Johanna Baxter MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 18 Dec 2025 · Animal Welfare Strategy · Hansard source

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  Merry Christmas to you, Mr Speaker, and to everyone across the House. I reiterate what colleagues from across the Chamber have said about the importance of reforming the Veterinary Surgeons Act. It is 60 years old and has not kept pace with modern medicine, new technology or the way that veterinary practices are run. Will my right hon. Friend set out how the animal welfare strategy will tackle the extraordinary increase in veterinary fees, which is a massive cost of living issue? Finally, I thank veterinary surgeons across the UK, particularly those at Glasgow University’s veterinary hospital, who I had cause to see rather more frequently than I would have liked this year.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  A very merry Christmas to you, Madam Deputy Speaker. My constituents would have been forgiven for thinking that Christmas had come early last weekend, because we were treated to not one, but two major sporting achievements. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Stephen Robinson and everyone at St Mirren football club for their historic achievement in winning the Scottish Premier Sports cup, after their 3-1 victory over Celtic, the first club in the UK to win a major trophy under fan ownership; and Johnstone Burgh FC on its excellent 2-0 victory over Renfrew in the Scottish Communities cup?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  For some Ukrainian children, this will be the fourth Christmas that they will spend in Russia, after being torn from their families by the Russian state. Others will spend their Christmas living under occupation, and many more will spend their Christmas in a military training camp, being taught to fight against their own country. Will my hon. Friend set out what recent work he has been doing with colleagues in the FCDO to make sure that those children do not find themselves on the battlefield and that they spend their next Christmas in their own home, in their own country and with their own families?

• 17 Dec 2025 · INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth · Hansard source

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  I will try to keep my question brief. The SNP and the Tories sat on their hands while jobs and livelihoods were at risk, so I warmly welcome the announcement today and I thank the Minister and all Departments involved. The announcement not only protects 500 jobs; it is an investment in our national security. Does the Minister agree that it is only Labour that is backing business, backing workers and backing Scotland?

• 17 Dec 2025 · Torture of Animals: Online Content · Hansard source

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  Earlier this year, two teenagers were prosecuted for the torture and killing of kittens in a public park. A BBC investigation has since uncovered a disturbing international network sharing videos of extreme cruelty to cats and kittens, and users here in the UK and those prosecuted have been found to be in possession of that material. Online animal abuse is not a harmless niche; it is a recognised warning sign for escalating violence, including serious crimes against women and girls. I am pleased that the Prime Minister’s Christmas card promotes kindness towards animals. Will my hon. Friend outline what further work his Department is doing to ensure that we address harmful content?

• 17 Dec 2025 · Torture of Animals: Online Content · Hansard source

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  2. What steps she is taking to help tackle online content promoting the torture of animals.

• 16 Dec 2025 · Electoral Resilience · Hansard source

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  I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and thank him for mentioning the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children by Russia. I recently co-ordinated a cross-party letter to the Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), asking him to ensure that the human rights of those children are protected in peace negotiations. Does the Secretary of State share my concern that, although that letter was supported by almost every party across this House, not a single representative from one particular party sought to sign it, and that was the Reform party?

• 15 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  One of the many challenges that Ukraine will face should a peace agreement be reached is the task of clearing land of mines and unexploded ordnance so that it can once again sustain Ukraine’s vital agricultural economy. How do the Government intend to invest in innovative de-mining technologies and work with Ukraine to ensure that its land is made safe and productive for the future?

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

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  Is it not the case that there are more people waiting more than two years in individual health boards in Scotland than in the whole of England? Does the right hon. Member agree that that is a disgrace of the Scottish Government?

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

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  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.

• 11 Dec 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Some 60% of UK households enjoy the company of a pet, but the cost of caring for their health has increased exponentially in recent years. Since 2015, vet fees for household pets have soared by 63%, far outpacing inflation. The Competition and Markets Authority recently published its provisional findings into the veterinary services sector, proposing much-needed remedies to tackle the eye-watering rise in costs. Will the Leader of the House support a debate in Government time on the cost of living pressures on pet owners and what measures might be put in place to ensure that essential pet care remains affordable for families across the UK?

• 11 Dec 2025 · US National Security Strategy · Hansard source

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  Although the new US security strategy contains some elements that many across the House will find concerning, it also states that the US will seek peace everywhere. We all want to see a lasting and just peace in Ukraine—a sovereign Ukraine where the killing stops and the 20,000 stolen children are returned to their families. Does the Minister agree that we must use all the influence we have with the United States to step up financial pressure on Russia and choke off the finances that sit behind this illegal war?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Child Poverty Strategy · Hansard source

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  I warmly welcome the publication of the child poverty strategy, in particular the lifting of the two-child benefit cap, which will lift 1,560 children in Paisley and Renfrewshire South out of poverty. But 100,000 children in Scotland remain stuck in homelessness accommodation, and that is on the SNP’s watch; it has control of that in the Scottish Government. [ Official Report , 9 December 2025; Vol. 777, c. 4WC.] (Correction) What assurances can my right hon. Friend give me that she will work with colleagues in the Scottish Government to ensure that every lever of power is exerted so that constituents in Paisley and Renfrewshire South get the same opportunities as those across the rest of the UK?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Ajax Armoured Vehicle · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his response to the urgent question, and also for his unshakeable commitment to putting the safety of service personnel first. Can he tell us when the Ajax programme was last paused before this incident?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that this Bill is the foundation for good industrial relations in this country and the best uplift to workers’ rights in a generation? Does he therefore agree that it is surprising that not a single Scottish National party Member is in the Chamber to debate workers’ rights in this country?

• 2 Dec 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  President Putin has proposed that Russia assume sovereignty over Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk as part of any so-called final peace settlement with Ukraine, which would carry profound consequences for the 1.6 million children who are currently living under Russian occupation in those regions. The evidence is clear that Russia has pursued a sustained, systematic policy of indoctrination, militarisation and forced deportation of Ukrainian children. Does my right hon. Friend agree that accepting that proposal would risk permanently stripping those children of their legal protections and erasing their Ukrainian identity, in direct violation of the fourth Geneva convention and the most basic principles of international humanitarian law?

• 27 Nov 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Recent figures from Police Scotland show that Paisley now has the highest sickness absence rate of any police area in our country, which is a clear sign that our dedicated officers are being pushed to the brink by relentless workloads and constant pressure. The fallout is hitting my constituency hard, with antisocial behaviour in Paisley town centre putting people off visiting our beautiful town and hammering local shops that should be thriving. Will the Leader of the House join me in calling out the SNP’s reckless mismanagement of Police Scotland and urge it to invest in our public services the £10 billion that it has had from this Labour Government since we were elected?

• 25 Nov 2025 · G20 and Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I appreciate that this is a developing situation, but we know that at least 19,546 children from Ukraine have been stolen by Russia and sent to more than 400 locations across eight time zones. We know that 1.6 million children in the occupied territories are being subjected to militarisation and indoctrination. We know that 200 military training camps turn Ukrainian children into Russian soldiers. And we know that one in 10 of the Ukrainian children rescued from Russia have reported that they have been sexually abused. Will the Prime Minister remind President Trump that behind every one of those figures is a child? Will he assure the House that any peace plan agreed will deliver the safe return of all the Ukrainian children who have been stolen, and that Russia will be held to account for the war crimes that it continues to commit?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  One hundred and 10 years ago this month, Mary Barbour, who was born in Kilbarchan in my constituency, led the Glasgow rent strikes, standing up to improve housing conditions for working people. The legacy of that strike gave us the rent restrictions Act, a landmark safeguard that shielded tenants from exploitative profiteering right up until the wave of Thatcher-era deregulation. Will the Leader of the House join me in recognising Mary’s legacy and calling out the SNP Government in Holyrood for undermining it? Some 13 councils across Scotland have now been forced to declare a housing emergency and 10,000 children in Scotland are left stuck in homeless accommodation.

• 20 Nov 2025 · Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children · Hansard source

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  Today, on World Children’s Day, we are reminded that safeguarding the next generation is not just a value that we hold dear, but the responsibility of every Member of this House. In recent days, more than 100 Members have backed President Zelensky’s Bring Kids Back initiative. They stand united with Ukraine and its stolen children, and I thank all those Members. I also thank the Minister for working with me on supporting the Ukrainian Government’s launch of a new pilot programme to trace the children. Since September, it has found 600 of those children. If media reports from the last 24 hours about a US-brokered peace deal are to be believed, they should trouble every single one of us. A deal that trades away Ukrainian territory and security and makes no mention at all of the 20,000 children whom Russia has stolen from Ukraine is not peace; it is capitulation. This House should stand united in rejecting that deal. Can the Minister assure us that before any peace deal is considered, the future of Ukraine’s 20,000 stolen children will be top of the agenda?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Welfare Spending · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that we should take no lectures from the people who broke the system in the first place? In Scotland, one in six young people are not in education, employment or training; 12,000 Scots have been stuck on NHS waiting lists for over two years, and 8,300 people are economically inactive in Renfrewshire alone due to ill health. Far from lecturing us, should Conservative Members not look at themselves first?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Welfare Spending · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Lady give way?

• 3 Nov 2025 · “Soldier F” Trial Verdict · Hansard source

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  Many IRA murders on UK soil have never been solved, including the targeting of soldiers and their families in the M62 coach bombing in 1974 and the Warrenpoint massacre in 1979, the deadliest attack on the British Army during the troubles. Does the Secretary of State agree that by shutting down investigations—including into the deaths of more than 200 Operation Banner soldiers—without an adequate alternative, the legacy Act failed many families and victims of the troubles?

• 28 Oct 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Last month, ahead of the UN General Assembly, I had the honour of welcoming Vlad, Valeriia and Roman: three young children who were injured and abducted by Russia during Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. I thank you, Mr. Speaker, and my hon. Friend the Minister for taking time out of your busy days to meet those children and to hear at first hand the horrors they have been through, as well as their inspiring stories. Will the Minister update the House on what discussions were held at the UN General Assembly on the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children? What further support is being provided to Ukraine to aid their recovery?

• 23 Oct 2025 · Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund · Hansard source

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  Scottish salmon is renowned around the world for its quality and taste. How are the Government supporting the promotion of the Scottish salmon industry around the world?