Melanie Ward MP: speeches

Speeches

• 24 Jun 2025 · War Memorials · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her important point. I agree completely, and I will say some more about it shortly. There are a few who argue that war memorials, and our ceremonies and rituals around them, glorify war. I stand here as a former humanitarian aid worker who has served in war zones. I strongly believe that remembering the fallen does not glorify war. In fact, the opposite is true. It serves as a reminder of the human cost of war, the sacrifice of individuals and groups, and the devastating gaps that their deaths leave in the places where they lived and within the people whose lives their presence enriched. That is why, all these years on, we choose to remember them. Of course, I want to talk about some of the beautiful memorials in my constituency. In November, as many of us did, I attended Remembrance Sunday events. For me, they were at Cowdenbeath’s memorials, and I also laid wreaths in Burntisland, Aberdour and Inverkeithing, and I attended Kirkcaldy’s memorial. There are also memorials in Dysart, Dalgety Bay, Crossgates, Kinghorn and North Queensferry. The beautiful commemorative first world war stained-glass window in the now sadly closed Auchtertool kirk has a link to this place, as its designer, Ballantine, also designed windows in the House of Lords. However, I give special mention to Kirkcaldy’s war memorial, galleries and gardens, which were unveiled 100 years ago this coming Friday. They were the gift of John Nairn, whose family’s linoleum-manufacturing business made Kirkcaldy the linoleum capital of the world. He paid for the construction in memory of his only son, Ian Nairn, who was killed in the Somme in 1918. The memorial in Kirkcaldy is a focal point of our town. It is one of the first things that people see as they leave the train station and head to the town centre, and its award-winning galleries have a large collection of paintings by William McTaggart and Samuel Peploe, and they have hosted exhibitions by Diane Arbus and Fife’s own Jack Vettriano, who was heavily influenced by the works on display in the galleries. The centenary commemorations begin this Friday, when I will have the solemn honour of beginning the reading of the names of the more than 1,500 dead recorded on the memorial. Each name will be read out one by one over the weekend, from those who lost their lives in the first world war to Sergeant Sean Binnie who died in Helmand, Afghanistan in May 2009, while serving with the Black Watch. Sean joined the Army in 2003 and served with his battalion in Iraq and the Falkland Islands. He was later deployed on Operation Herrick in Afghanistan, training Afghan troops to fight the Taliban. On 7 May 2009, Sean Binnie was killed, aged 22, during a firefight with Taliban insurgents in Helmand province, while serving as part of the battle group mentoring the Afghan national army. My thoughts, along with those of the whole House, are with his family. On Wednesday next week, as we in Kirkcaldy hold the service to mark the centenary of the memorial, we will remember Sean and all those who died serving their country. We will think of the gaping holes that their loss has inflicted on those who love them most, and on our communities who raised them. The service would not have happened without the dedication of Kirkcaldy Royal British Legion Scotland, in particular its amazing chair, Bill Mason, and secretary, Ray Davidson, as well as our Deputy Lord Lieutenant Jim Kinloch, who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the names of the fallen featured on the memorial and Kirkcaldy’s veterans are remembered for their sacrifices. The role that the RBLS Kirkcaldy and the Kirkcaldy United Services Institute, better known as the KUSI club, play in supporting veterans in our community is outstanding. I pay special tribute to the many volunteers in Kirkcaldy who, when asked to knit 1,500 poppies for the centenary, ended up knitting more than 8,000. Those poppies have been attached to nets that now cascade down the central tower at the memorial and dress the balcony. The ceremony will match the serenity and importance of our war memorial in Kirkcaldy. I pay tribute to all involved and ask the Minister, in her remarks, to join me in commending them.

• 24 Jun 2025 · War Memorials · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered the role of war memorials. It is a pleasure to lead my first Westminster Hall debate under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I thank colleagues from across the House for joining me in this important discussion on the role that war memorials play in our communities and country. This Friday marks the centenary of Kirkcaldy’s war memorial and galleries, with commemorations running from the end of this week to a ceremony next Wednesday, with a military parade and some very special guests. I am leading the debate to pay tribute to those who have maintained Kirkcaldy’s memorial, galleries and gardens over the past century, as well as providing Members with an opportunity to raise important memorials in their own constituencies. All of us in this House represent areas with war memorials. While our country has huge regional diversity, war memorials form a thread that runs through our national landscape, from the Cenotaph on Whitehall, just outside this place, to North Ronaldsay, the most northerly island of Orkney. Those quiet monuments to sacrifice bring us together and bind us. They remind us that no city, town or village has been spared the pain and loss that conflict has brought to the families of the fallen. What we most admire about the more than 100,000 war memorials in Britain are, of course, their quiet beauty and the opportunity they afford for contemplation and remembrance, but it is also their inherently egalitarian nature that makes them so respected. Prior to the Boer war, our memorials celebrated great victories and leaders. Just up the road from this place, Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column serve as a reminder of that. Yet after the Boer war and the devastation of the first world war, it was widely accepted that we needed a new, more sombre and respectful form of remembrance, which did away with class and military rank, listing each soldier equally as an individual who had given their life for our country.

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

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  Community ownership of assets can be incredibly valuable, and I congratulate the village of Auchtertool on its new community ownership of the Tiel pub. Meanwhile, in North Queensferry, the community are working hard to take ownership of the Albert hotel, but their efforts were blocked by SNP Government Ministers, who rejected their application to exercise their right to buy. Will the Leader of the House join me in urging the Scottish Government to give way to the “Save the Albert” campaign, reverse their decision and let the residents of North Queensferry take this much-loved village asset into community ownership, and will she make Government time available for a debate on community ownership?

• 20 May 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

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  I welcome today’s steps forward, particularly on trade. The fact that we are on the brink of the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians is such a collective global failure that it betrays words. Unlike the shadow Foreign Secretary, will the Foreign Secretary confirm the UK’s total opposition to Israeli plans to replace humanitarian non-governmental organisations and the UN with mercenaries? On the important statement by the UK, France and Canada, threatening further important multilateral action if Israel does not stop, what is the red line? We have been here before with the Rafah offensive, when the international community said it would stop Israel but it did not. Gaza is out of time.

• 6 May 2025 · Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary · Hansard source

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  I am privileged to speak in this debate today after so many powerful speeches from colleagues across the House. I am also glad to have the chance to draw particular attention to the people of Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, and the special role that my constituents and their forefathers played in securing victory for the allies. The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry was present at many of the second world war’s most crucial turning points, from the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940 to the Normandy landings in 1944 and the crossing of the Rhine in March 1945. Hundreds of young men lost their lives, and we will remember them. I draw attention to the enormous contribution that women made to the war effort. Having entered the workforce en masse in Kirkcaldy’s world-famous linoleum industry during the first world war, the contribution to the second world war effort by Kirkcaldy’s women was invaluable. Women working at Nairn’s manufactured fuel tanks for Halifax bombers, and their biggest contribution was to anti-gas fabric for capes and gas masks. Such quantities could only be produced in Kirkcaldy, and that was a decisive factor in the allied victory, as the Nazis could not manufacture gas-proof textiles in sufficient quantities and so never used gas in air raids for fear of retaliation. One of the most iconic symbols of Britain’s war effort—and, indeed, its lack of use—are therefore testament to the hard graft of Fifers, particularly our wartime women. Adding to their contribution were the thousands of Poles in the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, stationed at Auchtertool in my constituency, who helped to fortify Scotland’s east coast and set up anti-tank barriers and pillboxes from Burntisland all the way up to Montrose, accompanying the fortifications on the island of Inchcolm in the Forth. The regiment later went into battle in Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands in 1944. General Sikorski, the leader of the Polish Government in exile, had a house in Auchtertool as well, and I found a quote from Winston Churchill as he updated this very House on the death of General Sikorski in July 1943: “Until the moment of his death he lived in the conviction that all else must be subordinated to the needs of the common struggle and in the faith that a better Europe will arise”. —[ Official Report , 6 July 1943; Vol. 390, c. 1947.] Many Poles made their homes in my constituency after world war two and they are an important part of our community today. The memory of those who fought in both world wars and all others, and in particular of those who did not make it home, is kept alive by the fantastic work of the Kirkcaldy Legion. Its work alongside the Kirkcaldy United Services Institute and the Hill of Beath Ex-servicemans Club in my constituency supports veterans in our area. I am also glad of the work that our Labour Government are putting in to support our veterans and their families. I commemorate the contribution of my granny, Isa McCue, who served in a munitions factory, and my grandad, Sam Ward, who served in the RAF during world war two. Civilians before the war, like so many, they stepped up to secure our freedom. In the face of the challenges in our own day and age, in this debate and on the 80th anniversary of VE Day on Thursday, we commemorate real people who worked, who served and who gave their lives for freedom and prosperity in the face of immense challenges. They are, after all, the reason we are here today.

• 3 Apr 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source

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  The Kirkcaldy community football partnership does an amazing job providing a home for 18 teams, and bringing young people into our national game, including from some of the most deprived parts of our town. Facilities at Denfield Park are too often unusable due to water logging on the grass pitch, and it badly needs a new synthetic pitch. It is seeking funding for that as part of the Labour Government’s investment in grassroots sport in Scotland. I will meet the Scottish Football Association about that next week, so will the Minister support our funding bid, and will she join me in encouraging the Secretary of State to accept my invitation to visit our pitch in Kirkcaldy and see the need for herself?

• 27 Feb 2025 · War in Ukraine: Third Anniversary · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree; accountability is essential. More than a decade ago, Putin tested the tactic of attacking hospitals in his operations in Syria, and the world stood by. The message about impunity spread, and we have subsequently seen the same tactics used by other forces in Gaza and Sudan, and now by Putin in Ukraine. Children should never be targeted in war, and the International Criminal Court has an arrest warrant out for Putin for his deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. The stability and prosperity that we have enjoyed in our part of the world for the last 80 years cannot be taken for granted. It was fought for, literally. Democracy does not just happen. We have to want it, value it, work to keep it and protect it, and we have much work to do in that regard. In my previous work in war zones across the world, I often returned home with the sense that conflict and disaster can happen anywhere. That is why we need to support our global institutions now more than ever—institutions such as the United Nations, and the framework of international law put in place after world war two. If we value those achievements, we must uphold and protect them. Our Government are absolutely right to increase defence spending rapidly. I have seen too many times as a former aid worker what happens when Governments fail in their most basic duty: keeping their country safe. Of course, funding this increase in defence spending through the aid budget is painful, and I say to those in the international development community in this country and elsewhere that I and others feel the pain. Given the scale of external threats, we should all understand that further painful decisions of a different kind may come in the future. I end by paying tribute to the Ukrainian refugees I met in Kirkcaldy in my constituency a few weeks ago. We owe it to those refugees, and to all who have fought for Ukraine, the UK and Europe’s freedom, to now do whatever it takes to defend our shared freedom and security.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Sudan and Eastern DRC · Hansard source

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  The Foreign Secretary spoke movingly about his visit to the Chad-Sudan border, and I commend him for bearing witness. There is no substitute for doing that. Since April 2023, there have been more than 500 attacks on healthcare facilities in Sudan, and more than 100 healthcare workers have been killed. The Foreign Secretary will know that attacks on hospitals and healthcare are a growing and grotesque phenomenon across the world. Does he think we could use our position on the UN Security Council as the lead on the protection of civilians to bring together countries and drive forward action to protect healthcare and health facilities across the world?

• 27 Jan 2025 · Storm Éowyn · Hansard source

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  Storm Éowyn caused real damage to homes and property in my constituency and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie), who has a family emergency today but with whom I worked closely over the weekend. The costs include significant losses to the economy, after many businesses had to close on Friday. Around 15,000 people lost power across Fife in freezing conditions. I thank the ScottishPower engineers and all those who worked hard in dangerous conditions to get power restored and to care for others. However, some, including older and vulnerable people, on the outskirts of Aberdour, Burntisland, Cowdenbeath and Auchtertool are still without power. I was closely engaged with many constituents over the weekend, ensuring that a generator was brought to a care home without power in Auchtertool on Saturday. I thank the Windsor hotel in Kirkcaldy and the Woodside hotel in Cowdenbeath, who accommodated people hit by the storm at no cost. Such acts of community solidarity are priceless in times of need. Does the Minister agree that lessons from the response to Storm Éowyn must be learned and implemented, as climate change will bring more extreme weather events? They include the effectiveness of the priority services register, reliance on phoning 105 when people have no mobile phone battery or working phone line, and more preparatory work by the Scottish Government and local authorities to get resources and support to communities.

• 23 Jan 2025 · Holocaust Memorial Day · Hansard source

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  It is impossible to do justice to the scale of the horror witnessed by those entering Auschwitz-Birkenau when it was liberated 80 years ago. They found a death camp that was specifically designed to facilitate starvation, forced labour and the most chilling methods of mechanised execution in human history. Historians estimate that 1.1 million people perished at Auschwitz in just under five years. Across the whole of Nazi-occupied Europe, 6 million Jewish people were murdered, and millions more prisoners of war, political prisoners, Poles, disabled people, members of the LGBT community, Roma and others were slaughtered. I found the speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (David Pinto-Duschinsky) so moving, and I will share my own family’s story. One of those we believe was lost was my great-grandfather, a Polish Jew who emigrated to the UK and changed our family’s name in the face of antisemitism here. He returned to Poland just before the second world war, and my family never heard from him again. That is just one reason I am proud that my constituency contains the Kirkcaldy Polish club—branch No. 50 of the Association of Polish Combatants, set up across the UK after the second world war by heroic Poles who, together with so many others, resisted Nazi aggression. I read a letter written by Helen Oglethorpe, a British medic who was one of the first into Bergen-Belsen when it was liberated. The letter was dated 28 May 1945. She described some of what she found: “We left Holland on April 29th and came up to the Belsen Concentration Camp. It has been truly terrible and I never really believed what the newspapers told us but it was even worse than that. The first few weeks we spent clearing out all the SS and Hungarian troops’ barracks and turning them into hospitals and cleaning out the actual Concentration Camp. There were 52,000 living and 10,000 unburied dead in an area of about 1 sq. mile. One can’t imagine it unless one has seen it. A further 13,000 died on our hands in the next three or four weeks. We had medical students…working in the Concentration Camp picking out the people who might live and trying to clean up a bit.” Despite the Nazis’ attempts to strip their victims of their humanity, including by assigning numbers to those held in concentration camps, these people were not numbers or statistics; they were humans loved by their families and citizens who contributed to the cultural, economic and social life of Europe. Indeed, across the great cities of Europe and beyond, each Holocaust memorial is marked by an attempt to remember these people by using their names. That is why I would like to commend the important work of the Holocaust Educational Trust. Each year, as we have heard across the House, we lose Holocaust survivors, and the trust’s efforts to keep the stories of survivors and victims alive ensures that we do not forget them or, indeed, what was done to them. The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 is “For a better future”. In the face of mass atrocity crimes taking place across the world, the need for us in this place and, indeed, globally to work for a better future could not be clearer. We must learn the lessons of history, especially in this era of misinformation. We know what happens when antisemitism, hatred and prejudice are allowed to flourish. We must do far more to prevent identity-based violence, genocide and mass atrocity crimes. We must honour those who perished in the Holocaust and those who survived.

• 16 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Kirkcaldy Community Football Partnership does an amazing job in my constituency, supporting a number of local football clubs including Kirkcaldy and Dysart football club and Templehall United. It also runs an over-35s walking football team, which is of particular interest to me. It badly needs funding for a new synthetic all-weather pitch; does the Minister agree that this is an important cause, and one that deserves support?

• 15 Jan 2025 · Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill · Hansard source

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  Conservative Members do not like to be reminded of the fact that six months ago our Labour Government inherited a £22 billion black hole from their 14 years of Tory rule— [Interruption] —as they are demonstrating now. It is, however, a fact. With that inheritance from the Tories, our new Government are taking much-needed action such as that on which we are voting today. In particular, they are taking action to end tax breaks for private schools across the UK, and it is the education side of this Bill on which I will now focus. Many of us are here today partly because of the inspiration, teaching and support that an incredible teacher gave to us. I want to pay tribute to one of my teachers at Hermitage academy, which is a state school. Mrs McKeirnan was my modern studies teacher, and a fine job she did too. I fondly remember writing essays about the reasons for Labour’s election win in 1997; they obviously had an impact. However, while we had skilful and energetic teachers like Mrs McKeirnan, what was less satisfactory was that the school roof often leaked when it rained, and sometimes the windows blew in during the winter. That continued until the election of Labour in both Westminster and Holyrood saw my old school being rebuilt. We can compare that with the situation today in my constituency, where Balwearie high school in Kirkcaldy needs a new building. The funding has not been available during the last 18 years of SNP government and 14 years of Tory rule. My point is that much of our country’s public sector infrastructure is not fit for purpose after years of Tory neglect. To turn that around, we obviously need to raise revenue, and that is exactly what the measures that we are voting on today will do. Ending tax breaks for private schools is crucial to the record budget settlement for the Scottish Government—the largest settlement since devolution, with an additional £1.5 billion to spend in this financial year and an additional £3.4 billion for next year. For too many in my constituency, the SNP’s record of educational failure has let the party down. Nicola Sturgeon once said: “Judge me on my educational record”, and she promised that her Government would close the attainment gap by 2026. Last year, the attainment gap in Scotland widened, and the PISA report showed that reading, maths and science are in long-term decline. Now that the SNP Government have the funding, it is up to them to clear up the mess in education that they have created, which fails young people in my constituency.

• 25 Nov 2024 · Israel-Gaza Conflict: Arrest Warrants · Hansard source

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  I thought the Conservative party styled itself the party of law and order, but it seems that that is increasingly not the case when it comes to international law. The Government are right to uphold the ICC’s decision, and they were right to vote for last week’s UN Security Council resolution on a ceasefire. The Minister will be aware that there is increasing evidence, including from organisations such as Human Rights Watch, of the forcible displacement of Palestinians from the north of Gaza. He will be aware that this is a crime against humanity, and that two of the main proponents are Israeli Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. The Prime Minister has confirmed that the Government are looking at this, so when will the Government move to sanction those Ministers as part of a wider package of further action to uphold international law?

• 6 Nov 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  Some have spoken today of the wait for this Budget. Depending on our perspective, we waited either 16 weeks or 14 years, and I was in the latter camp. I was proud to sit behind my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds West and Pudsey (Rachel Reeves), the first woman Chancellor in the 800-year history of the office, as she delivered the Budget last week, and I was even more proud of the Budget that she introduced and what it means for working people of all ages in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy. One in four children in my constituency are growing up in poverty; they have been failed by two Opposition parties. Save the Children Scotland said this year that the Scottish Government’s policies would not “move the dial” on child poverty, and the SNP has consistently failed to meet the targets it has set. Once again, its Members are not here to listen to the debate. Because of this Budget, Labour’s fair repayment rate will mean that more than 1 million of the UK’s poorest households will be £420 a year better off from next April. That is expected to benefit 110,000 households in Scotland and to begin at last to drive down dependence on emergency food parcels. Many of those visiting food banks are in work, and the 6.7% increase to the national living wage and the even larger increase for 18 to 20-year-olds is an important recognition of the financial difficulty in which many of my constituents find themselves. In Fife alone, more than 8,000 low-paid workers stand to benefit from the increase to the national living wage. The mineworkers’ pension scheme will return more than £1 billion to 112,000 former coal workers, 824 of whom are in my constituency. That means that the people who powered our country, who were so badly mistreated for so many years by the Conservatives, will receive a 32% increase to their annual pensions. Finally, Labour’s Budget delivers the largest financial settlement to the Scottish Government in the history of devolution, with an extra £3.4 billion next year alone. It is over to the SNP now to use that competently to fix Scotland’s precious public services, which the SNP has run down over the past 17 years. In conclusion, this Budget delivers for all age groups and all parts of my constituency in enacting our manifesto commitments to make work pay, to revive our public services and to tackle poverty. I am proud to support this historic Budget.

• 21 Oct 2024 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and to my proud membership of Community and Unison. My hon. Friend and I are both proud to represent Fife, but in some areas of Fife as many as one child in four still lives in poverty. Does he agree that by giving over 8,000 more workers more money in their pocket, the Bill will mean that more families have more money to spend and will help to make an important contribution to tackling child poverty in Fife?

• 16 Oct 2024 · City and Town Centres: Regeneration · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Vickers. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) on securing this important debate. After 14 years of Tory government and 17 years of the SNP—failed Governments both—those of us who represent Scottish constituencies need it now more than ever. Kirkcaldy is the biggest town in my constituency. Two weeks ago, I held a roundtable for business owners and managers on Kirkcaldy High Street to discuss the urgent need to revive our town centre. They expressed their concerns about a high street that is far from what it used to be, with empty shop fronts that do not reflect the ingenuity or industriousness of Kirkcaldy’s people. The shop front vacancy rate on the high street sits at over 25%, and the number of businesses declined by 22% and 14% in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, respectively, in the three years after the pandemic. Perhaps the most disheartening thing about the vacancy rate is that when a unit becomes vacant, residents feel it is unlikely that anyone will fill it again. We have to change that. Attendees at my roundtable expressed fear of a vicious cycle, which other MPs have mentioned today. They worry that as the closure of shops leads to lower footfall in cafés, restaurants and pubs, the eventual closure of those establishments is more likely, too. Despite the important work of Fife council, that is what happens after almost two decades without a proper national economic development strategy or industry strategy. That is the effect on town centres such as Kirkcaldy’s. I am grateful that the Labour Government have seen success in the investment summit this week, and that we have a consultation on the new industrial strategy. We must ensure that it helps towns and cities to thrive as part of a cross-Government approach, rather than having them fight among themselves for scraps of investment. Business rates have also been mentioned by a number of colleagues. That is a devolved issue, and we in Scottish Labour have long called for a rebalancing of rates between online and physical retail premises. There is much more to say, of course, but finally I want to mention that I have been encouraged by community action in my constituency to improve our high street. Retail must be part of the solution, but so must other activity. I particularly commend the work of Love Oor Lang Toun, which references the epic length of our seafront. I also warmly congratulate the Adam Smith Global Foundation on the success of the new Kirkcaldy lottery, which should also help with regeneration on our high street. There is so much to do to ensure that regeneration on our high street gives us a future to look forward to, and not just a past to be proud of.

• 15 Oct 2024 · Gaza and Lebanon · Hansard source

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  Today, we are joined in the Gallery by my friends from the excellent health and human rights NGO Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, and we pay tribute to their brave work. Together with other Israeli human rights organisations, today they have warned that the international community must act now to stop Israel forcibly transferring the population of northern Gaza. The Government must do more. What concrete new action are the Government taking to stop this happening?

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

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  As the Prime Minister has said, the horrific Hamas attacks a year ago inflicted unbearable pain and loss on Israeli civilians, and we continue to condemn those attacks in the strongest terms. I remember clearly, too, the fear that my then colleagues in Gaza, Palestinian aid workers, felt as bombs began dropping on them that night. The healthcare system in Gaza is now all but destroyed, and according to the United Nations there have been 36 recent attacks on healthcare facilities in Lebanon. Israeli forces are also now using fighter jets to bomb refugee camps in the west bank. Does the Prime Minister agree that this is unacceptable? As he will know, the UK Government are the United Nations Security Council lead on the protection of civilians. Next month, when the UK has the United Nations Security Council presidency, will he ensure that there is a focus on their protection?

• 12 Sept 2024 · UK Shared Prosperity Fund · Hansard source

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  I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rochester and Strood on securing this debate and thank her for doing so. This is such an important moment. We heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed) about the importance of the UK shared prosperity fund for his area. I was really glad to welcome the Deputy Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner), to my constituency during the general election campaign, where she saw the need for that funding. Fife has benefited greatly from more than £13 million from the fund in recent years. In my constituency, that includes projects such as Step On, which is run by LinkLiving with Raith Rovers Community Foundation. It provides targeted help for young people to improve their mental health.

• 11 Sept 2024 · Building Safety and Resilience · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend will have noticed that in my first speech, I mentioned that in Fife, we have a housing emergency. I draw his attention to the fact that in March, the SNP Scottish Government cut the affordable supply programme budget by almost £200 million. The new UK Labour Government are having to clean up the mess left by the Conservative Government—their black hole of £22 billion. In Scotland, the SNP has been in power for 17 years and has no excuse. Fife council had hoped to build 1,250 new council homes over the next five years, but that is now under threat. Too many people in my area, as I said in my speech, do not have a safe, appropriate place to call home. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is about time the SNP took responsibility for its financial mismanagement? I note once again that SNP Members are not present in the Chamber for this important debate.