← LEADERSHIP TERMINAL

UK PARLIAMENT · SITTING

Susan Murray

MP for Mid Dunbartonshire · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Some 54% of Scots now back nuclear power, and the SNP tells them that they cannot have it. In May, over half of Scots—57%—voted for parties committed to the Union. Now, I know that some parties might describe that as nearly 60%, but it is definitely a majority.

INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM · 2026-07-15 · READ IN HANSARD

Q15. I wish the Prime Minister well in what he does next. The future of communities like mine in Mid Dunbartonshire is uncertain in areas where hyperscale data centres are set to be built. The large data centres in Scotland’s planning system could demand more power than the whole of Scotland needs at its winter peak.

ENGAGEMENTS · 2026-07-15 · READ IN HANSARD

On 12 June, the US Government ordered one of the US’s leading AI companies to cut off access to its two most advanced models for anyone who is not a US citizen—the first time that export controls have ever been applied to AI models.

SOCIETAL IMPACT OF AI: GOVERNMENT POLICY · 2026-07-08 · READ IN HANSARD

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I thank the hon. Member for Poole (Neil Duncan-Jordan) for securing a debate on a question that will shape every community in this country, including mine. I will try to focus on topics that have not been covered, including infrastructure.

SOCIETAL IMPACT OF AI: GOVERNMENT POLICY · 2026-07-08 · READ IN HANSARD

What happens to the environment, to the grid, to water and to energy bills?” Developments on this scale must be good neighbours and deliver community benefit that people can see, as well as skills, local employment and investment in the places that host them—not just high fences and, as the hon.

SOCIETAL IMPACT OF AI: GOVERNMENT POLICY · 2026-07-08 · READ IN HANSARD

Communities such as mine, which are being asked to host the infrastructure of that future, should share fairly in the rewards, and we must build public trust.

SOCIETAL IMPACT OF AI: GOVERNMENT POLICY · 2026-07-08 · READ IN HANSARD

The complete record

Every one of 288 lines we hold for Susan Murray, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 1 of 6.

  1. Some 54% of Scots now back nuclear power, and the SNP tells them that they cannot have it. In May, over half of Scots—57%—voted for parties committed to the Union. Now, I know that some parties might describe that as nearly 60%, but it is definitely a majority. However, the SNP’s answer, as we are hearing, appears to be another referendum. There is a pattern whereby a majority of Scots disagree with the SNP, and the SNP decides the majority is wrong. Will the Secretary of State back the single transferable vote so that Scots get what Scots vote for?

    INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM · 2026-07-15 · READ IN HANSARD

  2. Q15. I wish the Prime Minister well in what he does next. The future of communities like mine in Mid Dunbartonshire is uncertain in areas where hyperscale data centres are set to be built. The large data centres in Scotland’s planning system could demand more power than the whole of Scotland needs at its winter peak. Can the Prime Minister assure my constituents that they will not find themselves fighting for electricity during the cold winter days?

    ENGAGEMENTS · 2026-07-15 · READ IN HANSARD

  3. Communities such as mine, which are being asked to host the infrastructure of that future, should share fairly in the rewards, and we must build public trust. The Liberal Democrat approach would make that possible, based on a cross-sector, principle-based framework to give innovators certainty and the public confidence, and to give transparency wherever AI is used in the public sector, so that people can understand the impact it is having on their lives.

    SOCIETAL IMPACT OF AI: GOVERNMENT POLICY · 2026-07-08 · READ IN HANSARD

  4. On 12 June, the US Government ordered one of the US’s leading AI companies to cut off access to its two most advanced models for anyone who is not a US citizen—the first time that export controls have ever been applied to AI models. Access for British businesses and researchers was switched off overnight not because of anything we did, but because Trump decided to cut us off. That is not a partnership; a vital technology that can be withdrawn at another Government’s whim is a chain around Britain’s neck. We cannot build our public services, our security and our economy on systems that can be cut off at a whim. It is clear that the UK must build its sovereign capacity—the data centres, skills and software needed to ensure that we are not locked out of the AI race.

    SOCIETAL IMPACT OF AI: GOVERNMENT POLICY · 2026-07-08 · READ IN HANSARD

  5. What happens to the environment, to the grid, to water and to energy bills?” Developments on this scale must be good neighbours and deliver community benefit that people can see, as well as skills, local employment and investment in the places that host them—not just high fences and, as the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed) said, profits that are disseminated at a distance. That is how they will be judged by the communities who host them. This is an international issue, and it has so far been dominated by US policy. Last month, the United States showed the first sign that it may not see us as being part of its team when it comes to AI access.

    SOCIETAL IMPACT OF AI: GOVERNMENT POLICY · 2026-07-08 · READ IN HANSARD

  6. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I thank the hon. Member for Poole (Neil Duncan-Jordan) for securing a debate on a question that will shape every community in this country, including mine. I will try to focus on topics that have not been covered, including infrastructure. In my Mid Dunbartonshire constituency, AI has recently been brought to the forefront of local debate. At Westerhill, near Bishopbriggs, a developer has proposed a 300 MW AI data centre with 500 MW of battery storage—nationally significant infrastructure on our doorstep. My constituents’ response has rightly been one of caution—not hostility and not blind welcome. They have serious concerns and questions: “What jobs will this bring, and for whom?

    SOCIETAL IMPACT OF AI: GOVERNMENT POLICY · 2026-07-08 · READ IN HANSARD

  7. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) for securing this debate. Local businesses are the heart and soul of our communities. The independent café, the family butcher and the local hardware shop create jobs, pay taxes and invest in our communities. They are the reason people feel proud of where they come from.

    HIGH STREET REGENERATION AND UNLAWFUL STOREFRONTS · 2026-06-30 · READ IN HANSARD

  8. The sad truth is that the soul of our town centres is being slowly eroded: businesses are taxed into administration, their customers have moved online and our favourite shops are slowly replaced by the neon signs of vape shops and barbers. The Government have a choice to back our local businesses.

    HIGH STREET REGENERATION AND UNLAWFUL STOREFRONTS · 2026-06-30 · READ IN HANSARD

  9. They bring footfall, they create atmosphere, they give people a reason to go to town centres, and they create community. A great example of this is the Bookmonger at Bearsden Cross, which celebrates its first birthday on 11 July. Aside from transforming the Cross with a new, fresh business idea, Caitlyn, who owns the business, is a cancer survivor who raises a lot of money for the Beatson cancer centre in Glasgow, and I hope that this business can also survive. The Government should close loopholes that allow online giants to pay a fraction of the tax that our high street traders pay in full. We cannot ask local businesses to compete with not only the economies of scale that those conglomerates bring, but a tax system rigged to punish those who play by the rules.

    HIGH STREET REGENERATION AND UNLAWFUL STOREFRONTS · 2026-06-30 · READ IN HANSARD

  10. I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend on business rates. I have heard repeatedly from businesses in Mid Dunbartonshire that they are unable to afford to hire young people and give them their first experience of work, or that they have had to cut their hours due to rising costs. At the same time that they are being hit by rising costs and static VAT thresholds, they are competing with online giants that pay a fraction of the tax they pay. Amazon’s five main UK companies paid just 7.1% corporation tax last year, while our main high street businesses are expected to pay 25%. The Government have the ability to put us on a different path by cutting VAT for hospitality and attractions. Our cafés and restaurants are the beating heart of the high street.

    HIGH STREET REGENERATION AND UNLAWFUL STOREFRONTS · 2026-06-30 · READ IN HANSARD

  11. I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that we need more powers to make sure that the playing field is fair for local businesses in our town centres. Finally, I ask the Government not to continue loading costs on businesses that hold our town centres together. I ask them to review business rates, cut VAT for hospitality, level the playing field on corporation tax and back the businesses that make us proud of where we come from.

    HIGH STREET REGENERATION AND UNLAWFUL STOREFRONTS · 2026-06-30 · READ IN HANSARD

  12. The Liberal Democrats have called for an increase in research and development spending to 3.5% of GDP to help drive British research, to develop a greater understanding of conditions like PANS/PANDAS, and to evidence the efficacy of available treatment. An effective treatment can change a child’s life—children like Isa and Hugo—for as little as £9. Effective diagnosis and treatment will save the NHS money. Our NHS was founded on the idea that it would treat according to need, not ability to pay. Sadly, in the case of children with PANS/PANDAS, too often that principle is not being upheld. Families simply trying to find treatment for their children are being failed and we must rectify that, wherever in the UK they live.

    NEUROPSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS: PANS AND PANDAS · 2026-06-25 · READ IN HANSARD

  13. Health is a devolved matter, but families across Scotland face the same barriers as families anywhere else in the UK, and they frequently end up in England to access treatment. Has the Minister had any discussions with the Scottish Government on taking a unified approach to tackling the issue? Given that we are expecting clinical guidance to be released in August, I am sure that families in Scotland would greatly appreciate co-operation between the Governments in Holyrood and Westminster to help bring the postcode lottery they currently face to an end. PANS/PANDAS are treatable conditions, and children can get their childhood back. To make that happen, I urge the Government to help plug the current gaps in evidence and knowledge around these conditions, including the number of children affected, through supporting research.

    NEUROPSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS: PANS AND PANDAS · 2026-06-25 · READ IN HANSARD

  14. Both have been forced to spend significant sums of their own money on diagnoses and treatment, including travelling down to London to see specialists in private clinics. As we have heard, that is not unusual. Nearly a third of affected families report a financial impact of more than £50,000, and one in eight report an impact of more than £100,000, simply to get their child diagnosed and treated. We have a system in which a recognised diagnosis is reserved for those who can afford to pay for it, and those who cannot are often left behind. Two weeks ago, my Liberal Democrat colleague Adam Harley MSP, who represents many of the same families that I do, raised one of the cases with the First Minister in the Scottish Parliament and called for properly recognised NHS guidance.

    NEUROPSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS: PANS AND PANDAS · 2026-06-25 · READ IN HANSARD

  15. Families who can pay go private to see specialists; children whose families cannot pay, lose their childhood, miss school and fail to thrive. Such delays are not administrative inconveniences; they are a risk to children’s lives. According to PANS PANDAS UK, 43% of parents say that their child has talked about taking their own life, and 61% say that their child has expressed a desire to no longer be here. These are young children, made desperately unwell by a treatable condition, yet they are waiting months or years for someone simply to recognise what is wrong. There are two mothers in the Gallery today, one from my constituency of Mid Dunbartonshire, and one from just next door.

    NEUROPSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS: PANS AND PANDAS · 2026-06-25 · READ IN HANSARD

  16. Friend asked the Government for a small number of reasonable things. I am sorry to say that families still have not seen the change that they are entitled to expect, but I hope that what we heard earlier means that it will be coming soon. The Department of Health and Social Care has said that it does not hold data on how many children are affected, and NICE has not yet produced guidance, after concluding there was insufficient evidence to produce useful guidance. Clinicians are still left without a clear national pathway to follow, even if they are aware of the conditions. The result, as we have heard, is a postcode lottery. A survey for PANS PANDAS UK found that just 2% of families said their GP even considered PANS/PANDAS as a possibility for their child’s symptoms.

    NEUROPSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS: PANS AND PANDAS · 2026-06-25 · READ IN HANSARD

  17. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) for securing this debate, and for all her work to raise the profile of these childhood conditions. I also thank the Backbench Business Committee for selecting this topic for debate. As she said, my hon. Friend first raised PANS/PANDAS in this House more than three years ago and has pushed for change ever since. Indeed, I was pleased to meet the impressive PANS PANDAS UK youth board on their visit to Parliament. For families, the onset of PANS/PANDAS is often sudden and deeply distressing. A child who was well one week can, the next, be gripped by anxiety, tics or obsessive behaviours. What follows is too often not treatment, but a search from GP to specialist and back again for someone who can provide a diagnosis. Almost three years ago, my hon.

    NEUROPSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS: PANS AND PANDAS · 2026-06-25 · READ IN HANSARD

  18. The Scottish Parliament has used a form of proportional representation since its creation in 1999. Of its 129 Members, 73 are elected to represent 73 constituencies and 56 from regional lists using the D’Hondt system. That is a complicated system of proportional representation that very few voters fully understand. Last month at the Scottish elections, the SNP won 58 seats and was the party with the highest number of seats. Following a deal with the Scottish Green party, which had 15 seats, the Scottish Government are calling for the UK Government to agree to a second independence referendum. However, taken together, pro-independence parties now hold 73 of the 129 seats on around 43% of the vote.

    ELECTIONS: FIRST PAST THE POST · 2026-06-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  19. I may not agree with Reform, but they came third on vote share with around 14% and won just five seats. The Greens won roughly 7% and returned only four seats. The truth is that my own party, the Liberal Democrats, took 72 seats on around 12% of the vote. The system rewarded us where our support was concentrated. That means that under first past the post, where you live decides whether or not your vote counts. We have all been told that this gives us a strong and stable Government. Clearly, that is not true. A system that hands enormous power to one party on a minority of the vote does not produce consistency; it produces lurches. One Government builds solutions; the next tears them down and creates their own. I represent the Scottish seat of Mid Dunbartonshire. Scotland shows both how far reform can take us and why it must go further.

    ELECTIONS: FIRST PAST THE POST · 2026-06-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  20. It is a pleasure to speak under your chairship, Mr Turner. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) for securing this debate. The House of Commons Library has called the 2024 general election the least proportional election in British history. Labour won 411 seats out of 650—almost two thirds of the Commons—on a third of the vote. The problem is not that a party can win power; the problem is that first past the post inflates that power beyond what the public voted for. A system that turns one third of the votes into two thirds of the power and a massive majority is not representing the public’s choice; it is warping it. As we have all seen, it allows wildly unpopular policies to be forced through with little pushback.

    ELECTIONS: FIRST PAST THE POST · 2026-06-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  21. In 2022, Labour’s own conference voted for a proportional system. Its own national policy forum has recognised that the flaws in the current voting system contribute to the distrust and alienation that we see in politics, and it is widely acknowledged that we need to restore trust in politics. I ask the Government, at the very least, to agree to examine the system seriously, including how we elect Members and how a fairer system could be introduced. People should be able to use their vote to vote for something, not against something. Evey vote should carry the same weight, wherever it is cast and whoever it is cast for, and the only way we can achieve that is proportional representation.

    ELECTIONS: FIRST PAST THE POST · 2026-06-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  22. What we need to aim for is a system where our constituents feel properly represented and that their vote counts. The parties that want Scotland to remain in the United Kingdom won a majority of the votes at 56.7%, but a minority of the seats. As a litmus test, that result shows little change from the result of the 2014 independence referendum, which rejected independence by 55% to 44%. The votes cast in the 2026 Scottish election are not a mandate for a second independence referendum, despite what the First Minister might have us believe. That clearly demonstrates why it is so important that our democracy reflects voter intention. Instead, the case for independence has been thrust back to the centre of Scottish politics, taking attention away from the real issues such as our broken schools and hospitals.

    ELECTIONS: FIRST PAST THE POST · 2026-06-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  23. I have repeatedly asked the Government to publish their assessment of Scotland’s nuclear potential, without success. Perhaps the Minister can help me in the meantime. What does she regard as the greatest benefit of the Wylfa site in Wales: the long-term, skilled jobs, the local investment that it draws in, or the contribution to our energy security? Does she believe that Scotland would be able to share in the same benefits?

    JOB CREATION · 2026-06-17 · READ IN HANSARD

  24. The best tribute we can pay is not just to remember her, but to continue the work she left for us: to encourage more women to choose to enter politics, to choose to listen, act and build community, and to choose to make our politics a little braver and a little kinder.

    LEGACY OF JO COX · 2026-06-11 · READ IN HANSARD

  25. My own life took an unexpected turn when I became a full-time carer, and I experienced how important the support of community is. Jo understood that loneliness is not a side issue; it is something that can quietly shrink a person’s life. It affects old people, younger people, carers, bereaved families, and many people who would never say out loud that they are lonely. Her work helped Parliament to take that seriously, and we should keep taking it seriously. We all have lessons to learn from Jo’s example. We can disagree strongly, and at times maybe we should, but we cannot treat each other as enemies because of our differing views. We must look for common ground to build solutions on.

    LEGACY OF JO COX · 2026-06-11 · READ IN HANSARD

  26. It is not complicated and it does not ask people to agree on everything; it simply asks people to come together to share food, to talk, to meet neighbours and to remember that community works in all its diversity. We see that in our own constituencies, too. I invite Members to Sked’s Garden on 21 June, where we are having a massive barefoot ceilidh as a free event, which everyone is invited to. In Mid Dunbartonshire I see other groups, such as the Men’s Shed, Apna Ghar, the Hive, GRACE—Group Recovery Aftercare Community Enterprise—and Gavin’s Mill, everything from heritage groups to community development trusts, offering people a safe and welcoming place to rebuild lives, reduce social isolation and promote wellbeing at home and internationally.

    LEGACY OF JO COX · 2026-06-11 · READ IN HANSARD

  27. In her work on Syria, when she pressed the House to look clearly at the reality facing civilians and to recognise that sympathy was not enough, she said: “It is now time for us to listen and to act.” —[ Official Report , 12 October 2015; Vol. 600, c. 140.] That, for me, is the heart of Jo’s legacy: not just compassion, but compassion turned into action. That is the message we need to reflect on today. Too often, we see how easy it is to create anger or mistrust—to develop rhetoric to tear things down. We see that today in those stoking racial hatred and religious division. It is much harder to make real positive change, but that is exactly what Jo did. The Jo Cox Foundation has carried that work on, and the Great Get Together is a fantastic example of that.

    LEGACY OF JO COX · 2026-06-11 · READ IN HANSARD

  28. My goodness, how do you follow that? I thank our friend the hon. Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) for that wonderful tribute to her sister. I am grateful to speak in this debate and to have the opportunity to honour the work and legacy of Jo Cox. Jo served in the House before my time here began, but I want to speak in the debate because of the way she approached politics, always understanding that we have more in common than divides us. In preparing for the debate, I looked not just at how Jo is remembered but the work she did. What stands out is a woman who did politics that was practical, human and rooted in the lives of people who too often went unheard.

    LEGACY OF JO COX · 2026-06-11 · READ IN HANSARD

  29. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. It is good to hear that cross-Government working under the Scotland Act is creating this statutory instrument to increase the amount that the Scottish Government can borrow in line with the fiscal framework. We therefore support the statutory instrument to maintain the real value of borrowing, to the benefit of the Scottish people living in Scotland.

    DRAFT SCOTLAND ACT 1998 (INCREASE OF BORROWING LIMITS) ORDER 2026 · 2026-06-10 · READ IN HANSARD

  30. The Government have pledged major investment in Scotland, which I welcome, but too many Scottish high streets are still being hollowed out by Labour’s job tax hikes while illegal vape shops, mini-marts and barbers thrive. Following yesterday’s announcement for England, does the Secretary of State have any plans to hold discussions with the Scottish Government about increasing steps to tackle this issue and bring life back into our town centres?

    ECONOMIC GROWTH · 2026-06-10 · READ IN HANSARD

  31. It is good to hear the Government’s intention to reduce energy prices. The hon. Member for Gorton and Denton (Hannah Spencer) is right to call for more affordable energy. In France, electricity is about a third cheaper than it is here, with nuclear at the heart of the system. Does the Minister agree that ruling nuclear out or not progressing it quickly enough is wrong, and will he join me in calling for the assessment of Scotland’s nuclear potential to be published?

    ENERGY COSTS · 2026-06-09 · READ IN HANSARD

  32. Too often we have been too timid, too bureaucratic and too concerned with political differences. I urge everyone here today—everyone who is left—to come together and push for what is best for people in every corner of the UK. While we may need compromise to find agreement, it is the job of every Member of this House to ensure that the UK is at the forefront of change that benefits all our constituents and celebrates our diversity and tolerance.

    BACKING BUSINESS TO CREATE ECONOMIC GROWTH · 2026-05-18 · READ IN HANSARD

  33. As a result, 56% of Scottish votes went to unionist parties, a clear sign that people want stability and not another referendum. The English council elections told a similar story of voters looking beyond old two-party habits and desperate for change. It is clear that our current voting system in Westminster is part of the problem. Too often, seats in Parliament do not reflect what people voted for. A fairer, proportional voting system, which Liberal Democrats want to see, would make politicians listen more and would encourage collaboration. It would mean fewer sudden swings from one extreme to another, and a steadier environment for businesses to invest and grow. Although this House may be the mother of Parliaments, that does not mean that it cannot change with the times. Britain has so much potential, and we must be ambitious.

    BACKING BUSINESS TO CREATE ECONOMIC GROWTH · 2026-05-18 · READ IN HANSARD

  34. Higher running costs mean higher prices for working people, and fewer job opportunities for part-time workers and for young people, at a time when the level of youth unemployment is nearly 16%. Inheritance tax changes have introduced a survival risk for family businesses in the UK, opening them up to hostile takeovers. Businesses need Labour to acknowledge that more than 80% of jobs are in the private sector, in small and medium-sized enterprises, and that increasing taxes on those jobs is not a recipe for growth but, all too often, the death knell for local jobs. In Scotland, recent elections should have been a clear sign for both Labour and the SNP. Only 14% of Scots said that independence was one of the most important issues facing the country, while 63% said that the cost of living was one of the top issues deciding their vote.

    BACKING BUSINESS TO CREATE ECONOMIC GROWTH · 2026-05-18 · READ IN HANSARD

  35. As a Scottish Member of Parliament, I speak to too many business owners in Scotland who do not feel supported—too many who feel squeezed, taxed and ignored. Both their Governments have made poor choices. In Holyrood, the Scottish National party has chosen campaigning for independence over economic delivery. It has pulled funding from specialist technical facilities that could have created hundreds of jobs, and refused to back new nuclear, despite Scotland’s engineering heritage and energy expertise. After 20 years of SNP government in Scotland, businesses do not need another referendum. They need stability for investment and growth. In Westminster, Labour’s jobs tax has made it more expensive to employ people and more expensive for firms to expand.

    BACKING BUSINESS TO CREATE ECONOMIC GROWTH · 2026-05-18 · READ IN HANSARD

  36. In 1603, Britain saw the Union of the Crowns. That moment began a journey that would lead to the Acts of Union and the growth of not only our modern democracy but the most powerful economic and industrial force that the world has ever seen. This story was not written by one nation alone; it was a political union of nations enabled by the sharing of skills and resources from every corner of these islands to build something far bigger than anything that could have been achieved individually, with each nation bringing its strengths and each nation benefiting from the strengths of the others. The benefits of the Union are clear and the ties run deep, but if we are to make that case properly, we must be honest about what has gone wrong.

    BACKING BUSINESS TO CREATE ECONOMIC GROWTH · 2026-05-18 · READ IN HANSARD

  37. High prices, high deposit requirements and the pressure of everyday living costs have pushed ownership further and further out of reach. Nowhere is that clearer than in the average age of first-time buyers. In the 1970s, it was as low as 24; now, as of this year, it has been pushed up to 34. It is no wonder that young people feel like the system is not working. ONS data shows that in 2024, the median house-price-to-income ratio was 7.9 in England, 5.4 in Wales, 5.3 in Scotland and 4.6 in Northern Ireland.

    HOUSING NEEDS: YOUNG PEOPLE · 2026-04-16 · READ IN HANSARD

  38. Given the enormous sums of money that young people pay in rent before they have an opportunity to get on the property ladder, will the Minister meet the Liberal Democrats to discuss a rent-to-buy scheme? We also see the strain in the rise of what we call concealed households. In 2020, there were nearly 2 million households that included an additional adult who wanted to rent or buy but could not afford to do so. More than half the people in those households were aged 16 to 24. I am sure we all understand that this stems from years of failure; it is not a problem that has happened overnight. We now have adults living in childhood bedrooms—not because they want to, but because there is nowhere affordable for them to go. For many young people, home ownership feels less realistic and more like a distant aspiration.

    HOUSING NEEDS: YOUNG PEOPLE · 2026-04-16 · READ IN HANSARD

  39. That is not a lifestyle choice; it is the result of a housing market that has moved beyond what young people can afford. Nowhere is the pressure clearer than in the private rented sector. Private renters in the bottom 20% of earners spend an average of 63% of their income on rent, and private renters overall spend 34% of their income on housing. That means that the average renter pays rent that, by the Government’s own definition, is not affordable. Someone renting from the age of 18 will have paid almost £200,000 in rent before reaching the average age of a first-time buyer in Britain—34. A young couple will have paid more in rent than the cost of an average home in the UK plus an extra £110,000 on top. That is not a fair system. It simply strips wealth from younger people and takes away our children’s future.

    HOUSING NEEDS: YOUNG PEOPLE · 2026-04-16 · READ IN HANSARD

  40. I beg to move, That this House has considered the housing needs of young people. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. Everyone has the right to a safe, secure and healthy home, yet for far too many young people across the United Kingdom, that feels increasingly out of reach. The effects go far beyond housing: it is about young people’s ability to leave home, to work and contribute, to start a family, and to build a stake in the country they call home. I am sure every hon. Member here can see the shift happening in their constituencies. We see children staying at home for longer and struggling to save to move out. In 2024, the Office for National Statistics showed that a third of men aged 20 to 34 were living with their parents, along with just over a fifth of women of the same age.

    HOUSING NEEDS: YOUNG PEOPLE · 2026-04-16 · READ IN HANSARD

  41. The economic impact of the financial stranglehold that housing has on our youth hurts us all. The Minister must recognise that housing and security are now affecting not only where young people live but whether they feel able to start a family. I want to make something clear for those who misrepresent the struggles of young people trying to get on the property ladder: young people are not asking for handouts or special favours, and the reason that they cannot buy a home is not their lifestyle. They are asking for a fair chance—the chance to build a life of their own. It is a chance that previous generations have had. This Government have an enormous majority and, if used properly, the opportunity to give young people real hope. I urge the Government to listen to and work with young people to give them the future that they deserve.

    HOUSING NEEDS: YOUNG PEOPLE · 2026-04-16 · READ IN HANSARD

  42. Lack of access to affordable homes causes the decline of communities and the widening of wealth gaps. If people can rely on family wealth, or perhaps family sacrifice, to access the property market, they have an enormous headstart on their peers. With that in mind, can the Minister explain what assessment has been made of whether the Government’s first-time buyer support schemes, such as help to buy ISAs, are genuinely reaching young people on ordinary incomes, rather than those who already have family who can help them out? The consequences of this issue, as we have heard, go beyond housing. When young people cannot afford to live near work, talent leaves and our best and brightest look for opportunities overseas. When high rents dominate young people’s finances, local businesses suffer and third spaces die out.

    HOUSING NEEDS: YOUNG PEOPLE · 2026-04-16 · READ IN HANSARD

  43. I absolutely agree, and I would add that the Scottish Liberal Democrats are also contributing to the push for additional affordable housing in Scotland. The ONS also found that a median-priced home was affordable to the highest-income 40% of households in Scotland and Wales, while in England it was affordable only to the top 10%. That means that even in the most affordable nation, the average house price is now more than banks are willing to lend to someone on an average salary. Can the Minister tell us what discussions the Government have had with the Financial Conduct Authority about its ongoing mortgage rule review and whether it will publish an assessment of how any changes would affect the under-35s? Any changes must not make the situation worse.

    HOUSING NEEDS: YOUNG PEOPLE · 2026-04-16 · READ IN HANSARD

  44. I thank everyone who has taken part in the debate today. They all realise how important it is for young people to have a stable home, whether they come from a looked-after background, are looking for an affordable property or are in the fortunate position of trying to find a property to buy. I thank the Minister for coming along today and for his comments. It is the privilege of Government to take action that matches the rhetoric. We heard from my hon. Friend the Member for West Dunbartonshire (Douglas McAllister) that the Scottish Government have failed in that. I look forward to this Government making affordable accommodation available for young people. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the housing needs of young people.

    HOUSING NEEDS: YOUNG PEOPLE · 2026-04-16 · READ IN HANSARD

  45. My hon. Friend is making some important points. Just yesterday, I highlighted the Scottish Government’s decision to buy Chinese buses, which come with a serious security risk. It would be wrong of me not to do the same when the UK Government take the same risks. We have some of the finest minds in the world here in the UK, but too frequently, we lose them to foreign firms that are out of our control. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should be developing Britain’s skills base here, and that whether it be buses or AI, we should be putting British jobs and British security first?

    NHS FEDERATED DATA PLATFORM · 2026-04-16 · READ IN HANSARD

  46. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Don Martin, an eminent local historian who has researched and championed the heritage of the line for decades, and will he consider coming north—

    BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE · 2026-04-16 · READ IN HANSARD

  47. I want to continue to highlight the importance of local railways—an issue that has already been raised by the hon. Member for Bathgate and Linlithgow (Kirsteen Sullivan). This year is the 200th anniversary of Scotland’s first modern railway, the Monkland and Kirkintilloch line. It opened in 1826, just months after Stockton and Darlington became the first passenger railway in the world to use steam trains, and it is the first railway in Scotland to be authorised by Act of Parliament to use steam trains for both passengers and goods. The community in my constituency is celebrating with exhibitions, talks and a guided walk in Whitegates Park, which is named after the level crossing where the line approached the Forth and Clyde canal, delivering Monkland coal to barges destined for Edinburgh.

    BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE · 2026-04-16 · READ IN HANSARD

  48. The SNP is willing to support the Chinese economy by buying buses from China that raise serious security concerns, but when it comes to supporting defence jobs at the British-owned Rolls-Royce site in Glasgow, it pulled the funding. Does the Secretary of State agree with me that the SNP is failing Scotland both on jobs and on security?

    ECONOMIC GROWTH · 2026-04-15 · READ IN HANSARD

  49. Does the hon. Lady agree that UK production in the North sea can never put us in a position like Norway, because Margaret Thatcher gave away our oil industry to private companies and we have no sovereign fund?

    OIL AND GAS · 2026-03-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  50. The development of the nuclear site at Wylfa in Wales is set to bring thousands of jobs and revitalise the local community. A similar site near my constituency would play an enormous role in the shift away from oil and gas towards energy independence and bringing costs down. Will the Leader of the House ask the Minister for Energy to meet me to discuss Great British Energy Nuclear’s assessment of Scotland’s nuclear opportunity?

    BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE · 2026-03-19 · READ IN HANSARD