Pamela Nash
MP for Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke · Labour · United Kingdom
“By ending Tory austerity and increasing the settlement to the Scottish Government by nearly £12 billion, this UK Labour Government have provided adequate funding for the SNP to properly resource Scotland’s rural economy.”
“I appreciate that the right hon. Gentleman wants to make a political point about the Windsor framework, but does he accept that wide consultation was carried out by the Government in Northern Ireland ahead of these regulations?”
“I share the vision of my hon. Friend, and that is exactly what I for Dalzell in Motherwell. At the moment we have staff who are worried each month about whether they are going to get paid, as they see troubling headlines and hear rumours about their parent company.”
“This legislation is designed for extraordinary situations, so we are going to have to agree to disagree on that point. Motherwell remains the home of steel in Scotland.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his very helpful intervention. For the reasons I have set out, we are getting to the point where we are losing experienced staff and equipment is in danger of going out of date. Time is running out very quickly for Dalzell.”
“I completely agree with my hon. Friend. That is certainly the experience we have had in Motherwell in my constituency, where a questionable buyer for Dalzell has caused many problems. I will go into that later in my speech.”
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“By ending Tory austerity and increasing the settlement to the Scottish Government by nearly £12 billion, this UK Labour Government have provided adequate funding for the SNP to properly resource Scotland’s rural economy. Does the Minister agree it is time that Scotland’s rural industries were properly recognised and got the support they needed from the Scottish Government?”
“I appreciate that the right hon. Gentleman wants to make a political point about the Windsor framework, but does he accept that wide consultation was carried out by the Government in Northern Ireland ahead of these regulations? The explanatory memorandum in front of him shows that out of 182 stakeholders, only one replied to the consultation. That seems to me to show that there is not wide concern about this piece of legislation. Does he accept that?”
“Would the shadow Minister consider that putting a limit on this, when the financial support would only be provided in an emergency, when absolutely necessary, might be unwise and might lead us to having to recall Parliament yet again to take the necessary action?”
“Over decades, we have seen Conservative Governments let down the steel sector time and time again by failing to support and invest. I am disappointed, but not surprised, that the Conservatives are seeking to bring into the Bill unnecessary and debilitating restrictions that are based on politics rather than the needs of the steel sector.”
“It is an absolute pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher). What a passionate speech—I hope I can do half as well as him. At the outset, I should state that I am a long-term and proud member of Community trade union. I thoroughly welcome the Bill, which takes additional steps forward from the legislation we passed last year. I am especially happy that the Bill is UK-wide and covers Scotland, too. I want to touch on my concerns regarding new clauses 4 and 12, which seek to limit the level of financial support that the Government can provide. Given that the provisions in the Bill are designed to be used only in emergency and necessary situations, such amendments seem unwise.”
“I therefore feel that Members on the Opposition Benches have an absolute brass neck in trying to put limitations on this Labour Government’s ability to breathe life back into it.”
“I completely agree with my hon. Friend. That is certainly the experience we have had in Motherwell in my constituency, where a questionable buyer for Dalzell has caused many problems. I will go into that later in my speech. I am disappointed, and surprised, that the Liberal Democrats are seeking an even more restrictive limit on potential support. For us, Motherwell became the unwilling emblem of the Tories letting the steel industry down in the 1980s, with the closure of Ravenscraig and the subsequent loss of thousands of jobs across the area. It has taken decades even to begin to repair the damage that was done at that time. In recent years, the Tory Government failed to prevent cheap imports and to bring in the investment and strategy that were needed to protect what was left of our steel industry.”
“If we brought the Government to Parliament every time we wanted them to intervene when there was an emergency, we would not be able to react effectively, so I do not accept that that is necessary.”
“There have been regular promises of materials and work being on the way, but more often than not they have been stalled or unfulfilled. The current situation for the team of dedicated and highly skilled staff at Dalzell is difficult to imagine. The majority of them have spent most of the last two years at home on furlough, receiving less than their full pay. A skeleton workforce of about 20 is keeping the mill ticking over, ensuring that it is clean and maintained and that necessary paperwork is completed. They want to be ready to go as soon as an order comes in.”
“I would argue that the Dalzell plate mill is essential to all three of those elements of our country’s progress and security, and that we would be demonstrably better off if it was supported back to full operation. When Sanjeev Gupta took over the plant almost a decade ago, he presented a vision of a bright future for Dalzell in a “green steel” era, but that has not come to pass. Like others, the plant has suffered as a result of the onslaught of cheap imports and the global events that our wider economy has faced, but Liberty has largely been unable to provide the funds or leadership needed to make Dalzell a success during its time at the helm, with repeated failures to deliver the raw steel that is required for the plant to fulfil orders and with staff left without work.”
“This legislation is designed for extraordinary situations, so we are going to have to agree to disagree on that point. Motherwell remains the home of steel in Scotland. While the immediate and particular focus of the Bill is, understandably, on the manufacturer British Steel, I want to take the opportunity to highlight the plight of what is currently our only Scottish steelworks: the Dalzell plate mill. The Bill suggests three potential factors that can be considered in the assessment of whether it is in the public interest to nationalise a steel company or facility. Is the plant part of the supply chain for our defence industry, thus contributing to our national security? Is it necessary for the building and/or the maintenance of parts of our national infrastructure? Does it support the local or national economy?”
“Despite the team’s best efforts, the mill has not been used properly for a period of time, so the equipment and technology used in Dalzell is at risk of being dated and damaged out of value.”
“I share the vision of my hon. Friend, and that is exactly what I for Dalzell in Motherwell. At the moment we have staff who are worried each month about whether they are going to get paid, as they see troubling headlines and hear rumours about their parent company. I am becoming increasingly concerned about the mental health and wellbeing of the team, who have been left in an impossible limbo. Most of them want to be back in the workplace, in a job that they are proud of, and to be contributing to our country’s economy, security and infrastructure. The workforce in Dalzell has now dwindled to 100—about a third of the full capacity. Predictably, key skilled team members are eventually leaving. These are people who are irreplaceable, because they have a unique combination of skills, qualifications and years of experience.”
“When it comes to Dalzell, the SNP Government have not been helpful. They previously stepped in when the steelworks went into administration, and then they sold it to the current owner, who has been less than helpful.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his very helpful intervention. For the reasons I have set out, we are getting to the point where we are losing experienced staff and equipment is in danger of going out of date. Time is running out very quickly for Dalzell. If it is left to close up shop, we will not be able simply to go back later and restart it. I have no intention of being the Member of Parliament who sees the closure of the last steelworks in Scotland, and I know the Minister has no intention of allowing that to happen on his watch. Steel is Motherwell’s heritage and is also a key part of its progress. It is our threads in the fabric of the future of our country. I want my constituents once again to look at planes, wind turbines and bridges and be excited to know that the steel encasing them came from Motherwell.”
“In his closing speech, will the Minister reassure the workers at Dalzell that this Government will support them, possibly with the safety net of this Bill or otherwise, whenever it is necessary? Will he also confirm to the people of Motherwell that Dalzell remains at the heart of this Government’s plans for the UK steel industry?”
“I appreciate my hon. Friend’s enthusiasm for the publication of the defence investment plan, but I do not think it is within the scope of this Bill and it is definitely above my pay grade as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Defence Ministers. Finally, I want to see Dalzell again supporting a vibrant workforce, providing safe, well-paid, high-quality jobs to local people and being able to develop apprentices for the next generation of steel processing in Scotland. I want to see income investment in Motherwell from the reinvigoration of this plant, allowing surrounding businesses to benefit from its success. I reject the attempts of Opposition Members to limit the Bill’s ability to support our industry when it needs it most.”
“The Minister knows the sacrifices that have been made by my constituents at Dalzell plate mill in Motherwell. Will he confirm that this plate mill remains at the heart of the UK steel strategy, and that the Bill we have debated today provides a potential safety net for the future of Dalzell?”
“Does the Secretary of State agree that the Scottish National party has failed Scotland’s children over the past two decades, leaving thousands in poverty, including one in four in my constituency, and that it is only Labour that will prioritise our children, as we have shown by lifting the two-child cap, which is now benefiting over 13,000 children in Lanarkshire?”
“I declare an interest as a very proud member of Community. I warmly welcome the announcement of this much-needed steel strategy, which promises to deliver across Britain. Dalzell plate mill is physically and emotionally at the heart of Motherwell, and it is the only steelworks operating in Scotland. Can the Secretary of State confirm for my constituents that our plate mill will remain central to the British steel strategy, and will be supported to thrive again?”
“Many have expressed their annoyance at the BBC in recent days for being too woke, too Tory or too liberal—or, in my case, for allowing the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) to appear on the “Question Time” panel more often than he has appeared in his own constituency. Is not the fact that the BBC has been attacked by every side evidence that it continues to make every effort to maintain balance in a world of increasingly polarised and divisive media?”
“Since the election last year when Labour came to power, our constituents in Scotland have seen their friends in England and Wales see real improvements in their communities and public services, while they look on and wonder what the SNP Government are squandering Scotland’s share on. Does the Minister agree that key to the success of the pride in place funding and projects, including the £41.5 million coming to Lanarkshire, is that we are putting power directly in the hands of people to make decisions about investments in their own communities?”
“As the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed) touched on, the situation in Gaza is all the more infuriating when we hear that the UN has three months-worth of food waiting in warehouses on the border, while it is reported that 19 people died of starvation just in the last 24 hours. I am grateful for all that the Foreign Secretary has done so far on this issue, and I know that he agrees with me that the war must end now, but what are the next actions that we need to take to make that a reality?”
“I warmly welcome this ambitious and exciting industrial strategy from my right hon. Friend. Aligning vocational and technical training to the skills our industries need is plain common sense. However, in my constituency businesses often tell me that they cannot access the skills and workers they need, and young people and those retraining tell me that they cannot access the courses they need. Has the Department spoken with the Scottish Government in preparation for launching the strategy today?”
“I welcome the Minister’s statement, as will nearly a quarter of a million people across Scotland who will benefit from this £150 warm home discount for the first time. We always appreciate these measures a little bit more in Scotland, because our weather is a bit colder. We have to keep reminding people of that, even today. Does the Minister share my pride in this Government expanding support for more people who need it most because we are turning the tide on failure and building a strong economy on the back of clean energy?”
“I welcome the decision today, and I am delighted to hear the announcement from the Minister. Let us be crystal clear: this is a direct result of the progress that this Labour Government are making in turning around our economy. For my constituents, however, the future of the winter fuel payment—or its equivalent—lies in the hands of the Scottish Government. Can the Minister confirm that the Barnett consequentials to Scotland resulting from today’s announcement will exceed what the Scottish Government are already planning to spend on their equivalent of the winter fuel allowance? [Hon. Members: “Will the hon. Lady give way?”] Will he join me in urging the Scottish Government to follow suit and ensure that the additional funds that are provided due to today’s decision will restore the full winter fuel payment to all those who need it in—”
“I thank the Minister for giving the statement and congratulate him on the Floor of the House for completing the London marathon on Sunday. Does he share not just my utter disappointment but my concern that Conservative Members have wasted no time at all using the unfortunate events affecting our friends in Spain and Portugal to further their dated opposition to clean power, which risks panic and misinformation at a time when we need patience and clear heads?”
“In the Chancellor’s first ever Budget, she delivered over £1.5 billion for Scotland this year and £3.4 billion next year—the largest ever block grant settlement in the history of the Scottish Parliament. Unlike the Tories and the SNP, it is clear that this Labour Government are choosing investment over simply managing decline. Can the Minister share with the House a bit more detail about how the Budget will directly impact and improve the lives of people in my constituency of Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke, and throughout Scotland?”
“The Labour party is the party of the NHS, and the significant additional investment announced in the recent Budget has reaffirmed that. The Secretary of State has made it very clear in this question session that the benefits of that additional funding must be felt across the UK. Will he join me in urging the Scottish Government to ensure that that funding reaches the frontline and creates the badly needed additional appointments in GP, dental and hospital services that my constituents and people across Scotland badly need?”
“Let us be clear that today’s Budget from a Labour Chancellor is good news for people across Scotland and across the UK, especially in my constituency of Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke. We on the Labour Benches campaigned loud and clear at the general election for change, and that is what has been delivered here today. The triple lock is confirmed for pensioners, meaning that pensions will go up by £900 this year and £470 next year, and they are projected to go up by another £1,700 during this Parliament.”
“It was the irresponsible choices of the last Government that caused this mess, and it is the responsible choices of this Government that will get us out of it. I cannot help but have a bit of personal excitement to see an old friend, my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds West and Pudsey (Rachel Reeves), deliver the Budget at the Dispatch Box, the first woman to do so. I have been asked several times recently, “When you were first elected together in 2010, did you ever think that she would end up Chancellor?” And the answer to that is yes—yes, I did. It should never have taken us this long to have a woman at No. 11, but I think we can all agree—at least on the Labour Benches—that it has been worth the wait.”
“We all remember—indeed, are still living with—the effects of austerity: cuts to vital services, job losses and increased hardship for our most vulnerable citizens. This Budget unequivocally signals that this Government are committed to moving away from that approach. We will not return to the failed economic model of the past 14 years, which prioritised cuts over care. Instead, we are focusing on investment and growth. The people of Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke have felt those consequences deeply, and it is our responsibility to ensure that we do not return to that path. The country voted for change, and this Budget is all about delivering the solutions we need for a brighter future.”
“I knew him to always be always smiling, fun and kind. Frank Roy has been a trusted friend of mine since I started out in politics. In fact, Frank was the first person who asked me to stand for Parliament. That simple question helped to give me the confidence to express my ambition to do so. He was an incredible representative for Motherwell and Wishaw, and continues to serve the people of Lanarkshire now, leading the Lanarkshire Cancer Care Trust based in Wishaw. I am lucky to call him my friend. I will turn my comments to the business of today’s debate. Today’s Budget represents a real commitment to protect working families and to reject the damaging austerity measures that have scarred our communities for far too long.”
“Her time here will be remembered for her work for the rights of people living with disability, and as a lead campaigner for justice for sub-postmasters long before it became a fashionable cause to champion. I wish her well in her retirement. Before returning to the Budget, I cannot let this moment pass without paying tribute to my Labour predecessors in my constituency, whom I served alongside in this House between 2010 and 2015. Jimmy Hood and Frank Roy both had their politics forged in the Thatcher years. Jimmy was a leading member of the National Union of Mineworkers during the miners’ strike, and Frank was a steelworker at the forefront of the battle to save Ravenscraig. Jimmy served his constituents for 23 years, and we sadly lost him 2017. People here in Parliament and at home in Carluke often remember him fondly to me.”
“The rejuvenation and hope at Ravenscraig symbolises both the hardships that Lanarkshire has faced for decades, and our ambition and drive to achieve a better future. I will do everything I can, as the MP for Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke, to make that future a reality. Until the election, our constituency was represented by Angela Crawley and Marion Fellows, and I pay tribute to them. Angela was a hard-working champion for her constituents, and became known in this House as a vocal advocate for LGBT rights, and especially for trans people at a time when it was most difficult to do so. I applaud her for that work. Marion proved to be a respectful and fair opponent in this summer’s election campaign.”
“Carluke is picturesque, with its sandstone town centre, and is known as a “town called courage”, in recognition of three sons of the town, William Angus, Thomas Caldwell and Donald Cameron, who were each awarded the Victoria Cross. More than 2,000 men and women with local connections have served our armed forces in the past 200 years. That is testament to the bravery and dedication of our community, both past and present. Motherwell and Wishaw were at the heart of Scotland’s industrial landscape, with the towering Ravenscraig at its centre. Its closure in the early 1990s had repercussions that we still feel today. Now, the site is home to our state-of-the-art sports centres, the New College Lanarkshire campus, and thousands of people and homes built for the future.”
“It means the world to me to return to Parliament now, when we are moving from a period of stagnation in Scotland and across the UK, and to get back to fighting to improve the lives of our constituents from every single background. In my constituency of Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke, I am now the next-door neighbour to my previous constituency. It is an area I know and love exactly the same, and I am so excited about working with the people there in the months and years to come. With the three main towns of Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke, the smaller towns of Forth and Law, our lovely villages and beautiful rolling fields and views of Clyde valley, our constituency is a brilliant place to live and visit.”
“With your leave, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will touch on my return to the House and my new constituency before returning to the Budget. I am from a working class background, the daughter of a factory worker and a car salesman. I was raised to know that the odds were against us. I entered politics to work hard to even the playing field with my colleagues, giving people the homes, the education, the healthcare and the money in their pocket to ensure the best possible quality of life. But during my last period serving in this House as a Scottish MP, from 2010 to 2015, all politics was seen only through the prism of the constitutional debate, and progress in Scotland withered in its shadow.”
“It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens (Dave Doogan), despite his failure to acknowledge that this is the biggest real-terms block grant that Scotland has ever seen from the UK Government, and his failure to apologise for the mess that his Government, the SNP Scottish Government, have made over the past 17 years for people across Scotland. It was from the Opposition Benches in 2010, during the Budget debate, led by the Conservative Chancellor of the time, that I rose to make my maiden speech. It feels fitting to speak for the first time since my return to the House in today’s Budget debate, following our first Labour Budget for many years—and from the first female Chancellor, no less.”
“We still work very much the same way. There are, perhaps, a couple of changes for me. Last time I was here I was the baby of the House and now I am old enough to be the current holder of that title’s mum. But the one enormous change from the last time I was here is that I am in government with this Labour party—a Labour Government. There could be no bigger change, and we are just at the start of seeing the great waves of investment, progress and growth that this new Government will achieve.”
“So we need no more vanity projects, and no more money wasted on research papers for an independence debate that people are sick of hearing about. This is real money that can alleviate real problems now. I do not want my constituents to have to wait until the Scottish elections in 2026 for an improvement in our schools and our hospitals. This money has to get to the frontline immediately, and the Scottish Government will be judged at the ballot box if it does not. I will finish by saying that my welcome back here has been heartfelt and warm, from colleagues across the House to the Doorkeepers and staff across the estate who look after us in this place every day, but the one question I am asked over and over again is, “What has changed since the last time you were here?” The truth is that not much has changed.”
“I will not give way just now. There is a wage rise for 200,000 Scots, with the increase in the minimum wage and the steps taken to remove the discrimination against young people, who deserve the same wage for the same work; the largest increase ever for carer’s allowance; and an additional £3.4 billion for Scotland, bringing our block grant to a record level. It is now the responsibility of the SNP Scottish Government to put that money to good use. Madam Deputy Speaker, you and I know that those of us in this House are a bit unusual. Political animals are not the norm. When I speak with my constituents, they do not care if it is Labour, Tory or SNP politicians who put more money in their pockets and fix public services—they just want it done.”
“I congratulate the Secretary of State on announcing the steel strategy after such a short period in office. The industry has been crying out for it for a very long time. The Conservative party failed the industry by not producing it. Will he say a bit more about what he hopes the strategy can achieve for the steel industry throughout the UK, in particular in Motherwell in my constituency?”
“I take a moment to pay tribute to my predecessor, Marion Fellows, for the work she did on this issue throughout her time in this House. I was delighted to hear from the Minister that there have been conversations with the Scottish Government regarding this issue and looking for justice and redress for sub-postmasters. How confident is he that no further obstacles will be put in the way of justice and redress in Scotland by the Scottish Government following those conversations?”
“May I take this opportunity to welcome you, Madam Deputy Speaker, to your very temporary position, and to welcome my hon. Friend the Minister to her role? Can she give the House any further details of the impact of this outage in Scotland, and what conversations has her Department had with the Scottish Government in recent days?”
“The report published yesterday suggests that NHS staff were working according to the best available knowledge at the time. As chair of the all-party group on HIV and AIDS, however, I often hear about current incidents in which NHS staff do not have the best available knowledge at their fingertips. What have the Government done and what are they doing to ensure that we have a well-informed NHS? Is the Minister confident that there is not a similar tragedy brewing within the NHS today?”
“We now know, for example, that starting treatment earlier saves lives, and, thanks to groundbreaking research, we have proof that treatment is highly effective at preventing transmission of the virus in the first place. That new tool, combined with improved targeting of a range of effective prevention interventions, means that we could significantly reduce the number of new cases of HIV by scaling up our response. To sum up my introduction, we have the tools at our disposal to end AIDS in a generation, so this is not the time for us to walk away from that important issue. This is the time when we have to scale up the response. The Government have been at the forefront of that so far, and I want that to continue.”
“That is equivalent to three out of every five people living with HIV unable to access ARVs. If 60% sounds high, the figure is even higher and even worse when we consider paediatric care. Of those children and adolescents living with HIV, 80% are unable to access treatment; we covered that in depth in the report. We have reached a crossroads in the AIDS response. Progress has been made, but international aid and public interest in HIV and AIDS is no doubt diminishing. According to figures from UNAIDS, international donor funding for the HIV response is stagnating, with funds remaining largely the same since 2008, despite the fact that we now have an increased scientific understanding of HIV.”
“We now have almost 14 million people across the world accessing ARV—antiretroviral therapy—compared with fewer than 1 million 10 years ago. That is a tremendous, unprecedented achievement, which is the result of the global community coming together and a campaigning movement unlike anything the world has seen before. Many of the people who access treatment are able to do so thanks to the work of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. I commend the Government for their significant commitment of £1 billion to the fund, and also for the utilisation of the UK’s influence on convincing other donor countries to contribute. So, 14 million people on treatment is clearly a significant number, but that leaves us around 21 million people in the world still unable to access treatment.”
“However, 2.1 million is still a staggering number of people, so we must continue to do everything we can until we reach the ultimate goal of zero infections. AIDS-related deaths have fallen from a peak of 2.3 million in 2005 to 1.5 million in 2013. In the past three years alone, deaths have fallen by a huge 19%. The statistics show that incredible progress is being made, but those huge numbers also show that more must be done. Behind the statistics are real people trying to live fulfilling lives. Mothers and fathers are trying to provide for their families, and young people are facing the prospect of a lifetime living with a currently incurable, although treatable, disease. If they are to have any chance of a high quality of life, they must be able to access treatment.”