Zubir Ahmed MP: speeches

Speeches

• 1 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

  More

  The right hon. Gentleman is, of course, entitled to his opinion regarding this proposed piece of legislation, but would he concede that voting against it also means voting against £725 extra in cash terms for those on universal credit, against denying those people the ability to try work, and against investing £1 billion in the health and skills of people who wish to try work?

• 26 Jun 2025 · G7 and NATO Summits · Hansard source

  More

  While the Prime Minister was in his rightful place at the NATO summit this week, I was in my constituency for the opening of the Janet Harvey hall, a £250 million installation that will turbocharge shipbuilding in this country and put it in the service of our defence sector. The Prime Minister knows Govan shipbuilding very well. Labour recognises that the defence of our country is now inextricably linked with the growth of our economy and investment in our public services, but that view is not universally shared. I therefore ask the Prime Minister to urge the SNP Government to back our defence sector as we do, for the sake of jobs and prosperity in Glasgow South West and beyond.

• 26 Jun 2025 · BBC World Service Funding · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for giving me the opportunity to intervene on him as the MP for BBC Scotland’s headquarters. Given the context that he has talked about, does he agree that investment in the BBC World Service is in fact investment in the defence of our values and the defence of our ideals as a British nation?

• 19 Jun 2025 · Warm Home Discount · Hansard source

  More

  I warmly welcome my hon. Friend’s announcement, which will mean that 240,000 people in Scotland will benefit to the tune of £150 directly from the UK Government. I know that she will be having conversations with our Scottish counterparts—and I am sure that if SNP Members were here today, they would also welcome this announcement. As she is having those conversations, may I encourage her to talk about what she is doing and how it differs from the SNP’s approach, which involves independence thermometers and housing dashboards? What this Labour Government are doing down here is a practical, tangible example of how we can directly impact the lives of working people.

• 12 Jun 2025 · Long-term Medical Conditions · Hansard source

  More

  Hear, hear!

• 11 Jun 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source

  More

  It is clear from my right hon. Friend’s statement that she understands Scotland and that she has left no stone unturned in backing Scotland’s economy. Despairingly, her ambition is not matched by the SNP Government in Holyrood. Will she join me in urging the SNP Government to end their ideological blockade on the defence industry and nuclear industry so that my constituents can finally access the skills, jobs and prosperity that this Labour Government are investing in?

• 29 Apr 2025 · Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Visit · Hansard source

  More

  I warmly welcome the Minister’s statement and thank him for bringing an extensive range of expertise to his role. Does he agree with me that it is only right for a British Government Minister to ask searching questions of both the PA and the Israeli Government? Will he reassure me that he will continue to ask questions about accountability for the killing of humanitarian workers who are trying to perform their duties?

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  rose —

• 7 Apr 2025 · Israel: Refusal of Entry for UK Parliamentarians · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for all the help he gave to my hon. Friends the Members for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) and for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) over the weekend. The British Jewish organisation Yachad has suggested that this occurrence of detention is symptomatic of an attempt to silence criticism within Israel and outside. Is my hon. Friend sympathetic to that view and, if he is, is a business-as-usual diplomatic relationship with this current Israeli Government still possible?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

  More

  Over the past week, I have been in touch with medical colleagues on the ground in Gaza and also with representatives of hostage families in Israel. In Gaza, they corroborate the worrying UN reports of a shallow grave containing the bodies of 15 paramedics and rescue workers, seemingly shot one by one by the Israeli army, some of them still wearing the surgical gloves that they were using to save the lives of others. In Israel, hostage families feel increasingly distant from their own Government and abandoned by them. Hamas is a terrorist organisation, but Israel is an ally. As a critical friend and ally, what further steps can we take to reinforce our message that the Israeli Government’s current trajectory is destructive for peace and, indeed, for their own interests?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

  More

  20. What steps he is taking to help restore the ceasefire in Gaza.

• 26 Mar 2025 · Spring Statement · Hansard source

  More

  I congratulate my right hon. Friend on grasping the challenges and opportunities that this new world presents us with. Those opportunities will mean that, in my constituency of Glasgow South West, there will be more investment in the defence sector, which is timely, because after 18 years of SNP Government, one in six people in my constituency is economically inactive. Does she agree that this investment will finally raise their ambitions and their pay packets?

• 18 Mar 2025 · Welfare Reform · Hansard source

  More

  My right hon. Friend will agree that under the managed decline of the SNP, people in Scotland are more likely to be economically inactive than those in the rest of the UK. She will further agree that we have greater ambitions for the people of Scotland, particularly young people, than the Conservative party. Does she agree that these reforms are absolutely necessary to put more Scots back to work, and back on the road to prosperity?

• 13 Mar 2025 · Contribution of Muslims to Communities · Hansard source

  More

  Ramadan 2025—or 1446 AH, as many Muslims know it—is the first I am observing since being elected to this place as the Member of Parliament for Glasgow South West. As the only ethnic-minority and Muslim MP representing a Scottish Westminster constituency, I feel a sense of unique responsibility to espouse the positive role that Muslims play in our country, which should, but often does not, feel natural and easy to celebrate vocally. According to the 2022 census, over 76,000 Muslims live in Scotland, and I am proud that 13,000 of them—almost one in six—live in my constituency of Glasgow South West. It is a vibrant and diverse community of people of all colours and ethnic backgrounds who find a way to be multicultural, but who still tend to coalesce seamlessly around our Scottish and British identity. Perhaps we have much to teach the rest of Britain, and I would welcome a visit from the Minister or one of his team whenever they have time. Across the UK, there are 4 million Muslims, representing 6% of the total population. Their contributions are vast, particularly in the month of Ramadan, when many will redouble and amplify their efforts in their community and charity work. British Muslims donate £1.79 billion a year to charitable causes—four times more than the national average—and volunteer time worth £622 million a year. In that regard, I place on record my thanks to the many Islamic charities that are active in my constituency, including Islamic Relief, which diligently works not only on international causes, but increasingly on local causes. Businesses owned by Muslims contribute £25 billion a year to the British economy, notwithstanding the fact that the UK is a world leader in Islamic finance, holding 85% of the European Islamic finance banking sector. As with every community, there are challenges around inequality, but vast strides have been made in education and in the participation of Muslim women in society. There has been a notable increase in educational attainment, with 32.3% of Muslims holding degree-level qualifications in 2021, compared with only 24% in 2011. That is largely driven by Muslim women coming into higher education—something that we can wholeheartedly welcome. The story of Muslims is intricately woven into our society and is worthy of celebration. It is apparent in every walk of life, but perhaps most prominently in our NHS, where I worked as a full-time surgeon prior to my election to this place. That footprint was most palpable during the covid pandemic, when many served on the frontline despite knowing that they were at a disproportionately higher risk of harm. Many made the ultimate sacrifice, with Muslim doctors Alfa Sa’adu, Amged el-Hawrani, Adil El Tayar and Habib Zaidi—who had ancestry in Africa, Pakistan and the middle east—dying of covid in the course of their clinical duties. Unlike this Ramadan, when mosques at night are resplendent with light and beautiful recitation of the Quran, in 2020 they went dark and fell silent, with many taking the decision to close their doors to worshippers to stop the virus and protect everyone in their community long before the Government told them to do so. Many, such as the Glasgow central mosque, which is a stone’s throw from my constituency boundary, transformed into testing and vaccination hubs, undoubtedly saving thousands of lives. That should not be a surprise, because despite recent rhetoric, it is important to place on record that the footprint of Muslims on the British Isles, and in serving British interests, has been long, enduring and, at times, existential for our country.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Contribution of Muslims to Communities · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, and I wholeheartedly thank those in the Muslim community of Newcastle-under-Lyme for all their contributions—one day I may even get an invitation from my hon. Friend to go there. At least 2.5 million Muslim soldiers and labourers are reported to have fought with the allied forces in the first world war and 5.5 million in the second world war. Nearly 1.5 million Muslims were killed in action, not including the many Muslims serving in other roles during the war. Among them was my grandfather, Imam Mohamed, who was interned by the Japanese while serving as a constable in the Royal Hong Kong police force during the second world war. In more recent times, that sense of service has been manifested in the election of Muslim MPs to this place. It would be remiss of me, Madam Deputy Speaker, not to mention your achievements as the first ever female Muslim Minister serving in a Government and, of course, as the first ever Muslim Deputy Speaker. Despite the contribution I have described, with that shared history and those shared values, it is unfortunately a tumultuous time for many British Muslims. Over 6,000 anti-Muslim hate incidents have been reported in the last year. I see a sense of this increase in my own social media timeline, with an increasing diatribe of hatred directed at me—not so much because of the colour of my skin any more, as it was when I was younger, but because of my religion. Despite my being born here and serving in the NHS here, many question my place in Parliament because they do not deem enough generations of my family to have lived here for me to be British enough to serve in this place.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Contribution of Muslims to Communities · Hansard source

  More

  I wholeheartedly agree, and I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. In fact, the thrust of the conclusion of my speech will be how important social cohesion is. We must keep that at the forefront of our minds. The rhetoric we see online has the ability, surreptitiously, to desensitise all of us, and that desensitisation is finding its way to places such at the dinner table, where it is becoming an increasingly acceptable form of conversation to indulge in anti-Muslim rhetoric. As it does so at those dinner tables, at Muslim dinner tables across the country people are questioning their place in this society. This trend should worry us all, because it undermines the fabric of our society, our cohesion and our identity as a country. We know from other forms of hatred that what starts with antisemitism or anti-Muslim hatred rarely stops there.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Contribution of Muslims to Communities · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend, a well-respected politician who represents all her constituents well, and I will definitely join her in congratulating those organisations, particularly the Minhaj Welfare Foundation, which also operates in my constituency. As I was saying, this trend should worry us all, because of its undermining nature. We know that that kind of hatred, which begins as anti-Muslim rhetoric, does not stop with Muslims. It has a common denominator to divide and to fragment the bonds that have been forged over years, and indeed is a lightning rod to violence and civil disorder. This coming Saturday is a reminder of where that hatred leads if left unchecked. It will be the sixth anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shooting in New Zealand. On 15 March 2019, 51 innocent lives were tragically taken in that act of hatred—the youngest being just three years old. That sickening attack on those attending Friday prayers was a dark day. But in that darkness came the light of the response by the now former New Zealand Labour Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. She enveloped the Muslim community in empathy, inclusiveness and acceptance in a way that Muslims living in the west had rarely experienced, and in a way that will never be forgotten. I remember, the following day, coming out of the operating theatre and being driven to tears by her compassion. She validated my existence as a Muslim in the west in a way that no one in this country could have managed at the time, and for that, Muslims far and wide will hold her in a special place in their hearts. But we must not mistake compassion for weakness. In compassion there is often strength, and perhaps an even clearer vision of the future and a bravery to confront difficult issues and have the difficult conversations across communities, but most importantly within. We saw that sense of compassion and bravery in our country last summer in our Prime Minister, who acted so decisively during the riots to protect mosques, to protect those at risk of violent attack, and to mobilise the state quickly and effectively against anarchy. He attended the big iftar at Westminster Hall—the first time it has ever been held there—and tonight he is hosting an iftar at Downing Street too.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Contribution of Muslims to Communities · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for his warm words. I join him in commending the Ahmed family for all that they are doing to cement the bonds of community cohesion in his constituency. The Prime Minister’s actions are a clear indication that this Labour Government, under this Prime Minister, value and share bread with all communities and are a friend of the Muslim community. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) for his tireless efforts over the last decade in tackling anti-Muslim hatred; he also is a true friend of Muslims across this country. When hatred takes root in our society it diminishes us all. That is why I am glad that the Deputy Prime Minister is also taking action. Perhaps the Minister might be kind enough to outline some of the details of the new group set up by his Department to tackle anti-Muslim hatred in this country once and for all, led by Dominic Grieve KC, which is welcomed. The Minister will know that this not just an issue for Muslims; it speaks to the wider issue of social cohesion. The Khan review of social cohesion in March 2024 argued that social cohesion is not just about protecting the democratic norms of our country; it has wide-reaching benefits for society as a whole, from helping achieve sustainable economic growth to reducing the threats of terrorism and hate crime, increasing societal resilience to shocks such as pandemics, improving public health, increasing volunteering and strengthening communities, social cohesion and a wide range of adjacent policy areas—areas that I know this Government take seriously. I believe recent events around the world demonstrate that we are at an inflection point in our country. We can roll over to the easy answer to the scapegoating a community, or conversely avoid, as has been done in the past, the difficult conversations that sometimes need to be had within communities. Neither of those attitudes serves any of us well. We should call out hatred when we see it online, at dinner tables, in changing rooms, in public spaces. But in a pluralistic British society, we should also be able to issue challenge to communities when we see failings. I am proud to be an MP on the Labour Benches, because I believe it is only this Government who can achieve that. Many communities with their own separate traditions, but still able to coalesce naturally into one British identity.

• 25 Feb 2025 · Defence and Security · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Prime Minister for his tireless efforts to bring security to Ukraine, because its security is our security. Does he agree that that is possible only because we are one United Kingdom, and that that strength, that solidarity, is possible only because our four nations work together? Does he agree that those who attempt to fragment that Union in these perilous times do us great harm?

• 6 Feb 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

  More

  The Prime Minister was quite clear when he said at that Dispatch Box that the right of Gazans to return and remain on their land is absolute. As they return, there are many hundreds of thousands of psychologically and physically damaged children, which is unprecedented in recent memory. What can we, the British state, do to help them?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  Q Thank you, Professor Bauld, for sharing your extensive expertise with us today. I want to explore the intersection between poverty and health, and where you think the Bill will have an impact. We know that health outcomes are poorer where there are pockets of high deprivation, as in many areas of Scotland, including my constituency of Glasgow South West. What are your thoughts, both quantifiable and general, as to the impact of this legislation on those children and on those particularly deprived communities? Professor Linda Bauld: Dr Ahmed, you know—as Sir Gregor Smith said earlier—that smoking rates in our most deprived communities in Scotland are about 26%, compared with 6% in the least deprived. That is a very big number, and we see that pattern across the UK. The Bill will make a difference in several respects. First, on preventing smoking uptake by gradually raising the age of sale, the evidence that we have from studies done by my colleagues at University College London and elsewhere is that previous rises in the age of sale have not exacerbated inequalities but have had a benefit in terms of preventing uptake. We know from the evidence that we have that those measures should be useful and helpful, and should not exacerbate that. The other thing is that, to go back to my earlier answer to the shadow Minister, by preventing smoking uptake in the groups that are likely to be future parents who are already likely to smoke, which are highly concentrated in our most deprived communities, we are going to have an impact there. I do not see any signs in the Bill, when I look across the measures, that we will be exacerbating inequalities with it. I think that we will probably have the biggest impact in the areas where we have the most smokers which, unfortunately, are our most deprived communities.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  Q Thank you, Dr Squire, for being with us. The Royal College of Physicians has called for manufacturers to limit the production of toxic substances and for the MHRA to independently verify some of the contents of e-cigarettes. Do you think that that can be achieved through the measures in the Bill as it stands? Dr Laura Squire: It depends on what happens with the actual regulations. At the moment, we do not have powers to test consumer e-cigarettes—that power sits with trading standards. Again, if we license something as a medicine, we go into absolute detail about what is in it. At the moment, it depends on what is in the regulations that come round. We do not do testing at the moment, and it would be important to think about the point at which any testing is done. If it is done at the point where something goes on to the register, that is fine and it tells you that the sample we saw at that point was compliant. But what happens later down the track? I think the role that trading standards has in doing that testing is really important, because it can do it post-market at any point. The question really is about the role of the MHRA—a medicines and healthcare products agency. Is it getting deeper into these consumer products where the risk is not outweighed by the benefits? That is an uncomfortable position for a medicines regulator.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  Q I have a couple of points, Minister. The first is to do with poverty and how the Bill will affect those who are disproportionately impacted not only by smoking but by second-hand smoke. We heard from our CMOs and Professor Bauld about the impact that smoking-related diseases have on those populations. It is not often in our lives that we get an opportunity to use an instrument that has the potential to change the trajectory of the lives of people who are at the lower end of the economic spectrum in society. What do you think will be the impact of the Bill on them? Secondly, could you make a wider comment on the historical context of the Bill? In 2006, it was a Scottish Labour Government in the Scottish Parliament who set in train some of the processes that we are trying to finish today. Over those 14 to 15 years, we have seen many positive short-term and long-term public health outcomes. What do you think will be history’s judgment on this portion of that journey?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  Q Thank you, Sir Chris—your anecdote about the vascular war resonates strongly with me as a practising vascular surgeon; many of my patients leave hospital with fewer legs than when they entered. The comment I want to make is on the chronic disease burden. As you all know, there is a rising epidemic of chronic disease in our country, and it will probably require various public health measures to get back under control. I wonder if I could ask you to comment on how you feel this legislation might impact on the chronic disease burden on the NHS going forward, not only in the short term but in the long term? Professor Sir Chris Whitty: I will give a view, and I think Sir Gregor will want to add to it. It will make a very substantial difference. The thing to understand is that not only does cigarette smoking cause individual diseases, but many people as they go through life have multiple diseases from smoking. They will start off with heart disease, for example, as a result of smoking, and will go on to have a variety of possible cancers, and they might have chronic obstructive airway disease, and they will end up potentially with dementia. All of these would have not happened at all or would have been substantially delayed had they not smoked. Of course, this is heavily weighted towards areas of deprivation, people living with mental health conditions, and other areas where I think most people would consider it really unjust in society. All of us, and anybody who has looked at this in public health terms, would say that if you could remove smoking from the equation, the chronic disease burden would go down very substantially, and be delayed, and the inequalities of that burden of disease would also be eroded. The arguments for this are really clear. To give some indication of the numbers involved, we have thousands of people every year—millions over time—going into hospitals and general practices only because they are smoking. Had they not smoked, they would not have to use the NHS, and they would not have the chronic disease burden that disbenefits themselves, disbenefits their families and, of course, because of the impact on wider society, disbenefits everyone else as well. Undoubtedly this Bill—if it is passed by Parliament—will reduce that burden and have an enormous impact. Professor Sir Gregor Ian Smith: Thank you for raising this as a question, because it is a very important point to understand. I will speak to the experience in Scotland. The Scottish burden of disease study published by Public Health Scotland suggests that from now to 2043 we are going to see a rise of 21% in overall burden of disease across our society in Scotland. That burden of disease is very much weighted towards a number of conditions such as cancer, dementia including vascular dementia, cardiovascular disease, and others. There is no doubt in my mind that smoking contributes to those. Chris’s point about the multimorbidity that people experience is really important in this context. There are more people in Scotland who experience multimorbidity under the age of 50 than those who do over the age of 50, and much of that is related to smoking. Anything that we can do to reduce that burden of disease on people will not only make their own lives so much better, but make them more productive—they will be able to spend more time with their families, they will be economically active for longer, and they will also use health services less. So there is both a compelling health argument and an economic argument here on the preventive nature of stopping smoking and stopping people from beginning to smoke, which is really important to understand in the context of that projected increase in the burden of disease. The last thing to remember is that our experience of disease can sometimes be cumulative. As Sir Chris alluded to, people who have developed diabetes for other reasons but who smoke as well, will have accelerated disease as a consequence. Removing as much as we can, step by step, the risks that are associated with the development of that accelerated disease—you will have seen it very clearly in your role as a vascular surgeon—has to be a step that we take to maintain both the health and the economic prosperity of our nation. Professor Sir Chris Whitty: The numbers that I was looking for—

• 7 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  I declare an interest as an NHS transplant and vascular surgeon. My wife is a lung cancer doctor.