squalid conditions in Glasgow’s infamous tenements. East Kilbride quickly became a symbol of progress and a place where working families could find not just homes, but communities, opportunity and a future. Its modern architecture, parks and green spaces have made it a model of post-war urban planning. East Kilbride may have delivered a new start for many Glaswegians, but folk there did not leave behind the city’s famous humanity and defiance of injustice when they quit those tenements. One of the most powerful statements of solidarity that this country has ever seen was made by a group of engineers from East Kilbride’s Rolls-Royce factory. Ordinary people risked their livelihoods to defy the Chilean dictatorship in 1974 by refusing to repair the engines that had been used to destroy the country’s democratic Government. There was no violence, no hatred; just the power of working people standing together. Only a few weeks ago, one of the engineers who led that action, Bob Fulton, died at the age of 101, and I take this opportunity to pay tribute to him and his legacy, which will live on. Strathaven was also home to another Scottish revolutionary: James “Purlie” Wilson, who was a prominent figure in the radical movement seeking electoral reform. Although East Kilbride is home to 80% of my constituents, it only accounts for 20% of its land mass. The rural communities of Stonehouse, Glassford, Chapelton, Sandford and Auldhouse all have distinctive features and a unique community spirit. Strathaven, with its historic market town charm, offers a different yet equally essential contribution to the character of my constituency. If Kilbride is a name with Gaelic origins, Strathaven is even older, with Brythonic roots. Today, it exemplifies the deep-rooted sense of shared history that that goes through my constituency and Scotland as a whole. It reminds us that we must do all that we can to support our rural communities to overcome the many challenges they also face. During the election campaign, when I was out knocking doors on the doorsteps of East Kilbride and Strathaven, nobody ever asked me for a miracle that only St Brigid could deliver. It is not miracles that people seek; it is just the basics: public services that work, jobs that pay, a safe and warm home, and maybe even just enough cash at the end of the week to get a takeaway. Those conversations have stayed with me since and will continue to be at the forefront of my mind while I serve in this place. Other things struck me and were emphasised by the civil disorder that we saw over the summer. We share serious concerns across the House about the rise of hate, whether that be antisemitism, Islamophobia or misogyny, which has infected far too much of our public discourse in recent years, particularly on social media. I intend to dedicate much of my time here to working cross-party to address the alarming upsurge in racism and bigotry online, particularly in my work as chair of the all-party parliamentary group against antisemitism. Inspired by the Rolls-Royce workers decades ago, we can come together and say, “Nae pasaran”—they shall not pass. To push back and defeat hate, we must have hope, but that hope must be real and based on realism rather than idealism or indeed miracles. There is no contradiction between a politics that is realistic and a politics that is hopeful. Indeed, we have all had enough—too much—false hope in the last few years. I believe in what the Australian leader Ben Chifley called the shining city on a hill, but I also believe that we need a clear plan for how to get there and to be honest about how long it might take. Responsible and effective government does not undermine real hope in our communities; it underpins it. So, to the people and the communities of East Kilbride and Strathaven, I say thank you once again for placing your hope and trust in me.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Anniversary of 7 October Attacks: Middle East · Hansard source

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  May I, too, express my heartfelt sympathy and condolences to all those affected by the terrorist attacks on 7 October? I thank the Prime Minister for his statement today. Does he agree that the sharp rise in antisemitism that we have seen since 7 October—it has now reached the highest level ever recorded in the UK—is a stain on our democracy? May I ask him to give reassurances to Jewish communities across the UK that his Government are doing everything they can to ensure their security and safety, and to tackle the scourge of antisemitism?

• 3 Sept 2024 · Contracts for Difference · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. This allocation round is testament to the continued success of the contracts for difference scheme. As we are now on course to produce more renewable energy than ever and we need to get that power to consumers, does he agree that we need the same political and financial commitment to the development of transmission infrastructure as we do to renewables?

• 2 Sept 2024 · Violent Disorder · Hansard source

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  There has been much discussion of the role that social media played in fuelling the violent disorder that we have seen on our streets. Many of the extremists were swiftly arrested and charged; does my right hon. Friend agree that those who spread pernicious and poisonous online lies should also share responsibility for the disorder that we have seen, and that online thugs who deliberately stir up hatred and division should have been similarly punished? If not, what does she think can be done about this increasingly wicked online behaviour?

• 22 Jul 2024 · Border Security and Asylum · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for her statement. I think that my constituents will be incredulous when they are informed of the extent to which the previous Government wasted so much money on this scheme. What commitments can she give the House that we will be able to rescind our commitments to spend further money on any such programmes, and that no further public money will be wasted?