John Lamont MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 21 May 2025 · Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Increase of Borrowing Limits) Order 2025 · Hansard source

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  I just want to make a few remarks, Mr Efford; I will not detain colleagues for long. I commend the Minister for his remarks, and I associate myself with the remarks from the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Gordon and Buchan. Just over a year ago that I was moving a similar draft order on behalf of the previous Government, so I congratulate the Minister on reading out those numbers so accurately. It is important to record, as the Minister and my hon. Friend did, that this additional funding will potentially be used by the Scottish Government to fund vital public services that many of our constituents depend on, whether that is schools, roads or other infrastructure projects that are vital to many of our constituents. But it is a great shame that the Scottish SNP Government perhaps do not use all of the resources available to them to fund those types of policy areas, and instead obsess repeatedly about independence referendums. Indeed, just this week, the First Minister spoke about how next year’s Scottish parliamentary election will be about independence referendums—again. From the SNP Government’s record, it is not hard to see how they have failed to deliver for the people of Scotland: one in six Scots is stuck on NHS waiting lists, drug deaths remain the highest in Europe, there are more than 900 fewer police officers today than prior to the pandemic, there are 1,500 fewer teachers, and the Government have failed to close the attainment gap. We also all know how much money was wasted on their reckless gender reform Bill. It is a shame that no SNP Members are present to welcome this additional funding from the UK Government or to defend their record in government in Scotland. As my hon. Friend the Member for Gordon and Buchan said, the SNP Government are accountable to Members of the Scottish Parliament, but is the Minister confident that the SNP Government will use this additional funding for the public services that our constituents use every day?

• 15 May 2025 · Recalled Offenders: Sentencing Limits · Hansard source

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  The Victims’ Commissioner has warned that freeing prisoners early who have been shown to pose a reoffending risk to the public will “place victims and the wider public at an unnecessary risk of harm.” The Domestic Abuse Commissioner has said that it is “simply unacceptable”. What discussions did the Government have with those two commissioners before making the announcement?

• 15 May 2025 · Solar Farms · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to the hon. Members for South West Norfolk (Terry Jermy) and for Rother Valley (Jake Richards) for taking a brave stance against their Government Whips and standing up for their constituents against these reckless solar farm proposals. Today’s debate is on solar energy, but the points I intend to make apply to more than just this type of energy infrastructure. The manner in which these projects are being pursued—aggressively and without due care—is beginning to cause a major backlash. There are rapidly growing fears that solar and renewable projects are being forced through and greenlit for installation against the wishes of the people who will have to live next to them. The “net zero at all costs” agenda of this Labour Government, which is enthusiastically endorsed by the SNP at Holyrood, causes great concern across the country—and for good reason. Protecting the environment should not come at the expense of our economy, jobs and countryside. The approach of Labour and the SNP needs to change. Major infrastructure projects are a particular issue in rural constituencies like mine in the Scottish Borders, where the countryside is not some far-off place we speak wistfully about; it is where we live. The countryside is part of our community. When solar projects are proposed that are bigger than some towns, it is deeply worrying for local people. Time and again, when I look at projects across my constituency, I see a scandalous lack of regard for the views of local people. They are given little information, are overlooked and even ignored, and then expected to just agree with the project. Labour and the SNP might think that is acceptable, but Conservative Members do not. We believe that it is wrong, and that people should not have to put up with it.

• 15 May 2025 · Solar Farms · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the Minister, but what is he saying to my constituents who are genuinely terrified by these large-scale wind farms, pylons and solar farms coming to our area of Scotland, which I am sure he knows well? Just as importantly, what does he say to the hon. Members for Rother Valley (Jake Richards) and for South West Norfolk (Terry Jermy), who raised the same concerns as Members on the Opposition Benches?

• 15 May 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The Scottish fire and rescue service is facing damaging cuts thanks to underfunding by the SNP Government in Edinburgh. Last week, I visited Hawick fire station, where I heard about the proposed cuts, including changes to the retained service and a reduction in the 24/7 coverage to office hours. Such proposals could put lives at risk, so may we have a debate on the importance of adequate funding for our fire and rescue services? Also, does the Leader of the House agree that the SNP cuts are completely reckless?

• 14 May 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q11. People in the real world are disgusted by the Energy Secretary’s obsessive pursuit of net zero at any cost. The Scottish Borders are under attack, with solar farms the size of towns, massive wind farms and now mega-pylons scarring unspoilt landscapes. Nobody sensible supports his crazed, crank policies, which will put jobs at risk and rip up farmland. When will the Prime Minister step in and stop his Energy Secretary throwing taxpayers’ money at this nonsense?

• 8 May 2025 · Trade Negotiations · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Mr Speaker, for dragging the Minister to the House tonight to explain the terms of the deal. After hammering farms with the family farm tax, it now looks like Labour is selling our farmers down the river, allowing cheap, low-quality imports from the United States. President Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture has said: “This deal puts our great American Agricultural Producers FIRST!” Is she wrong?

• 8 May 2025 · Small Abattoirs · Hansard source

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  But not President Trump?

• 8 May 2025 · Small Abattoirs · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. As the MP for the Scottish Borders, which is a vast area, I share her concerns. Many of my farmers and food producers face the challenges to which she has referred. I agree with her points about animal welfare and supporting the rural economy. Does she agree that local abattoirs help the environment by reducing the carbon footprint of food production?

• 8 May 2025 · Small Abattoirs · Hansard source

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  The Minister is absolutely right to highlight the importance of supporting local food production and ensuring that consumers here in the UK buy local. I just wonder how that stacks up with what President Trump has just said, which is that this new UK-US trade deal “includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol, and virtually all the products produced by our great farmers.” How does that fit in with encouraging people to buy British products?

• 6 May 2025 · Trade Negotiations · Hansard source

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  Just a few weeks ago, the Business and Trade Secretary said that he would “stand up for British workers”, so it is quite astonishing that the Minister has come to the House today to announce tax breaks for immigration. This will undercut workers in Scotland and across the UK, and it comes just weeks after Labour introduced its own tax on UK workers. It leaves us all wondering: do this Labour Government ever back British workers?

• 30 Apr 2025 · Family Farms: Impact of Spring Statement · Hansard source

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  The Minister seems to have no grasp whatsoever of the constant struggle facing our family farms in Wales and across the United Kingdom, because of the lack of support in both Labour’s spring statement and Labour’s family farm tax. Farming families are not multimillionaires—they are striving to make a profit, with many earning less than the minimum wage. Will the Minister finally accept that farms are crucial to the UK’s food security, and that the Government should support them and scrap the vindictive family farm tax?

• 30 Apr 2025 · Family Farms: Impact of Spring Statement · Hansard source

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  6. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the spring statement 2025 on family farms in Wales.

• 29 Apr 2025 · Protection of Primitive Goat Species in the Scottish Borders · Hansard source

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  I rise to present this petition from my constituents to the House of Commons, which was put together by the Wild Goat Conservation Group, particularly David Braithwaite and Gail Brown. It calls for the cull of wild goats on Langholm moor and Newcastleton hill to stop. I want to record my thanks to the more than 4,300 people from across the United Kingdom who have signed a similar online petition on this matter and to my right hon. Friend the Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell) for his support. The petition “Declares that wild goats have been roaming Langholm Moor and Newcastleton Hill for hundreds of years and play an important part in the biodiversity and natural history of the Scottish Borders… Oxygen Conservation who own the land they roam have” —callously— “started to cull this ancient animal without…consideration to the historical and emotional significance they carry for the local community… The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to make representations to the Scottish Government on their behalf, to encourage them to stop the cull of wild goats on Langholm Moor and Newcastleton Hill and ensure the survival of this ancient animal in the Scottish Borders by granting them national protected status. And the petitioners remain, etc.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, Declares that wild goats have been roaming Langholm Moor and Newcastleton Hill for hundreds of years and play an important part in the biodiversity and natural history of the Scottish Borders; further declares that, despite this, Oxygen Conservation who own the land that they roam have started to cull this ancient animal without any consideration to the historical and emotional significance they carry for the local community; and notes that over 4,300 people have signed a similar petition to the Scottish Parliament on this issue. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to make representations to the Scottish Government on their behalf, to encourage them to stop the cull of wild goats on Langholm Moor and Newcastleton Hill and ensure the survival of this ancient animal in the Scottish Borders by granting them national protected status. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003064]

• 24 Apr 2025 · Infected Blood Compensation Scheme · Hansard source

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  What direct discussions has the Minister had with people in Scotland who have been impacted by the infected blood scandal about the slow pace of compensation payments?

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  There are proposals by Scottish Borders council to close a number of local nurseries, including those at Channelkirk, Yetholm, Glendinning, Westruther, Ednam, Cockburnspath and Fountainhall. There is strong local opposition to those plans. Local nurseries are vital to rural communities such as mine, and keeping them open ensures that we can attract and retain young families in the Scottish Borders. Does the Leader of the House agree that nurseries throughout the United Kingdom should be protected, and will she allow time for a debate to discuss the importance of nursery provision in rural communities?

• 22 Apr 2025 · “For Women Scotland” Supreme Court Ruling · Hansard source

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  The Supreme Court’s ruling goes a long way to guarantee the rights and safety of women and girls. Does the Minister agree that the judgment highlights why it is now right for the SNP Government finally to ditch the divisive gender self-ID agenda once and for all, and proves it was totally wrong for Scottish Labour to back the SNP Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill?

• 8 Apr 2025 · Easter Adjournment · Hansard source

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  Yet again, my hon. Friend is demonstrating what a powerful champion he is for his constituency. Does he share my concern that this is about more than just jobs, because if we lose the ability to produce our own steel, that is a national security concern?

• 8 Apr 2025 · Easter Adjournment · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is giving a passionate speech about his constituency, and is demonstrating yet again why he is such a powerful champion for Keighley and Ilkley. Does he agree that the volunteers who run these groups are an important part of our community, and that the skills that they teach young people stay with them for the rest of their life?

• 8 Apr 2025 · Fly-tipping: West Midlands · Hansard source

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  rose —

• 8 Apr 2025 · Fly-tipping: West Midlands · Hansard source

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  I will make the same point to my hon. Friend the shadow Minister as I made to the hon. Member for Birmingham Northfield (Laurence Turner), about the tactics that the Unite trade unionists are using: the blockade of the depots to prevent the refuse trucks from leaving, and the slow walking in front of the lorries to prevent the bin workers from getting out to collect the rubbish. The hon. Member for Birmingham Northfield was a bit reluctant to call that out. Will the shadow Minister join me in saying that that type of action is completely unacceptable and should not be allowed in this day and age?

• 8 Apr 2025 · Fly-tipping: West Midlands · Hansard source

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  I view this as an important part of our democratic process, not as a tit-for-tat. It is important to recognise the concerns around that deposit return scheme. I was a Minister in the Scotland Office when the Scottish Government put forward proposals, and the previous Government were concerned about how those would impact on the operation of the internal market in the UK. Are the current Government saying that having different deposit return schemes in different parts of the UK is no longer a concern?

• 8 Apr 2025 · Fly-tipping: West Midlands · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way on that point?

• 8 Apr 2025 · Fly-tipping: West Midlands · Hansard source

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  My right hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and demonstrating yet again what a powerful champion she is for her constituents and region. I am sure she is aware that last night the BBC news reported from Birmingham not only on the Prime Minister’s visit but on the rubbish collection issue. Does she share my concerns that what is happening in the UK just now sends out a negative message to potential tourists and the global market?

• 8 Apr 2025 · Fly-tipping: West Midlands · Hansard source

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  Earlier, I referenced the BBC News reports from Birmingham; the hon. Member probably watched them himself. There were scenes of refuse trucks trying to leave the council depot to go and collect rubbish, but being stopped by Unite trade unionists, who blocked them as they tried to leave the depot and then slow-walked in front of them so that collections could not be carried out. Will the hon. Member do the right thing and condemn the actions of those trade unionists, and stand up for his constituents who want their rubbish collected by those trucks, which those union workers are preventing from getting out?