Christine Jardine
MP for Edinburgh West · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom
“I associate myself with your comments, Mr Speaker, and those of the Secretary of State. Figures quoted today by the BBC suggest that as many as one in five young people in education may not be attending college courses regularly, so the situation may be even worse than outlined in the Milburn report.”
“I completely agree, and it did the other place no credit at all that they did that. There is something interesting and noticeable about all the experiences we have heard today. I have personal experience, which I admit influences my view. I saw my mother go through a very painful death and wished that she had had the choice.”
“I thank the hon. Member for Rochester and Strood (Lauren Edwards) for reintroducing this Bill and giving us another chance to debate the issue—although part of me regrets, as I will explain, that we have that chance.”
“That hope has been snatched away from them—and not by us. We fulfilled our responsibility to the electorate. We spent hundreds of hours in Committee, in private discussions, in debates and on Report, going over this Bill in minute detail until we could, with confidence, send to the other place the best Bill we thought possible.”
“I do, but they are each one individual, and each of the professional organisations is neutral, and believe me, I envy them on that. We have the responsibility to make the decision. The majority of us have already said that this is the best Bill we can produce.”
“I apologise for the earlier slip, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I echo the comments about the fantastic job done safeguarding the British public by the staff at NATS? Just recently, I visited air traffic control in our control tower at Edinburgh airport, and I saw at first hand the amount of work that goes into keeping the public safe.”
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“I appreciate the Minister’s answer. Those 40,000 jobs are vital, but they are still outnumbered by the many thousands of jobs in the oil and gas sector. The rate of job losses there is accelerating, and people are increasingly going abroad, creating a concern that the skills necessary for the green transition will be lost. What will the Government do to create transitional training and job movement within those two sectors?”
“I welcome the Minister’s comments, as I welcome the Government’s violence against women and girls strategy, including the confirmation that the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023 will commence in April. We know, however, that misogyny runs deeper, and attitudes and actions throughout society and on social media are damaging to women. As well as focusing on prevention and strategy in all these areas and tackling harassment, will the Minister outline the position on misogyny becoming a hate crime?”
“I have to say that this is one of the most depressing days I have spent in this Chamber in the past few years, because while I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s commitment to democracy in Venezuela and her repeated commitment to the rules-based international system and our alliances, I cannot bring that together with this Government’s abject failure to condemn the actions of Donald Trump in breaking international law and the concern it has created, reflected in statements by the leaders of Greenland, Denmark, Sweden and the Foreign Secretary herself at the Dispatch Box. How are the Government going to reconcile that blatant contradiction?”
“I also welcome the tone and sensitivity that the right hon. Gentleman has taken on this issue—not just today, but throughout. We all recognise that we should be led by evidence, which is absolutely vital. The trans community is a reality. They feel very vulnerable and very attacked. People who have been on the medications for some time are now concerned that they may no longer be available. What can the right hon. Gentleman tell us to reassure those people that they will be safe?”
“The picture the hon. Gentleman paints is very familiar to me. There was recently an application on the edge of a village in my constituency. The heavy lorries would cause vibrations on the narrow roads. However, as well as the environmental impact, there is the economic impact on rural areas, where agriculture is trying to diversify. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that there is a tension between the tourism industry and the need to diversify, and the impact of quarries, which discourages people from coming to an area?”
“I associate myself with the comments about yesterday’s horror in Sydney. I, too, welcome the Foreign Secretary’s clear and unequivocal call for the release of Jimmy Lai, and her condemnation of a politically motivated act that, as others have said, can only cause great fear among the Hong Kong community in this country. She said that a cross-Government approach would be taken. Will she make it clear to China that it cannot just be business as usual from now on, that it cannot expect the super-embassy simply to go ahead, that there will be sanctions, and that we will also protect our energy and national security by imposing mitigating circumstances on any contracts in which it might be involved in the North sea, in wind farms?”
“T9. Retail is Scotland’s largest private sector employer, but businesses do not receive the same sort of business rates relief as those in the rest of the UK, which puts them at a disadvantage. A group of Scottish retailers recently wrote to the Scottish Government asking for this relief in the Scottish Budget. Will the Minister join me in pressing for that action, and pass the message on to other Ministers to mention in their discussions with the Scottish Government?”
“Notwithstanding the Minister’s comments, there is profound shock and confusion not just in this place but among the public about what Trump’s statements mean for our future defence and the future defence of our democracy. We have parliamentary elections in Scotland next year. Is he going to be promoting something in Scotland that is not necessarily in our national interest? Can the Minister specifically give us guidance on whether we are sure that Trump will, after this statement, abide by article 5?”
“I thank the hon. Member for giving way, especially so early in his speech. He talks about Scotland as we were. Does he share my concern that too often our history has been oversimplified, over-romanticised and focused on William Wallace, Robert Bruce and this entanglement with England, and has not looked at Scotland’s contribution not only to British but to world history and our achievements in engineering, for example?”
“The right hon. Member is giving an impressive speech and a very important speech for Scotland. Does he agree that in May next year, Scotland will stand at an important crossroads where our future may be decided on how we pursue that election and who wins it, and that the time has come for change to address the problems of which he speaks?”
“The right hon. Gentleman is being very generous with his time. He mentioned the problems that we are facing with mental health care in Scotland. A parent came to me last weekend, distraught because they have been told that there is no prospect at the moment of their son getting the treatment he needs, as there is not a psychiatrist available in that part of NHS Lothian to deal with him. This is not a singular case. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that in Scotland we need a root-and-branch examination of where healthcare has gone wrong for everyone?”
“I appreciate the Minister’s clarification, but with organisations such as Girlguiding UK and the Women’s Institute saying that they have been forced to exclude the trans community against their will, how soon can we expect the guidance that the Secretary of State says is being considered?”
“We all know that disabled people often face higher energy bills. In my constituency, that is exacerbated by higher standing charges. The Government have now abolished the energy company obligation. Can the Minister tell me what support with bills will be available for disabled people this winter?”
“They are looking to this Budget to give them some idea of what they might expect from the Labour party in an election campaign in Scotland next year, and whether they will like it. It will be the people of Scotland who decide whether this Budget and its creators have been naughty or nice.”
“Analysis by the Scotch Whisky Association has shown a tax revenue loss of £150 million, following the previous hike in alcohol duty, so the increase in this Budget puts further pressure on a sector that is critical for Scotland’s economy. I will finish with this thought. In Scotland, many of us hope for a change of Government at Holyrood next year. I heard that from people in my constituency at the weekend. They have the same concerns as people in any other part of the country; they are worried about the cost of energy bills and the state of our public services. Small business owners told me about the pressure that they are feeling without business rates relief in Scotland.”
“I am disappointed by the gaps in the Budget, including on things that would have boosted Edinburgh’s economy and helped families in my constituency. I have mentioned the hospitality sector many times in this House. It generates £198 million every year in my constituency alone, where it supports 6,000 jobs. Pubs, restaurants and cafés across Edinburgh are still feeling the pinch from increased energy costs, the impact of employer national insurance hikes, and inflation. The Chancellor could have used this opportunity to cut VAT for hospitality, putting money back into people’s pockets as they go out to celebrate Christmas. Similarly, there was nothing for the whisky industry, which is also feeling the effects of Trump’s tariffs.”
“That is set to become the UK’s new national supercomputer, with the potential to unlock world-leading research in artificial intelligence, medicine, physics and space, making Edinburgh a strong contender to be the home of the Scottish AI growth zone that the Budget document commits to—a wee hint to the Minister that something else could be popped into a Christmas stocking. I thank the Chancellor for finally listening to calls, including from the Liberal Democrats, to scrap the two-child cap on universal credit, lifting 95,000 Scottish children out of poverty and helping 300 households in Edinburgh West. However, it is shameful that it has taken this Government so long to finally reverse the cap and the perverse “rape clause”. Despite that progress, it is not all good news.”
“Of course, the investment in Scotland is welcome, including the vital support for the Forth Green port, which should unlock high-skilled jobs for my constituents through growth in green industries, but at the same time we are seeing further job losses at Harbour Energy in Aberdeen. Any investment in renewables must not mean that we turn our backs on oil and gas workers and lose skills and investment. I am particularly pleased to see that the Government have reaffirmed their commitment to £750 million for Edinburgh University’s new exascale computer—investment that I have consistently campaigned for since the election.”
“It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon). He will forgive me for wondering whether some of his Scottish Labour colleagues perhaps believe that Christmas arrived early for them last week, given that much of the Red Book reads like the Christmas wish list of a potential First Minister of Scotland. There is the investment in Inchgreen dock in Inverclyde, regeneration projects in Kirkcaldy, the Forth Green port and £14.5 million for Grangemouth—I think we know which target seats Santa will be visiting this year—and £820 million in consequentials. It is not all good news, however.”
“A care provider in my constituency recently closed, leaving vulnerable patients without care, and leaving staff who fulfil roles in that vital sector, and who are there on sponsored visas, in limbo. We have people who need care, and we have people who can provide it but are not able to do so. Will a Minister make a statement to the House on what will be done to protect sponsored visas from the changes in the visa system?”
“Some 40% of children in Stenhouse in my constituency of Edinburgh West live in poverty. There are nine Pride in Place projects being considered across Edinburgh, but none include that area of deprivation. Are there plans to change the criteria so that such areas can be included, helping to attack problems such as child poverty?”
“After the incident with Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam, the Government’s independent assessor on antisemitism, Lord Mann, visited the city, did a fact-finding mission and compiled a report. It was passed to the Government in January, and to the Government and the police again in June. Can the Minister tell us what consideration, if any, was given to this report in the decision making?”
“T6. The City of Edinburgh council’s consultation on a new tram route has just closed, but there are newspaper reports in the city that officials are now in discussion with Government advisers about potential funding options. Can the Minister clarify whether that is the case and, if so, ensure that the views expressed in the consultation by my constituents will be adhered to?”
“UKHospitality estimates that the industry contributes £8 billion a year to the Scottish economy. A major increase in standing charges would hit it hard. Many businesses in the sector are energy-hungry—for example, distilleries, pubs and restaurants—and across my constituency there is concern about the winter ahead. They want to know what this Government will do to protect them and ensure fairness for small businesses.”
“With the Scottish elections coming up next year, can the Minister reassure me that there have been discussions with the devolved authorities to ensure that they are aware of the continued and increasing threat posed by Chinese espionage?”
“I welcome the Minister’s comments and repeat the calls for China to be added to FIRS. I have specific concerns about Edinburgh and Scotland in general. One relates to our energy security given the continuing lack of clarity about what is to happen to Mingyang and whether, if it is to take part in the construction of the offshore wind farm in the North sea, mitigations will be in place to prevent it from having on/off switches. We have a large Chinese consulate in Edinburgh West. My constituents are concerned about the size of the dishes on the roof and about activity there. Having myself been subjected to filming while speaking at a Hong Kong rally, I am concerned about the security of Hong Kong nationals in Edinburgh.”
“The Minister referred earlier to the jobs that are coming in the renewables industry. That will be no consolation tonight to the 400 families who do not have that future within their sight. He also rhymed off the Government’s policies for supporting energy-intensive industries, but those policies did not help Mossmorran—the company has cited the policy environment as a cause of its decision. Can the Minister please reassure the House that, before the Budget, the Energy Minister and his colleagues will impress upon the Chancellor the idea that perhaps new and more effective policies are needed to support energy-intensive businesses?”
“T2. I have been contacted by constituents concerned that a group calling itself Justice for Innocent Men in Scotland is allegedly harassing victims of sexual violence by undermining their anonymity. Will the Minister tell me what the UK Government are going to do to protect women across the UK from that sort of targeting and harassment?”
“I think there is general agreement that we have chaos in the immigration and asylum system, and that the Government should be looking for new ways to discourage people from crossing the channel in small boats. Given what the Home Secretary has said today, though, is there a danger that the people we need to come to this country legally—people with the skills that we need to fill the employment gap, and who will keep our NHS working and work in the social care sector—will look at this country now and say, “No, I don’t want to go there”?”
“I have written to Rockstar to ask for information on this matter, but I wonder whether I might have a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss what steps can be taken to support the workforce, and to ask what action the Government are taking—”
“I declare an interest: an employee of mine works for the company that I am about to mention, although they have not been affected by the action taken. That company is video game publisher Rockstar Games, which has fired at least 30 employees across its UK studios, including Rockstar North in Edinburgh. Several of my constituents have been directly affected, and some came to express their concerns to me last week. They claim that they have been sacked because they were trying to unionise and discuss working conditions in private. Rockstar accused them of distributing confidential information and sacked them for gross misconduct.”
“We begin with a Select Committee statement. Florence Eshalomi will speak on the publication of the third report of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, “Delivering 1.5 million new homes: Land Value Capture”, HC 672, for up to 10 minutes, during which no interventions may be taken. At the conclusion of the statement, I will call Members to put questions on the subject of the statement. I will then call Florence Eshalomi to respond to them in turn. Questions should be brief, and Members may ask only one question each.”
“I have previously raised the case of a young constituent with an inoperable brain tumour. He has since been granted named patient access to a drug that is being trialled, and he is responding well. Unfortunately, however, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recently decided not to allow the drug to be used in the NHS in England yet, and the decision will be considered by a second committee in November. My constituent and his family are concerned about the wider issue of access to these drugs, and particularly the relationship between NICE and the Scottish Medicines Consortium. Would it be possible to have a meeting with Ministers to clarify the situation and see what next steps could be taken?”
“This is a valuable and important debate. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that as well as having new policies, we have to know that they are being implemented properly and fairly, and that therefore it will be necessary to require large employers to publish their policies and data in the same way that they have for gender pay? [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]”
“I accept the Minister’s comments about Petrofac, but it is a very worrying day not just for the 2,000 workers whose jobs are at stake but for the entire oil economy in north-east Scotland. Two things are missing that we desperately need in Scotland: one is investment in the jobs and skills that we will need for the renewable industries the Minister talks about, and the other is the reform of the taxation system and the windfall tax to ensure that it is consistent for the North sea area. What are the Government going to do about those things?”
“Notwithstanding the Home Secretary’s reassurances about spads or Ministers not being involved in the advice, does the Minister accept that this matter has reinforced the growing concern in this country about a lack of clarity on our position towards China, the fear of a threat to our energy security from the involvement of Chinese companies, and the super-embassy in London? My constituents are becoming increasingly concerned about the activities of the consulate in my constituency. Can the Minister reassure us that this Government will make their position towards China absolutely clear in the near future?”
“I welcome the Secretary of State’s remarks and commend her for her conciliary tone and attitude. Yes, safety is paramount for all football supporters, but, as she has said, this is not taking place in a vacuum, and this country is now in a very tense situation. She mentioned a strategy going ahead to make Jewish communities feel more welcome. Can she outline a wee bit more of that, setting out what we might expect and when we might expect to see it?”
“He always had a tale to tell, and he always had a kind word about my column in The Scotsman . My team in the office were endlessly amused by how pleased I was that Ming Campbell had even read my column, never mind agreed with it. Ming was, in many ways, with the integrity, kindness and thoughtfulness that everyone has spoken about, an example that we should all aspire to and try to live up to. There is a certain restaurant in Pimlico, which I am sure my colleagues are aware of, that many of us were introduced to by Ming Campbell. I am sure we think of him every time we go there, as I think we will the next time we go. We may make a point of going there and raising a glass to someone who was an example not just of what we should be, but perhaps of what the world needs now more than ever among its politicians.”
“When I made my maiden speech to the Scottish conference, I discovered that I was speaking on a motion proposed by Ming Campbell, which was, of course—this will come as no surprise to many—about RAF Leuchars, its future and what we needed to do to defend it. That was a thread that ran through. In 2017, when I was standing in Edinburgh West, Ming came to launch my campaign—in fact, he helped me up on to a chair so that everybody could see me. He was there to be supportive. I learned a lot about his kindness and thoughtfulness a few weeks later, when my husband died and Ming took the time to take me aside and make sure I was okay and that I had the support I needed to get through the campaign. Most of all, though, I enjoyed my chats with Ming on a Monday in the departure lounge at Edinburgh airport.”
“Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I would also like to pay tribute to Ming Campbell, whom I met personally in later years, but whose political influence has hung over my entire adult life. As an 18-year-old student at the University of Glasgow, I heard about these three great figures of British politics who had studied together and been great friends: Donald Dewar, who became the first First Minister of Scotland; John Smith, whose legacy as leader of the Labour party is well respected; and, of course, Ming Campbell. I found that his persona, his influence, his attitude to politics and his integrity influenced me. It was one of the things that pulled me towards the Liberal party, as it then was. The first time I came across Ming personally was years later, about a year after he had stepped down as leader.”
“Like everyone else in this House, I am sure, I feel enormous relief at the fact that a ceasefire has been achieved, but that can be nothing compared with the relief felt by those Israeli families who thought they would never see their loved ones again and those thousands of children in Gaza who were able to sleep last night without the fear of being bombed. But we have been here before, and for their sake we cannot let the hope of today disappear in the same way that the promise of the Oslo agreement did. Crucial to that will be confidence in the peace process. The Prime Minister has alluded to the lessons we can bring to that process from Northern Ireland. One of them is on decommissioning. Can he tell us what support the US Administration will offer to allow us to use that expertise and experience?”
“T8. Further to the earlier comments about driving test centres, the problem is serious in my constituency. All five of the closest centres have waiting times of 24 weeks —six months—and people are now looking to other parts of Scotland for tests. I appreciate what the Minister said about employing extra people, but can I ask that specific interest and special attention is given to Scotland, where this is a particular problem in rural areas?”
“I am pleased to have the Minister’s confirmation that, despite yesterday’s egregious actions by Israel, Qatar will continue its commitment to pursue the peace that we all long for in the middle east. To that end, the Government have said that they would commit to recognising a state of Palestine before the United Nations General Assembly if Israel failed to meet certain conditions. Has Israel failed to meet those conditions, and will the Government recognise Palestine as a matter of urgency?”
“Over the summer, a constituent who is a mortgage adviser came to me with concerns about so-called conditional selling by estate agents, where prospective home buyers feel pressurised to take the estate agent’s in-house mortgage rather than risk losing out on a house. This practice breaches the Estate Agents Act 1979. It has been raised in investigations by the Financial Times and “Panorama”, which suggested that the practice is common. Could the Leader of the House point me to the Minister responsible so that we can have a discussion? Perhaps we could have a debate on this matter in Government time.”
“I have to say to Conservative Members that this issue did not miraculously start in July last year; it has been going on for the past decade and since the Conservative Government destroyed the economy on a whim a couple of years ago. These businesses are suffering and under threat.”
“I come to Parliament this week fresh from the Edinburgh festival—on which note I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Hon. Members will be pleased to hear that I was there not as a performer, but because every year I am tempted across the border into neighbouring constituencies by the absolute feast of music, theatre, dance, literature and comedy that is the Edinburgh festival. Every year it contributes £400 million to the city’s economy, and it is hosted and supported by a hospitality industry that, in my constituency alone, is valued at £200 million and supports 6,500 jobs. That is the big picture, but there is a much smaller and individual picture about the businesses who come to me every week with complaints.”
“No, actually—I think the hon. Member has said enough today. Those businesses are suffering and they have been for years. Hon. Members know how important they are not just to my constituency, to Edinburgh or to Scotland, but to the United Kingdom, because of the jobs that they create and the people they employ. That little picture is about families who are dependent on those businesses and who tell me that they are unhappy with the national insurance changes.”
“Those families also tell me that bigger businesses, like Edinburgh zoo and fantastic tourist businesses, which the national insurance changes have added—”
“Each of those small businesses makes up an important part of that big picture: the hundreds of millions of pounds—the billions—that hospitality brings to this country.”
“No, I will not give way. We hear the hon. Gentleman. I will repeat the phrase for him again: tourism tax. Yes, we know that Edinburgh is taxing tourists, but it is doing that to support its hospitality business, which has been under threat for a decade. We need to look at the burden that our businesses are carrying: the national insurance burden; VAT, which could be reduced; and the business rates in many places. I appeal to Ministers to listen to the constituents we have heard from today—to listen to my constituents. They should listen to the fact that if those businesses fail, our economy will not have the growth on which this Government and every Government depend so much for our future.”