Johanna Baxter MP: speeches

Speeches

• 25 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  The Barnett formula, introduced in 1978, is often misunderstood, but it has delivered hugely for the constituents of Paisley and Renfrewshire South. In fact, since this Government were elected, the Barnett formula has seen the highest uplift in funding for the Scottish Government in the history of devolution. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Barnett formula is a vital mechanism to ensure that my constituents receive their fair share of public sector funding? Will he reassure them that it is here to stay?

• 25 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  For years, my constituent Donna Louise Armstrong has worked tirelessly to serve the veteran community locally and nationally, both as our area co-ordinator for Poppyscotland and as vice-chair of the Homeless Veterans Project, which she helped to establish in 2019. She is very often seen at events in my constituency in her Paddington Bear outfit, raising funds for homeless veterans. Donna recently received recognition for her outstanding work in the King’s honours. As we approach Armed Forces Day, will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Donna on her British Empire Medal for services to veterans and the wider Renfrewshire community, and thank her for her immense contribution to the lives of so many veterans?

• 18 Jun 2026 · Regional Innovation and Growth · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend and the Select Committee for their report. Can she say a little more about the role of the Scottish Government in this area, and whether the Select Committee had any observations about the relationship between the Scottish Government and the UK Government in that regard? She has referred to the role of devolution in this space, so is that relationship securing the gathering and sharing of data that she might expect and that she raised in her statement, and if not, what more can be done?

• 10 Jun 2026 · Economic Growth: Paisley and Renfrewshire South · Hansard source

  More

  A very happy birthday to you, Mr Speaker. Last week we heard the very disappointing news that the principal investor in the Paisley Centre redevelopment project in my constituency has been forced to withdraw from the project after years of delays and uncertainty. I have repeatedly warned that continued delays would put this project at risk, and it is deeply frustrating that those fears have been realised without, apparently, the SNP-led Renfrewshire council having any back-up plan. Will my right hon. Friend agree to meet me, along with local elected representatives and members of the Scottish Government, to see what we can do to get the project moving?

• 9 Jun 2026 · Sir David Attenborough: Permanent National Monument · Hansard source

  More

  I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. If there is to be a monument, it should be by a British sculptor. We are filled with pride in Sir David every day. He took his message even further in 2021, when he addressed the UN Security Council. Sir David reframed the climate crisis entirely, moving it from a scientific debate to an existential security threat. He warned the council that “climate change is the biggest threat” to global security “that modern humans have ever faced.” He told the council that if the natural systems that support us collapse, everything we take for granted—food and water security, social stability and international peace—will collapse with them. He challenged the most powerful leaders on earth to recognise that the map of the world is being rewritten by our own carbon emissions. Speaking at COP26 in Glasgow, he gave a stark warning on climate change and asked the haunting question: “Is this how our story is due to end? A tale of the smartest species doomed by that all too human characteristic of failing to see the bigger picture in pursuit of short term goals.”

• 9 Jun 2026 · Sir David Attenborough: Permanent National Monument · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for his kind words. Sir David is not just an incredible broadcaster with a passion for nature; he is an architect who shaped the landscape of British broadcasting. As the controller of BBC Two, he oversaw the introduction of colour television to the UK, beating continental Europe to the airwaves. His eye for innovation even changed global sport. It was Sir David who noticed that traditional white tennis balls were nearly impossible for viewers to track on early colour television screens during broadcasts from Wimbledon. He personally intervened and championed the introduction of the optic yellow tennis balls that are used worldwide today. His embrace of technological advances led to him being the only person ever to win BAFTA awards for programmes across black and white, colour, high-definition, 3D and 4K television. From “The Blue Planet” and “Life on Earth” to “Galapagos” and “Frozen Planet”—I am sure everybody here today could name their favourite—each landmark production pushed human ingenuity forward. Within the scientific community, one of the greatest compliments a person can receive is to have a species named after them. It is extraordinary, then, to think that Sir David has had over 50 species named in his honour, reflecting a staggering range of biodiversity. They range from the Euptychia attenboroughi, a black-eyed satyr butterfly found in the tropical Amazon, to the Platysaurus attenboroughi, a flat lizard native to southern Africa. Sir David is also one of very few people to have been knighted twice.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Milburn Review: Interim Report · Hansard source

  More

  Too often, young people are written off as lacking ambition, when the reality is that they are lacking the opportunities for good work. More than 40% of young people not in education, employment or training have said that finding fulfilling work is their top priority. Despite that, in my area under the Scottish National party-run Renfrewshire council and the SNP-run Holyrood Government, employability services are being cut by 30%, failing too many of our young people. Can my hon. Friend set out what steps the Government are taking to work with the Scottish Government to protect vital employability services and ensure apprenticeship opportunities for young people in my area?

• 2 Jun 2026 · Armed Forces Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I begin by offering my deepest thoughts and prayers to the family, friends and colleagues of the British soldier who tragically died in Iraq on Sunday. The world we live in today is more perilous, volatile and unpredictable than at any point in our living memory. We saw that last night, when Russia fired more than 650 drones and 73 missiles into Ukraine, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100, including a little girl aged only 11. In this fragmented world, a strong, modern, highly capable military is not a luxury; if we are to secure Britain’s future, it is a necessity. National security must always come above all else. That is why I strongly welcome the decisive steps that this Labour Government continue to take to rebuild our defence after it was hollowed out by the Conservative party, and why I support the Bill and the Government amendments tabled to it. Week after week, this Labour Government are getting on with the job of investing in our defence. Just yesterday, the Government announced a vital new munitions deal, supporting 700 jobs in Belfast. Last week, the Government signed a joint missile programme with Poland and a new Swedish fighter jet deal to strengthen Ukraine and boost British jobs. We do those things not simply because those are security agreements and deals, but because it is the moral duty of this Government. Doing so also creates highly skilled jobs right across the United Kingdom, including for the people of my Paisley and Renfrewshire South constituency. The substance of the Bill begins the urgent work of undoing years of systemic damage. I will focus my comments on two areas where the legislation delivers the deepest, most vital changes: defence housing and justice for victims of abuse. First, I warmly welcome the armed forces covenant, for which the Royal British Legion has been calling for more than a decade, and which is finally being delivered in full by this Labour Government. In the words of the Royal British Legion, our armed forces covenant “will ensure the needs of the Armed Forces community are considered when making decisions”. It goes on to say that it welcomes our decision to fully implement the covenant in law. This matters immensely, because it delivers directly on our manifesto commitments to our armed services. The brave men and women who dedicate their lives to defending our country deserve far more than our gratitude. They deserve the peace of mind that while they are serving our country around the world, their families are safe in secure, high-quality homes. Instead, we inherited a shocking legacy. Between April 2022 and December 2023, service family accommodation fell into disrepair: more than 20,000 heating failures were reported in military homes, nearly 7,000 properties completely lost hot water and more than 1,100 families were forced out of their homes entirely due to severe maintenance issues. Is it any wonder, then, that the previous Government missed their military recruitment targets every single year that they were in office? If we cannot guarantee a soldier that their child will not grow up in a house without a working heating system, how can we expect them to stay in the ranks? That is why I welcome this Government’s commitment to a £9 billion investment in defence housing, the measures set out in the Bill to establish the Defence Housing Service, and the generational renewal of military housing, which will see nine in 10 military homes modernised or upgraded. The Royal British Legion has rightly welcomed the Defence Housing Service, calling it crucial to ensuring that armed forces personnel and their families are provided with the high-quality housing they deserve. The strategy will directly benefit our forces, including those living in the 43 service accommodation homes in my constituency. That is no less than our personnel and their families deserve. Secondly, I strongly welcome the Bill’s protections for victims of sexual harm and domestic abuse. Every single victim of sexual harm deserves justice, yet for too long, the experiences of too many victims have been ignored. The Bill will change that. By introducing a strict legal duty on commanding officers to report serious offences to civilian authorities and the service police, we are ensuring that there can be no scope for anyone to look the other way. We are ensuring that, when those heinous crimes have been committed, nobody can say, “I didn’t know.” The Bill will give the service police increased powers for their investigations and the service courts more powers to deal with perpetrators and improve the experience of victims. We are bringing our system into line with the civilian sector by introducing service domestic abuse protection orders and service stalking protection orders, and by strengthening sexual harm prevention orders and sexual risk orders. By doing that, we are ensuring that we protect victims and target predatory behaviour head-on, and ensuring that survivors get the unwavering support and justice that they deserve. The Bill proves that this Labour Government are cleaning up the legacy of neglect left by the Conservatives. We are getting on with the task of building a military fit for the future, and with restoring absolute dignity to our armed forces, and I commend the Bill to the Committee.

• 23 Mar 2026 · Hatzola Ambulance Attack · Hansard source

  More

  This was an appalling antisemitic incident, targeting those providing urgent medical care. It was not just a criminal act but a direct attack on our shared values of respect and tolerance. Emergency service workers should never have to fear for their safety. Will the Minister outline what immediate steps are being taken to reassure the Jewish community across the whole United Kingdom?

• 12 Feb 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  On Saturday evening, I joined more than 500 members of the local community at Paisley town hall for a spectacular evening of Gaelic music, song and celebration as we celebrated 10 years of Fèis Phàislig. The Fèis provides a fun and welcoming space for young people across our area to learn and share Scotland’s Gaelic cultural traditions. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the director, Grant McFarlane, and the board of volunteers for their commitment to our cultural traditions and wish a very happy 10th birthday to Fèis Phàislig?

• 4 Feb 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  Up and down the country, this Government are restoring pride in place by investing in our high streets—the beating heart of our communities—yet in Paisley and Renfrewshire South, the SNP-led Renfrewshire council has done the opposite. It has sat on its hands while the owners of the Paisley Centre, who received planning permission to develop the centre some years ago, have sought support to transform our town centre. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is only the SNP’s lack of ambition and failure of leadership that is letting Paisley down, and will he work with me to restore pride in Paisley town centre?

• 26 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  The UK shared prosperity fund currently supports about 20% of Renfrewshire council’s employability budget. Given that that funding is due to come to an end, can my right hon. Friend outline what steps he will take to support employability services in Renfrewshire going forward?

• 11 Dec 2025 · St Andrew’s Day and Scottish Affairs · Hansard source

  More

  On St Andrew’s Day, we honour a Scotland rooted in community, fairness and responsibility—the values that have shaped our nation for generations, and which continue to guide communities like mine in Paisley and Renfrewshire South. Legend has it that St Andrew foretold the future site of the city we now know as Kyiv, and today the solidarity between Scotland and Ukraine is not just symbolic; it is lived. I am very proud to welcome the Ukrainian diaspora into my constituency. In October, I invited members of that community to my constituency office so that I could hear directly about their experiences of building a new life in Scotland. They have found a place that opens its doors wide, and they have brought so much in return. One Ukrainian woman told me that she has put her skills to work as a seamstress, helping to carry forward the proud textile heritage of Paisley. It is a reminder that when people are given the chance to contribute, they do not just settle in; they help us all move forward. I have touched on Scotland’s values of community, fairness and responsibility. Those are the values that shaped one of the proudest achievements of the last Labour Government: devolution. It was never meant to be about flags or slogans; it was about a simple, powerful belief that decisions are best made closest to the people they affect. That is why Labour delivered Sure Start, the national minimum wage, the Human Rights Act 1998 and devolution. It is why this Labour Government have raised the national minimum wage and lifted the two-child benefit cap, which will lift 1,560 children in my constituency out of poverty, and why we are delivering £150 off energy bills for every household next year. But in Scotland our potential is being squandered by an SNP Government in Holyrood who are fixated endlessly on rerunning referendums, paralysing government north of the border. Instead of building homes, they build division. Instead of fixing schools and hospitals, they fall out with themselves. And instead of delivering for Scotland, they lurch from sleaze to scandal. Whereas other parts of the UK can move forward, Scotland is stuck with a Government who are more interested in constitutional games than in the hard graft of governing, and my constituents are feeling the pain of that. The Scottish Government have just received the biggest funding settlement since devolution began, yet the SNP-run health and social care partnership in Paisley and Renfrewshire South is slashing vital frontline services to fill an £18.5 million hole that it dug itself. The disability resource centre, a vital lifeline for people with physical disabilities in my community, faces closure. The Weavers Linn respite unit, a cornerstone of support for families in my community, is being stripped to the bone. The housing and health hub, the community health champion service, and grants that help older people to stay well and live independently are being shut down. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, which is the voice of Scotland’s councils, has warned of a £16 billion shortfall across Scottish local government, calling it nothing less than an “existential threat”. This is austerity in action—short-sighted decisions that undermine the fabric of communities and leave us exposed when a crisis hits. We all know there is a clear link between child poverty and lack of access to safe, secure and affordable homes, yet under the SNP’s watch, Scotland is in a housing crisis.

• 22 Oct 2025 · Devolution in Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

• 22 Oct 2025 · Devolution in Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend talks eloquently about the pressures on the health services in Scotland under the SNP Government. Does she share my concern about the dental deserts that now exist in Scotland? Just yesterday, a constituent contacted me to say that they had been told that their daughter would have to wait three years for an orthodontist appointment—or they could pay more than £2,000 and receive a private appointment in two weeks.

• 22 Oct 2025 · Devolution in Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for giving way. He talks about a budget cut to the Scottish Government, but does he not recognise that this Westminster Government have actually given the Scottish Government the largest funding settlement in the history of devolution? What has happened to the money?

• 22 Oct 2025 · Devolution in Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) for securing this important debate. The last Labour Government had many remarkable achievements, including Sure Start, the national minimum wage and the Human Rights Act 1998, but right up there among our proudest was delivering devolution to Scotland. That was our vision, rooted in the belief that communities are best placed to make local decisions that shape their lives. I know this might age me somewhat, but I was proud to be active in the campaign for the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and campaign for a Parliament that had tax-varying powers. Indeed, I still have my “Yes-Yes” t-shirt to prove it. We have seen the success of devolution in London, Manchester and Liverpool, with better transport, more house building and more investment in grassroots sports. When power is put in the hands of those who know their communities best, devolution delivers. Yet I fear that the obsession of the SNP Government in Holyrood with seeking to rerun referendum after referendum has paralysed Government north of the border. Their endless fixation on independence has come at the expense of delivery. They promised more homes but built a housing crisis; they pledged to strengthen our NHS but put party politics over patients; and instead of serving Scotland they have sunk to sleaze and scandal. Councils across our country are on their knees after funding cuts year after year. Local government funding in Scotland over the last 18 years has fallen by 42%, which is less than it would have been had it kept up with inflation. In a summer interview promoting her catalogue of career failures, Nicola Sturgeon admitted that she might leave Scotland “for a wee while”—the great champion for independence now fleeing the wreck her party has created. While London, Manchester and Liverpool reap the rewards of devolution done properly, for the last 18 years Scotland has been left with a Government more interested in constitutional games than the real business of governing. Although that might be a game to some of those on the Opposition Benches, the consequences for my constituents are very real, and I will speak to one example. While the Scottish Government have been handed the largest funding settlement in the history of devolution by this Labour Government, in my constituency of Paisley and Renfrewshire South, the SNP-run health and social care partnership is swinging the axe on vital frontline services to plug a £19 million black hole in its budget that it created. Right now, it is holding voluntary severance talks across the partnership, cutting jobs and gutting and hollowing out services that have already been stripped to the bone. Users of the Disability Resource Centre, which is a lifeline for people living with physical disabilities, many of whom reside in my constituency, now face a review of their fees and transport costs backdated to April. That potentially means bills of more than £1,000 hitting the doorsteps of some of the most vulnerable people in our community, driving them out the back door and slamming it shut on the vital services that they rely on across Renfrewshire. Last year, the SNP locally was humiliated into a U-turn on a proposed merger of the Mirin and Milldale day centres after brave campaigners stood up to say no to cuts to the vital services their families rely on. Yet last month, the SNP dragged back the same cruel proposal, putting the same families through the same anguish all over again. It is cynical, it is calculated and it is downright cruel. Hon. Members need not just take my word for it. These are the words of Linda Murray, a member of the Renfrewshire Learning Disability Carers Group, who said last month: “We knew it wasn’t a done deal last year. We basically got a stay of execution…We’re tired, we’re exhausted, it took a lot out of all of us and we expected to at least get a couple of years’ grace”. We have seen it all before. Just like its endless independence obsession, the SNP ignores the will of the people and grinds our communities down until exhaustion delivers it the outcome it demands. That is not democracy; it is harassment of vulnerable families. The result is that the most vulnerable people in my community are robbed of the care that they rely on. That is not just a failure of leadership; it is a disgrace. The SNP lead for the local integrated joint board said: “The IJB’s financial challenges have been well documented”. I rarely say this of the SNP, but I happen to agree with her. Those financial challenges have been well documented, so why have the local SNP representatives not challenged their own Government in Holyrood to get them the money that they rely on, especially when the Government have been given such a generous financial settlement from this Labour Government? In truth, it has been 18 wasted years—years of scandal, years of sleaze and years of division—while schools in my communities have been subject to decline, our hospitals struggle and our services face collapse. This is not about money, because the Scottish Government have the money. This is not about powers, because they have the powers. This is about excuses, and for the SNP Government in Holyrood, they have no excuses left. Scotland deserves better, our NHS deserves better, our local people deserve better, and next year, the people of Scotland can choose a new and fresh direction with a Scottish Labour Government led by Anas Sarwar.

• 13 Oct 2025 · Manchester Terrorism Attack · Hansard source

  More

  I wish to extend my condolences to the friends and families of Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, and to the people of Manchester and the wider Jewish community across the United Kingdom, following the appalling terrorist attack at the synagogue in Heaton Park. Many in the Jewish community felt that this attack was a matter of not if, but when. According to the Community Security Trust, 76 of the 1,521 antisemitic incidents that occurred in the first six months of the year were violent assaults that were so severe as to be recorded as extreme violence, which meant that they involved gross bodily harm or a threat to life. Will my right hon. Friend say a little more about what she is doing personally to tackle the scourge of antisemitism in our nation?

• 2 Sept 2025 · Defibrillators · Hansard source

  More

  I absolutely commend the work that charities such as the Southport Saviours are doing to raise money for this vital equipment. If anything, the lack of emergency services makes it all the more vital that defibrillators are readily available, yet too often they are not. In my constituency, our vibrant villages are at the very heart of our cultural identity. Kilbarchan is a village of 3,500 people, with one of the oldest populations in Renfrewshire. It has a proud and active community council, which recently undertook public CPR projects, hosted training sessions and ran a thorough consultation on this issue. The findings were clear: the village did not have enough public access to defibrillators for its size and layout. Kilbarchan needed three more devices to bring it up to the recommended standard. The cost? Just £3,800. Despite its fundraising efforts, it fell a little short and applied to the SNP-run Renfrewshire council for support through the villages investment fund. The council’s response, delivered last week, was to grant only £1,600—less than half of what was required. One of Kilbarchan’s brilliant local councillors, Gill Graham, described that decision as “stingy in the extreme”. I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree with her. For the sake of £2,200, the council chose not to ensure that the village has the lifesaving equipment it needs. Is it any wonder that trust in politics is so low when communities are met with that kind of penny-pinching? This is about not just the message it sends but the lives it risks. What makes it even more incomprehensible is the broader context: last year, the Labour Government provided the Scottish Government at Holyrood with the highest funding settlement they have ever had in the history of devolution. It is therefore unacceptable that communities in Scotland are being forced to rely on fundraising and charity drives to secure something as basic and essential as a public defibrillator. The truth is that the SNP Government in Holyrood are not funding defibrillators themselves and have underfunded local authorities, which could provide the money, year after year. That chronic underfunding has forced councils into incomprehensible choices where, unbelievably, public safety and survival are being sacrificed. That is indefensible and I urge the Minister to raise this issue with her counterparts in the Holyrood Government.

• 8 Jul 2025 · Government Resilience Action Plan · Hansard source

  More

  During the covid pandemic, I was a trade union official representing 200,000 local government workers across Scotland. I saw at first hand their extraordinary dedication to our public services, but I also saw when they were let down by a lack of co-operation and co-ordination between the UK Government and the Scottish Government. Will my right hon. Friend outline how the resilience action plan will encourage greater co-operation between Governments across our devolved nations?