Zubir Ahmed MP: speeches

Speeches

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

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  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

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  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.

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

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  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

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  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

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  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—

• 29 Jul 2024 · Public Spending: Inheritance · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for coming to this House and outlining the difficult decisions she has had to take on behalf of us all—decisions that she would not have had to take were it not for the opaque fiscal negligence of the Conservative party. Can she reassure me that a Labour Government will always protect the vulnerable, and that under a Labour Government pensioners in this country will still be over £1,600 better off per year by the end of this Parliament?

• 26 Jul 2024 · Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower · Hansard source

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  I congratulate you on your election, Madam Deputy Speaker. I congratulate hon. Members on discharging their responsibilities and delivering their maiden speeches, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton)—I am sure he will correct my pronunciation and give me some honest feedback. I also welcome the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), to the Front Bench. It is timely that I am making my maiden speech on a day when we are discussing how Scotland might shape the energy needs of these islands for many decades to come. I thank and pay tribute to my predecessor, Chris Stephens, for his dedicated service to our community over the last nine years. His commitment to social justice and workers’ rights is inspirational and will leave a lasting impact. I am particularly thankful for his advice and counsel during the handover process that is currently taking place. Glasgow South West is a synthesis of many different communities, each with recurring contributions to the 850-year-old second city of empire. If you will allow me, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will give the House a short synopsis of the place where I live, work and play. We start in Darnley, Deaconsbank and Pollok, much of it occupying the old Pollok estate, the laird of which —Sir John Stirling-Maxwell—was a Member of this place and founded the National Trust for Scotland in 1931. In more recent times, these areas have demonstrated the transformative possibilities of their co-operative spirit through the Rosehill housing co-operative and the Pollok credit union. Moving north, the ruins of Crookston castle come into view. Built by the Stewarts of Darnley in the 1400s, it is the only medieval castle standing in Glasgow, and it is possibly where Mary, Queen of Scots, was betrothed to Lord Darnley. It remains an underutilised community asset, but I commend the friends of Crookston castle for their efforts to bring this space back into the service of the people of Glasgow. A short distance from the castle, the wonderful communities of Mosspark, Dumbreck and Cardonald are nestled around the great expanse of Bellahouston Park, which has played host to numerous music concerts, papal visits and the empire exhibition of 1938. As we head further north, we come to Ibrox, which is synonymous with Rangers football club. Now, I must stress, Madam Deputy Speaker, that other Glasgow football clubs are available; my hon. Friends the Members for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) and for Glasgow East (John Grady) can take you for a tour around them. Govan is the birthplace of Sir Alex Ferguson, a footballing legend, but also a friend to Members on the Labour Benches; he has often given wise counsel to my party. It is also the location of the Queen Elizabeth university hospital, formerly known as the Southern General, one of Britain’s largest hospitals and the place where I honed my skills in surgery and practice as a transplant surgeon. My research leads me to conclude that I am the first transplant surgeon to be elected to this place. Govan’s shipyard history is, of course, world famous, and the Fairfield Heritage Trust and Govan Workspace have brought that to life. More importantly, it continues to serve the defence of our realm even in the modern day, and to be part of Glasgow South West’s story; we have BAE Systems and Thales, alongside fintech and medtech companies such as Barclays and Cohesion Medical, as well as award-winning TV and film companies such as Firecrest Films. We can see the kind of high-quality jobs of the future that can be available to local people. These are the kinds of jobs I want to grow as part of this Labour Government. As we head towards the edge of the constituency, we find the BBC Scotland headquarters. The BBC has an important function in the fabric of our national life, not only in informing, educating and entertaining, but as a beacon of our soft power on the world stage—something I wholeheartedly support. Just as national broadcasting is important, so is the local, and nothing encapsulates that better in Glasgow South West than Sunny Govan radio station. It provides an eclectic mix of music, but also, more importantly, runs sobering stories and is a source of comfort on some of the challenges in our community. We end our Glasgow South West journey in Pollokshields, an area my hon. Friend the Member for Brent West (Barry Gardiner) knows well. It is a true melting pot of cultures and ideas, and the place where my father’s one-month road journey from Pakistan ended in April 1963. He would go on to drive buses in the city, and then black cabs—he is in his 80s and he still does. In the undergrowth of this rich history and potential, however, there are some worrying signals. There is the weariness of working ever faster and longer just to stay still, the anxiety of wondering how secure that work is, and the trepidation at the end of a day of work that you may not be able to pay for the odd treat that makes life worthwhile, or even the essentials. It is against that backdrop that we on the Labour Benches were sent to this place to make the economy work for working people, and to restore the intergenerational covenant —the promise that the lives of the generations after us will be better in every sense than our own. Politics for me is not, therefore, about the indulgent combative tweet, or even the theatrical amendment. It is the about seeing the world through the long lens. It is about having the stamina for diligent analysis, the patience to articulate policy and then, when in power, the discipline to deliver enduring change. That has always been the Labour way. Every Member elected to this place recognises it for the singular honour that it truly is, but it also takes a village to be elected to this place. That includes, of course, the tireless staff and activists who are in many ways the DNA of our democracy, but there are also, for all of us, those who shaped our life and now shape our politics. When I reflect back, I think of my parents and my extended family, who, from a cradle in a Govanhill tenement, instilled in me the raw ingredients to do my utmost in every walk of life. I think, too, of my teachers and my mentors, who moulded those ingredients into the art and craft of a widely practised surgical career, and of my wife and children, who keep me connected to the earth and in contact with reality, particularly when it is much needed. Out of all those people, I think of my maternal aunt, Matloob Mohammad, who stands out. She had no children of her own and considered us her children. Like too many in our Labour family, she was taken by glioblastoma—as was my father-in-law, Tony—in 1997. Her patient journey through our NHS inspired me to become a doctor and then a surgeon. She also, in many ways, inspired my political journey. She quite inadvertently introduced me to this place 29 years ago. After queuing outside, we found ourselves in the Strangers’ Gallery watching a combative Leader of the Opposition by the name of Tony Blair taking on the then Prime Minister. If she were here today in that Gallery, she could not fail to notice the changes in the make-up of this Parliament reflected back up at her. We have our challenges in modern Britain, but it is important to be unashamedly proud of the fact that we are demonstrably the most successfully ethno-religiously diverse legislature in the world. In these volatile times, I believe the world looks to us in this place, the mother of Parliaments, for guidance, and for the solace that democracy can still deliver. I am confident that it will.