John Grady MP: speeches

Speeches

• 25 Feb 2025 · Defence and Security · Hansard source

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  I thank the Prime Minister for his statement, with which I agree. Does he agree that Clement Attlee and Ernest Bevin showed that the defence of the United Kingdom and Europe against totalitarianism is at the core of this House’s values and those of our party? Does he also agree that what we can learn from their great political lives is that we will face very many difficult public spending decisions over the next decade, and that our moral duty as a Government is to take those decisions, however difficult or heartbreaking they may be?

• 29 Jan 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  2. What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing economic growth in Wales.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I, too, wish Wales luck in the Six Nations, but I wish Scotland more luck. Scotland, like Wales, is set to benefit from significant tax incentives and investment, under the UK Government’s freeports scheme. Does the Secretary of State agree that the scheme offers an excellent opportunity for economic growth?

• 22 Jan 2025 · Competition and Markets Authority Chairman · Hansard source

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  I should declare that before entering the House, I advised, as a competition lawyer, on various CMA matters, including investigations and panels. Some of the criticisms from Conservative Members seem half a world away, to channel Oasis, from both the topic in question and economic reality. Will the Minister confirm that yesterday’s announcement does not change the independence of the individual CMA panels that deal with matters before the CMA?

• 22 Jan 2025 · Competition and Markets Authority Chairman · Hansard source

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  rose—

• 20 Jan 2025 · Office for Value for Money · Hansard source

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  Value for money in public spending is important to my constituents, who work hard for their money. In Scotland, under the Scottish National party, we have higher rates of income tax for anyone earning more than £29,000. The Government in Edinburgh and the UK Government that we have just finished with have indulged in some shocking wastes of money. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is essential for the Office for Value for Money to set out its suggestions for ways of securing value for money for future reference in both London and Edinburgh?

• 14 Jan 2025 · UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue · Hansard source

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  The Chancellor may be able to learn a bit about emergency spending cuts from the Scottish Government in Holyrood, who have had three years of emergency spending cuts. Does the Chancellor agree that it is essential to engage with large economies like China so that we can export our brilliant financial services sector and whisky from Scotland? In the real world, we have to trade with large economies like China.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Scotland: Transport Links · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Lewell-Buck, as you are from South Shields—I have some family there too and it is a wonderful place. I thank the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) for securing today’s important debate; he spoke eloquently about transport in his constituency. I gently remind him, as he mentioned net zero, that it was the Conservative Government who had an offshore wind allocation round that secured no bids when we desperately need clean, cheap and fixed-price electricity. I also gently remind him that, last time I checked, many of these transport links were under the supervision of the Conservative Government from 2010 to 2019, with some art and part assistance from another party in the early years. Improving connectivity between Glasgow and the rest of the UK is a topic that is deeply important to my constituents and one that I have been working hard on since I was elected in July. Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city, and as we head into its 850th anniversary celebrations this year, we have much to celebrate: a vibrant city with so much economic and cultural potential. Improving connectivity in Glasgow and England is crucial to realising that potential; a high-quality inter-city service attracts investment and talent. It is critical for people in our vibrant creative, scientific, cultural and energy sectors; for people coming to Glasgow to work; for people coming to enjoy our city’s brilliant cultural, sporting and night-time economy; and for people visiting friends and family. I will first deal with links to cities in the east served by the east coast main line. Previously, Glasgow had an excellent direct train service heading to the east of England, connecting it with cities such as Newcastle, Durham and York. In 2010, there were 10 direct trains running on the service, run by both LNER and CrossCountry; now there is only one service per day. Under the Tory regime, nine out of 10 services have been cut—yet another blow to getting economic growth into Glasgow. I got in touch with CrossCountry to ask about the severe reductions to its service and to have a chat about increasing the frequency of that service. I am disappointed and a little surprised that I have yet to receive a reply, and I trust I will receive one soon. I did, however, meet the chief executive of LNER to discuss the decision made back in April to scrap the last remaining service connecting Glasgow and the north-east that it operates. I was clear that I was in full favour of any attempt to revive this service, and I would be keen to engage with the Minister on this matter. I am aware that Lumo has made an application to run a service, extending from Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street. I am keen to hear more about that proposal, as it fundamentally demonstrates that there is untapped demand for direct travel from Glasgow to the north-east of England and Yorkshire. I am interested in anything that increases connectivity between the north and north-east of England, and Glasgow. With nine out of 10 direct train services cut over the last few years, we need improvements. The Conservatives’ record of connectivity for Glasgow is, I am afraid, nothing short of abysmal. May I say to hon. Members from Scotland that it is not just a question for Glasgow? It affects people across the west coast of Scotland, including those in the countryside, who rely on those services. Let us talk briefly about connectivity to the north-west, the midlands and London, which is also very important for Glasgow. For many years, Avanti West Coast has operated that service, and it has—to be charitable—left a lot to be desired. Even the last Conservative Government accepted that the performance was appalling. Their response to that appalling service has always puzzled me somewhat; in autumn 2023, they awarded Avanti West Coast a nine-year extension. Avanti’s response was to cut the services in the run up to Christmas—I thought it was only good children who got presents at Christmas, but there we are. Problems persist. Between July and September 2024, only 41% of Avanti services were deemed to be on time. Reliability is crucial for such an important service, and currently it is not acceptable. Our Labour Government have inherited an absolute mess of a transport system, after years of neglect and poor policymaking. The Government are absolutely committed to boosting economic growth in all areas of the UK, including Glasgow and Scotland, and that is something I am 100% proud to support. In order to achieve this, we must be ambitious in our plans to improve transport. It is essential that Glasgow is not left behind due to poor transport links with the major cities in England. It will take time; 14 years of Tory failure have left our transport system in a mess. I am reassured that the Government are committed to working hard to get our railways back on track. I fully support those efforts, which will take time to yield results, but we must stick with them.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Scotland: Transport Links · Hansard source

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  As my dear friends tussle, I want to make a minor point. The Conservative Government were in power for 14 years until July, and the SNP Government have been in power in Holyrood for about 18 years. It is quite remarkable for the hon. Member to criticise a Government who have been in power for just six months and have been clearing up a mess left by the Tories. Might I gently ask him to bear in mind those different periods as he proceeds?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Livingston (Gregor Poynton) for securing this debate, and for his excellent survey of the considerable benefits of the Budget for Scotland. On economic forecasts, I am a somewhat boring Member of Parliament—I like to read the Financial Times . It wrote a leader a few days ago that was, in some parts, somewhat critical. However, the article pointed out that “Britain’s economic outlook in fact looks quite robust compared to other advanced economies. According to the Financial Times’ annual poll, economists reckon that the UK will outgrow France and Germany this year…Labour’s strong parliamentary majority is another positive for investors as political uncertainty ramps up elsewhere.” I could go on. I simply point out that this Government are pro-growth and pro-industry; people understand that and economists understand that. The Budget delivered by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor delivers on our commitments to the electorate. It adds VAT to private school fees, providing more funds to state schools, including in Glasgow; it tackles poverty by increasing the national living wage, giving thousands of my constituents a pay rise; it provides pensioners with over £400 this year due to our commitment to the triple lock; and it reduces the level of deductions that can be made for universal credit payments—a boost to struggling families in Glasgow. If one were to listen to the SNP, one might think that the Budget was terrible news for Scotland and an absolute disaster. In fact, it delivers the largest settlement ever for a Scottish Government, with £4.9 billion of additional funding over the next two years—a UK Labour Government and 37 Scottish Labour MPs delivering for Scotland. That significant boost to Scotland’s public finances is critical, with nearly one in six Scots on an NHS waiting list. As we heard just before Christmas, there are many people who have been waiting for more than two years for NHS treatment in Scotland—many more, proportionally, than in England. One in three Scots children is regularly absent from school, and there are declining police officer numbers on the street at a time when people are petrified about crime. Scotland’s public services are in utter crisis after almost 18 years of SNP misrule. This Government have provided the SNP Government with the money. They have no excuses; they must use the funding wisely to clear up their mess. SNP and Tory colleagues have repeatedly criticised the Government’s Budget, but failed to offer a credible alternative. Time and again, they say we should spend more money but fail to explain where the funding should come from. That is not credible. One hears about “magic money tree” economics—here we have a whole forest of magic money trees. Yes, we have made difficult decisions in our Budget, but government is about confronting difficult decisions to manage public finances carefully. Independent experts are clear that the SNP has failed to manage the Scottish public finances. There have been three years of in-year emergency budget cuts due to their mismanagement and £5 billion wasted on failed SNP pet projects, while, for example, ferries do not sail and the islands suffer from appalling connectivity.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source

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  No, I will not. Time is marching on, and many people wish to speak. The SNP cannot be trusted with public money—remember that this is the public’s money. People in Glasgow East face much higher income tax rates than their counterparts in England because of the SNP Government’s mistakes. As my friend, the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, set out yesterday, after nearly two decades of SNP failure in government, Scotland needs “a new direction”. It needs a new Government, with “new hope, new thinking, new solutions”, not more of the same divisive politics of the last two decades. On 4 July, the people of Glasgow made a choice: that our great city, in its 850th year, shall be represented by a Labour Government. That Labour Government have delivered for Scotland by providing a record funding settlement. Scotland chose a Labour Government, electing 37 Labour MPs. This Budget, with its record increase in funding for Scotland, demonstrates this Labour Government’s absolute commitment to Scotland.

• 18 Dec 2024 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q7. Recent data shows that almost 11,000 Scots have been waiting more than two years for hospital treatment since their referral. The equivalent number in England is around 113. Does the Prime Minister agree that that shows the catastrophic damage the SNP Government have done to the Scottish NHS?

• 17 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  Like many on the Government Benches, I have spent many years of my career in business—in my case, as a lawyer. I have worked with some of the largest companies investing in the United Kingdom and some of the smallest companies in the country, such as charities, third sector organisations and others. What they value most of all is economic stability. What they do not value is huge increases in interest rates overnight and rampant inflation. I understand how important it is to investors to ensure that the public finances are managed in a prudent way, which embraces and faces up to the realities. That is the foundation of the Budget and of our approach to the difficult decisions the Chancellor of the Exchequer has taken on national insurance contributions. A number of the parties on the Opposition Benches, and the Conservatives in particular, criticise, but they broke Britain’s economy and we are left to clean up their mess. There is nothing clever or great about promising that hospital after hospital will be built and not having the funds to cover that. That is the politics of the Santa Claus letter. The Budget of my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivers on our commitments to the electorate. It puts an end to non-dom tax status and gets rid of a VAT exemption on private school fees to fund state schools, such as those in Glasgow. The national insurance contributions are an important part of that financial package. The Budget delivers a fairer, more sustainable tax system. Under the previous Government, the tax burden was placed mainly on the shoulders of working people. We heard from the hon. Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens (Dave Doogan), who represents a beautiful constituency, that that is precisely what SNP members are fans of—increasing income tax and national insurance on working people. We have seen that in Scotland time and again. The tax burden that working people face is absolutely enormous. If a person works in Newcastle and wants to move to Edinburgh, they will have to pay more tax to work in the NHS in Edinburgh. If that is supporting Scotland, who knows? We are delivering on our promise not to raise taxes on working people.

• 17 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  I wish to make some progress if I may; I have been waiting a long time to speak. Our plans will not see additional taxes coming out of a worker’s payslip. We are supporting small businesses by doubling the employment allowance before companies and charities have to pay national insurance, which will protect hundreds of thousands of employers from paying any national insurance at all. According to the OBR, changes to the employment allowance will see 250,000 employers across the UK gaining from these changes, while an additional 820,000 or so will see no change. This means that around half of all businesses that are liable for national insurance will pay the same or less than they were previously, while, set against that, many businesses and charities in Scotland and Glasgow will be protected against the increase. This strikes a fair balance. As a Scottish MP, I must turn to Scotland. The context of this national insurance rise is that around one in six Scots is on an NHS waiting list. On a Friday evening a few weeks ago, I was contacted by a constituent whose wife of 40 years was in hospital. He was petrified and devastated because there was no bed available for his wife after she had suffered a stroke. That is the context of this national insurance rise. It is correct to raise taxes to invest in our health service, and that is the beginning and the end of it. In Glasgow, this year, 172 teaching posts have been removed. That is the context of this national insurance rise. Our Budget delivered the largest settlement for the Scottish Government in the history of devolution—£4.9 billion of additional funding and further funding to cover the national insurance rise over the next two years. This is a UK Government delivering for Scotland and giving the SNP the tools to clean up its mess. The changes to national insurance are critical to this additional funding, which will benefit the people, charities and businesses of Glasgow and Scotland. Despite this extra funding, the SNP repeatedly criticises our Budget and our management of the public finances. This is—as some say of Christmas dinner—somewhat rich coming from the Scottish National party. After almost 18 years of the SNP Government in Holyrood, public finances are in a catastrophic mess. Let me provide a simple example: the replacement Arran ferries are hundreds of millions of pounds over budget and years late, making lives miserable for people trying to get from Arran and damaging the tourist industry. It would be unwise to choose Rod Stewart’s song “We are Sailing” for the SNP Christmas karaoke, because no one is sailing under the Scottish Government’s appalling management of the economy. The SNP has criticised our choices. This Government have not been in power for even six months. The Tories were in power for 14 years and the SNP have been in power for 17 and a half years. On any view, the criticism of our Budget after nearly six months defies logic, but that defiance of logic does not end there. The Conservatives criticise our choices, but they do not say what they would do instead. They may have a shopping list of additional spending commitments, but they simply do not explain how they will tax or fundraise those spending commitments. This is not serious. We are having to make difficult decisions. The Government are asking employers to contribute more. That will enable investment in public services, which is good for employers. We are being straightforward about the choices regarding the public finances, spending, tax and national insurance. I say to Opposition Members that cakeism is for Christmas. It is not an approach for serious Government or serious Opposition. The job of a serious Government is to make serious choices to progress the country—choices that will allow us to invest in our public services.

• 9 Dec 2024 · Fireworks: Sale and Use · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) for his opening speech, which covered many of the points that I want to make. I also wholeheartedly echo everything that my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed) said. Bonfire night brings great joy to people across the west coast of Scotland. For the most part people use fireworks safely, but they remain a significant problem in Glasgow and the west of Scotland. I recently met a constituent who has worked for many years at Edinburgh zoo, and one of her responsibilities was to look after its red pandas and black and white pandas. She explained to me how the death of the two pandas came about: she said that there is no doubt that the cause was fireworks in Edinburgh. Like her colleagues, she is absolutely heartbroken about what happened to the red pandas. Fireworks cause misery for people with PTSD, young parents, people with autism, animals and people across Glasgow, so we need to think about how to manage and regulate them. Clearly, in Scotland and across our family of nations, the current situation is not working. Although fireworks bring joy, they also bring misery to many communities. The SNP council in Glasgow has cancelled the major public displays, particularly in Glasgow Green, and the reason for that has never been fully explained. We need to give people opportunities to see fireworks, and councils cancelling displays without explaining why do not help. The power to restrict the use of fireworks is, in the main, devolved to the Scottish Government. I regret to say that, although there has been legislative reform, it has not been an unalloyed success. The flagship measure was the introduction of a licensing system, but the Scottish Government say that that has been postponed to at least 2026 due to resourcing issues. Well, this Government have provided £4.9 billion to the Scottish Government, so hopefully they will start to make some progress on introducing that much-needed reform, which will prevent misery from being inflicted on my constituents and others in Glasgow. The Scottish legislation also included firework control zones, and one was to be introduced in Glasgow, in the constituency neighbouring mine. That was bungled by the SNP council, which simply did not use the correct time period for the notice. As every trainee lawyer knows, it is necessary to count the days for a notice properly if it is to be effective. That basic error has caused misery for my constituents and the constituents of my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West. There is much hard work by council officials, fire services and the police to deal with fireworks in Glasgow. However, the legislation is not working: it is not being properly implemented. How can it be that in Edinburgh it is not possible to introduce an exclusion zone for fireworks around a zoo, which obviously has many animals? How can it be that we cannot review the introduction of exclusion zones around buildings such as hospitals? Clearly, the legislation is not being properly implemented, is not properly drafted and requires thorough review. I am actually a big fan of fireworks; I love fireworks. However, my enjoyment of fireworks should not inflict misery on animals and people in my communities in Glasgow East. It is clearly time, in Glasgow, in Scotland and in England and Wales, for us to review how fireworks are regulated. Many good ideas about how to improve the system have been suggested in this debate, and there is much to consider and learn from every contribution to it. However, the current situation is not sustainable and I submit that it is high time that both the Scottish Government and the UK Government looked at this issue again.

• 13 Nov 2024 · Educational Opportunities · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Pritchard. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) for securing this important debate and for his compelling and comprehensive survey of adult education. For centuries, Scotland had one of the best education systems in the world, but that is not the case today under the Scottish National party. Attainment has been falling for years. As recent programme for international student assessment reviews show, standards in literacy, mathematics and science are falling, and that is closing doors for children and young people in my seat. The response in Glasgow, I am afraid, has been to cut 172 teaching posts this year, with further cuts to come. The attainment gap in Scottish schools is widening. Where someone is born is becoming more, not less, important than it was and barriers for poorer children are increasing. It is worth saying that the Government are tackling one of the causes of the attainment gap—poverty—by introducing legislation that will make work pay and tackling family poverty by increasing the national minimum and living wage. However, the SNP is also responsible for the attainment gap in our schools and that is preventing young people from getting good jobs and being able to provide for their families. A simple example of that failure is that since 2010, there has been a material drop in school attendance. If someone does not go to school, they do not learn. There has also been a general worsening of behaviour in Scottish schools since 2016, shown by figures from the Scottish Government themselves. Put simply, in many Scottish schools, parents, children and teachers have great fear and worry about school behaviour. Nicola Sturgeon made it clear that closing the attainment gap was her main objective, but the SNP has failed on that. Adult education, which my hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe spoke so compellingly about, is critical for jobs for people in Scotland. The OECD recently carried out a study of Scottish adult education and other matters in the west coast of Scotland, where my seat is located. It reported that career guidance for adults is “challenging to access” and financial incentives to invest in reskilling and upskilling workers are very low. That has a terrible impact on low-paid workers in Scotland and a real impact on both economic growth in Scotland and such critical matters as the transition from oil and gas to renewables. With six seconds to go, I will conclude by saying that elections take place in Holyrood in 2026. It is time for change and a Government that put education first.

• 5 Nov 2024 · Income Tax (Charge) · Hansard source

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  I am discussing Scotland. This is a serious topic about my constituents’ health. The waste by the Scottish Government—hundreds of millions returned to the EU unspent and hundreds of millions wasted on ferries—could have been diverted to the hospitals in Glasgow, to put beds in the Royal Infirmary, where they are needed. The SNP is never to blame. The 62-day cancer treatment standard has not been met for over a decade, despite cancer being one of Scotland’s biggest killers. I have met countless pensioners who have been forced to pay thousands of pounds to go private for their hip replacements and knee operations, because the Scottish NHS waiting lists are so long. This Budget means £1.5 billion this year for the Scottish Government to spend on the NHS, and an additional £3.4 billion next year. Our Budget puts the people of Scotland first and enables the SNP to fix the mess it has made of our health service. With its record increase in Scottish funding, this Budget demonstrates our commitment to Scotland.

• 5 Nov 2024 · Income Tax (Charge) · Hansard source

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  Glasgow has the shortest life expectancy in Scotland and in western Europe. The people of my city, who bring me so much joy, live shorter and less healthy lives than those anywhere else in the UK. Far too many die too soon. They do not get the happiness that the autumn of life brings: time with grandchildren, time with friends and time volunteering at a local church or a local mosque. My constituency has some of the highest levels of poverty in the United Kingdom. Poverty is one the principal causes of ill health and early death. Health is the topic of today’s debate. Many of my constituents cannot afford to pay for the essentials and live in shocking housing conditions. They live every day petrified of what tomorrow will bring. This Budget confronts poverty. It increases the national living wage, giving a pay rise to the lowest paid in my constituency, and gives pensioners more than £400 this year under the triple lock and more than £1,700 over the course of the Parliament. This Budget makes a choice—it targets our scare public resources at the poorest—and I support it. My constituents rely on the Scottish NHS, but the Scottish NHS is in crisis. Almost one in six Scots is on an NHS waiting list.

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

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  13. What steps he is taking to attract inward investment into Scotland.

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

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for his answer. Yesterday saw the largest Budget settlement for the Scottish Government in devolution’s history. The Labour party’s commitment to Scotland runs through this Government. Last week, the highly respected Strathclyde University’s Fraser of Allander institute reported that only 9% of Scottish businesses agree that the Scottish Government understand the business environment in Scotland. Does my right hon. Friend agree that Government understanding of business is crucial in driving investment and growth in Scotland, and that it is critical that the Scottish Government improve their understanding of the business environment?

• 29 Oct 2024 · Sustainable Public Finances · Hansard source

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  Does my right hon. Friend agree that being honest and transparent about the state of public finances is the right thing to do, and that having a long-term plan to fix the foundations of our economy and the public finances is preferable to the short-term, chaotic approach taken by the SNP in Scotland, which has led to three consecutive years of emergency in-year budget cuts?

• 29 Oct 2024 · Sustainable Public Finances · Hansard source

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  8. What steps she is taking to help ensure sustainable public finances.

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

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered Scotland’s economy. It is obvious that Scotland has the greatest of economic potential. It has some of the best universities in the world; a brilliant energy sector, with the skills and ingenuity to be at the forefront of the energy transition across the world; and the businesses of the future, such as the gaming industry in Dundee. People across the world love our country. Brand Scotland is a brilliant brand, and people across the world buy our products and, in the modern economy, our innovation and know-how. Most importantly, we value hard work, education and enterprise immensely, and I see that every day across my constituency of Glasgow East. In Scotland, we have always been, and will always be, aspirational. We also have the perfect raw materials for a modern economy. Despite that, Scotland’s economy has barely grown over the last 17 years and Scotland’s public finances are in a catastrophic state, with emergency in-year budget cuts imposed for the third year in a row. Education is the foundation of a thriving economy. Scotland’s education system was the envy of the world, but that is not the case now. Our universities face significant deficits. Universities Scotland and other experts have made that clear, with real-terms resources to teach each Scottish student cut by 19%, the lowest investment in teaching across the UK and underfunding of research activity by £328 million each year. It gets worse. The SNP Government have failed to act on the recommendations from the Withers skills review. That recommended a series of critical changes to skills training in Scotland to make our economy fit for the future and our people able to get the work of the future. When it comes to giving people the skills to get good work, delivery of real training speaks much louder than talking and endless consultation. As for schools, the respected PISA—programme for international student assessment—reviews compare Scotland’s standards with those elsewhere in the world, and they show that Scotland’s educational attainment is falling. The SNP’s response—like a bad premier league footballer—is to blame PISA. With declining educational attainment, you might invest more in teachers—I should declare a minor interest here, because my children go to state schools in Glasgow—but that is not the case in Glasgow. The SNP council has cut 172 teaching posts from our schools this year, with the support of the Greens, due to its mismanagement of the city’s finances and the Scottish Government’s decisions to starve local authorities of much-needed resources. That has real-world economic consequences. At least a quarter of businesses in Scotland report skills shortages and a lack of qualified candidates for roles. That means less well-paid jobs and less economic growth in Scotland, and it puts Scotland at a real disadvantage against other countries. The last Labour Government acted on Scotland’s green energy potential. The amount of onshore wind capacity increased sevenfold, and our Government launched support for offshore wind, which was a brilliant success. I was excited to work on some of Scotland’s first offshore wind projects. Brian Wilson, the then Labour Minister and Scottish Labour MP, who put so much of this in place, left a brilliant legacy. That shows the positive power of a Labour Government and Scottish Labour MPs fighting for Scotland year in, year out and day in, day out. The last Labour Government left Scotland and Great Britain with a thriving renewable energy supply chain and industry—the ideal foundations for the road to net zero. The Conservatives’ response, I regret to say, was stop-start support for renewables and a ban on onshore wind across England. They held one support auction that attracted no bids for offshore wind. It is negligence like that that means that people cannot afford to pay their bills, because wind and solar are now the cheapest forms of power. No one in their right mind would turn down cheap, low-cost, fixed-price energy over 15 years, but the Conservative Government seem to have done exactly that. Small wonder that our supply chain in Scotland is in turmoil. Supply chain investors do not actually ask for much—just a fair bet, a reasonable measure of predictability, and a reasonable basis on which to conclude that there will be customers to serve over a reasonable period so that they can recoup their investment. The Conservatives failed to provide even that—the so-called party of business. However, it is not all about the Conservatives. The Scottish planning system is slow and cumbersome. The principal legislation for large wind farms and electricity transmission projects remains sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989. Wind farm developers have for many years complained about delays to consent for their projects. Consent for wind farms and transmission projects in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Government. Delays put at risk the next wave of projects that are critical to economic growth and good jobs in Scotland and to getting energy bills down. All of this results in lost jobs and damage to supply chains. All of this means that people in Scotland are paying much more for their energy. And all of this puts Scottish business at a real disadvantage, because energy is a material part of their costs, and those costs are higher than they should be. Turning to public finances, in September the SNP was forced to fill a £1 billion black hole in Scotland’s public finances within the year—this is not part of planned year-on-year budgeting. They did so in two ways. First, they spent much of the remaining ScotWind receipts, which are not recurring income, but one-off, windfall income that was meant to be dedicated to the energy transition, which is absolutely critical for places such as Grangemouth and Aberdeen. They also made £500 million of cuts, slashing NHS funding and raiding the transport budget, when our transport system is already incredibly unreliable. That is the result of short-term, quick-fix solutions to balance the books, with no long-term plan, no public sector pay strategy and no vision for our economy. After 17 years in power, the SNP has failed to grasp the concept of proper budgeting and long-term thinking. I would not recommend marriage with the SNP: for the honeymoon, you would be offered the Orient Express, but you would not even get the National Express—you would be hitchhiking on the M8 in the rain. When faced with brutal budget cuts, surely the Scottish Government would make sure that they had spent the money they had, but that does not seem to be their approach. The SNP has failed to spend at least £250 million of European structural funding and may have to hand back up to £373 million of unspent funding. Let us pause for a minute. The UK was a net contributor to EU funds. This is money that Scottish businesses and workers paid into Brussels. We then got some of that back to spend in Scotland, and the SNP is sending it back again. Now, I love Europe and I am pro-European, but even I would venture to say that this is taking love for our fellow Europeans a little too far. Since the SNP came to power in 2007, it has wasted more than £5 billion of taxpayers’ money on pet projects, failed industrial interventions, incompetence, costly agency spend in the NHS, overspend on infrastructure projects and, of course, the two famous ferries that do not sail. Scots also face much higher taxes compared with the rest of the UK. If I have understood it correctly— I must say I find it difficult to follow—the SNP’s position seems to be that the oil and gas giants who have made billions of pounds of windfall profits due to elevated oil and gas prices should pay less tax, but someone working in Midlothian on £29,000 a year should pay more tax than their counterpart in Northumberland. The SNP seeks to blame others, including our very new Government. However, culpability for the state of the public finances sits with the SNP. Hon. Members should not take my word for it. The Scottish Government have been persistently and consistently warned that their approach to public finances is simply not sustainable. The gap in public finances has long been predicted by a wide range of organisations and fiscal experts, including the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Scottish Fiscal Commission—an institute in Scotland similar to the Office for Budget Responsibility, although I am glad to say that Liz Truss did not get anywhere near it. The Scottish Fiscal Commission said of the Scottish budget that “much of the pressure comes from the Scottish Government’s own decisions.” The Auditor General has warned that the SNP’s short-term approach to budgets is not addressing unsustainable public finances in Scotland. We can have no confidence that the Scottish Government are able to address these problems. As Audit Scotland said in 2023: “Historically there has been an implementation gap between public sector reform ambitions and the ability of the Scottish Government to deliver change”. Translated into more normal language, that means that the Scottish Government keep saying they will do stuff, but they never get round to doing it. The terrible state of public finances and higher income taxes in Scotland do not concern only working people: 82% of Scottish business leaders are concerned about Scotland’s tax divergence from the rest of the UK. Why? Because it makes it harder to recruit talented people to come and live in Scotland. I would venture to say that that is what we are desperate to do: have more people living, earning and contributing in Scotland. There are wider problems.

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

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  I will make some progress, because I have another 26 pages to go. The Scottish Government absolutely refuse to take responsibility for the catastrophic state of the Scottish economy and public finances. There is always some other factor, person or force majeure event to blame. I venture to say that the Scottish Government have an abundance of two things at the moment: brass necks and Teflon desks. There is no great mystery about who is responsible for the state of the Scottish economy: the SNP has been in power in Scotland for 17 years and, until July, the Conservatives had run this country for 14 years. The First Minister, the right hon. John Swinney, has been one of the central guiding minds and directing intellects behind those 17 years of incompetence; he was Finance Secretary for more than half of the SNP’s term in office and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills for five years. Labour will take the steps needed to fix the Scottish economy. We are determined to bring outside investment into Scotland, which has been the focus of our international investment summit this week. We are developing a strong industrial strategy. Our new Employment Rights Bill will make work pay and protect the majority of Scotland’s business against competition from unscrupulous businesses that do not treat their employees fairly. An example of that is exploitative zero-hours contracts, which we will banish from Scotland. GB Energy, headquartered in Aberdeen, one of Scotland’s amazing cities, will spearhead billions of pounds of investment in our energy system, including floating offshore wind, which is a brilliant opportunity for the north-east of Scotland, and hydrogen. We will work tirelessly to help our businesses export and to support our tourism sector. For the last 17 years, the Scottish Government have been selling Scotland to the Scots, but we know that Scotland is brilliant; we have to sell Scotland to the world, and that is what we will do. An early example of that is a deal with Brazil for the recognition of Scotch whisky worth up to £25 million. I spent more than 27 years working as a lawyer with Scottish businesses before I came to this place, and I have never wavered in my belief that Scotland has the greatest economic potential. I have never wavered in my belief that Scotland’s economy can grow and deliver good jobs and the money needed to deliver the public services that Scotland deserves. That is Scottish Labour’s belief too. A growing economy gives people well-paid jobs and optimism about the future, and we are determined to deliver that. A growing economy delivers better public services, and Scotland’s public services must be improved. We are determined to rebuild our public services after years of neglect and mismanagement. Next year is Glasgow’s 850th birthday. I am ferociously proud of Glasgow and of Scotland—including Aberdeen, where my mother came from and where I have spent so much time both on family matters and working. With investment and stable government, we can deliver the change that Scotland needs. We have got rid of one of the Governments failing Scotland; we need to get rid of the other. It is time for change in Scotland. It is time to deliver economic growth and better public services to Scotland.

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

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  Scottish Labour and the Labour party are in favour of bringing talented people into Scotland, and the Scottish Government are welcome to work with us as we seek to ensure that that takes place. As I understand it, the Home Secretary is determined to ensure that it does, and I also understand that the Migration Advisory Committee is looking at the issue carefully. There is no doubt that we want to ensure that talented people can come and work in Scotland; the question is how to do it, and we are seeking to work with the Scottish Government productively on that. One of the biggest challenges in the Scottish economy is productivity. One key way to get economic growth is to ensure that everyone can make more in the same time. The CBI-Fraser of Allander Scottish productivity index shows that Scotland is lagging behind the rest of the UK on 10 out of 13 productivity indicators, including business investment and business research and development spend. It is worth saying that business investment is simply not enough in the UK as it is, which is why our Government are so focused on increasing business investment and business research and development spend. I regret to say that the problem comes down in significant part to the Scottish Government. In February 2024, Audit Scotland concluded: “The Scottish Government’s 10-year economic strategy currently lacks collective political leadership and clear targets.” That mismanagement has a terrible effect on Scotland’s public services. If Scotland’s economy had grown at the same sclerotic pace as the rest of the UK’s economy, it would be £8.5 billion larger. That would mean that there was more to invest in public services. As the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s work shows, Scotland would have £624 million more in tax revenues each year if we matched the UK’s abysmal performance under the Conservatives. Scotland desperately needs a Government who are pro-worker, pro-growth and pro-business, and that is what we will offer the Scottish people in 2026. This crisis is due to the mess that the Tories and the SNP have made of our economy. Scotland’s independent Auditor General has warned that the SNP’s approach to public finances is unsustainable. Our public services face cuts because of the SNP’s buy now, pay later policies, and we have lost out on good industrial jobs, as they have gone overseas.