Graham Leadbitter

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402 held · 386 searchable for Graham Leadbitter. The searchable lines are below in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 8.

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1. “Make no mistake: this weather event was caused by climate change and is yet another warning—if one were needed—against rowing back on our net zero commitments. Will the Minister acknowledge that and redouble efforts to tackle carbon emissions in an effort to protect future generations from the most extreme scenarios that we might face?”

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2. “I offer my sympathies to everyone who has been severely affected by Storm Éowyn, and in particular those who have lost loved ones. I share the Minister’s acknowledgment of the work that has been and continues to be done in the aftermath of the storm. Huge thanks go to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, the ScottishPower emergency network, our local authority, staff at Openreach, our road and rail teams and all the emergency services for the way they have handled and responded to this weather emergency. I have a couple of specific questions. Will the Minister commit to reviewing the operation of battery back-up phones, which are replacing phones on the copper wire network, including whether they are effective in a power outage, particularly in places where the power is off for long periods of time?”

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3. “I want to go back slightly to the point about health and social care spend by local authorities. Is there a good argument to be made that as more and more people require social care and support, particularly in care homes, there may be advantages in investing in the arts and culture in order to take them to people who would otherwise find them difficult to access?”

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4. “We have to be incredibly careful with AI. The creative industries are an economic growth success throughout these islands, so we should not try to put artificial regions or boxes around them. We should support those industries to grow and thrive wherever our creatives are living and working, and we should not tie them up in copyright changes that reduce their output and force them to chase the protection they rightly expect for their creative work.”

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5. “That is considerably further than the distance from the constituency of the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone). The most fragile rural economies, especially those at the heart of Scotland’s Gaelic culture, run the risk of being sidelined, despite the sterling efforts with productions such as “An t-Eilean”. Another area of concern is the BBC’s regional spend. The funding allocated to regional spend could be used to pay for production and editorial work much further away from that region. We need to be careful about that and scrutinise regional spend carefully to ensure that it is being spent in the region it is meant for. On AI, many others in the Chamber have said things that I would have said, so I will not go deeply into the subject; I agree with pretty much everything that has been said.”

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6. “I recently attended a book launch in Elgin by Iain MacLachlain, a local writer who has written many books and struggled to get them published, as niche writers often do, however well they write. He has written it in Scots, and traditional language publishing is even harder to do. His book has been published by the small specialist publisher Rymour, with the support of a grant from the Scottish Government to support Scots language development. Despite all these incredible creatives, it is not all positive. Some of the most creative people create their best work in the beauty and splendour of the north of Scotland, across the highlands and islands, Moray and Aberdeenshire. Where I live, the Government’s closest priority region for funding is the Edinburgh-Dundee corridor, which is well over 100 miles and a two-and-a-half-hour drive away.”

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7. “That is not my great-grandmother, who was a midwife in the valleys of Wales, but Richard Burton, whom she delivered. I have not even touched on museums, touring dance groups, orchestras, Scottish Opera or amateur dramatic groups, which employ writers, set designers and sound and lighting engineers. We have music venues, from a function room above a pub to the OVO Hydro in Glasgow and Murrayfield in Edinburgh. In music, my hon. Friend the Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart) has a past life as the keyboardist in a well-known Celtic rock band, Runrig. Being a shrinking violet, he does not tell anybody about that. They were the first band to get in the UK top 40 with a song entirely in Gaelic, “An Ubhal as Àirde”. That underlines the vital links between the creative industries and a thriving society and culture.”

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8. “Is it Fèis Spè or any of the other fèis across Scotland that promote Gaelic culture through poetry, music and song, particularly with primary schoolchildren and secondary schoolchildren, bringing new generations to connect with that wider culture and making the traditional artists of the future? Is it those involved in making the critically acclaimed “Outlander” TV series, which has been filmed in the heart of my constituency in the Cairngorms at Newtonmore? Is it even my wife’s aunt Margaret, who is a master kiltmaker in Grantown-on-Spey? Is it the luxury designer brand, Johnstons of Elgin, a family business that has been producing designer cashmere and tweed products for more than 200 years and employs around 650 incredibly highly skilled craftsmen and women? Could it be my tenuous link to creative genius?”

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9. “As we mark Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, it seems appropriate that we are debating the creative industries. I say that because the Holocaust was a brutal attempt by the Nazis to wipe out people and their cultures, and it is creative industries that are at the heart of growing and protecting our culture and helping wider society to thrive, rather than just survive. What is culture? On a lighter note, was it me when I was at university many years ago, busking with an accordion in Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow? That might be stretching it a bit. Hunted Cow Studios in Elgin perhaps has a better shout. It produces a range of massively multiplayer online role-playing games, and its game graphics have included a 3D-rendered Elgin cathedral.”

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10. “I also welcome the Secretary of State to her new role, and I look forward to working across party boundaries where possible. EGNOS is a satellite enhancement system for GPS. Prior to Brexit, Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd, which is headquartered in my constituency, had been working with National Air Traffic Services on developing the use of the system, and invested a lot of time and effort. It would increase mapping accuracy and, vitally, enable planes flying lifeline air services to land in a broader range of circumstances, improving service and reliability. As the Minister said, that work has stalled since Brexit, but the Government can re-engage with the programme should they choose, as it is open to non-EU members. Will the Minister commit to doing that?”

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11. “T7. Since Brexit and the reinstatement of duty-free shopping, UK travellers have spent nearly 50% more on their duty-free shopping, all in the EU. Not a penny has supported jobs or investment in Scottish airports, or those in the wider UK. Does the Minister agree that a way to repatriate those sales and support the travel sector to invest in jobs at international gateways would be introducing arrival duty free, and will he work with the Treasury and the travel sector to achieve that?”

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12. “There is no point beating around the bush: the Chancellor has just lost over £9.9 billion of headroom, and stands on the cusp of breaking her own fiscal rules. She said last year that she would not come back for more tax rises. Will the Chief Secretary be honest and admit, just as the former Bank of England rate setter Martin Weale said today, that this leaves only the option of more austerity? Will he level with people about when and where the next round of cuts will fall?”

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13. “It is a statement of fact that the capital provided to the Scottish Government was among the worst settlements ever made under the previous Government, which was of course a Government of his party.”

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14. “It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Lewell-Buck. I congratulate the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) on securing this important debate. As the SNP’s transport spokesperson in Westminster, cross-border connectivity issues are high on my agenda. A lot has been said about the strategic trunk roads—the A74(M), the A1, the various border routes, the A68, the A7 and suchlike—and about the vital investment that our road network requires. Colleagues in the Scottish Government are very much aware of the pressures on the core roads network, and of the work required to maintain and upgrade it. The hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk referred to the Scottish Government’s alleged failure to invest in trunk roads.”

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15. “There is a lot of mutual interest in getting this right, so will the Minister give an assurance that there will be strong engagement with the Scottish Government as the legislation develops? I hope that much of that can be addressed prior to publication. Finally, it is vital that we retain the protected slots at the key hub airports, which are critical to our onward connections to the rest of the world. Also, to pre-empt a question of mine that has been selected for tomorrow, and to use this opportunity to give a bit more context, EGNOS, the European geostationary navigation overlay system, is very technical—”

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16. “It is a vital link to Northern Ireland, through the port of Cairnryan, and there is ongoing work there. I welcome the cross-party work on that and hope it can continue, with design improvements to the road. I very much support that, and I know that colleagues in the Scottish Government do as well. There has been a lot of work and discussion between the Scottish Government and the UK Government on rail issues. I very much welcome the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024, which we fully support. Rail was already in public ownership in Scotland but, in fairness, that legislation has enabled us to ensure that that will continue—public ownership was the operator of last resort, so there was no surety about that, but now there is.”

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17. “I accept the point about ferries, and I would rather they had arrived on time and that the overspend did not exist, but we can compare that with High Speed 2, which is billions of pounds overspent, and the benefit to Scotland has diminished to near zero. There are other examples, including the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh, which was signed off by a Labour Government and was massively overspent. It was not the MSPs who supervised or had oversight of that, so there are examples from across all parties of issues with infrastructure projects. The important thing is obviously to learn from them and stop them happening again, which I fully support. Looking to the south-west of Scotland, I stayed in Galloway for a couple of years and I know very well what the A75 is like.”

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18. “I just wanted to ask the hon. Gentleman to put on the record that he was part of the Government for a significant period of the past 14 years of austerity, during which there were significant reductions in overall capital expenditure. Does he think that helped or hindered investment in strategic capital transport projects?”

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19. “I do not think I have ever seen quite so many glum faces on the Labour Benches, not for the two-child benefit cap or the winter fuel payment—this is beyond the pale. A handful of Labour Members have stood up and spoken their mind on this issue, and I commend them on that, but the Secretary of State has not answered the question of whether this House will be given a debate and a vote, which should happen in Government time. It is not just Scottish MPs who are asking for this; other MPs from other parties have done so. I urge the Secretary of State to reconsider.”

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20. “The applications of the 6,500 Syrian asylum seekers have already been mentioned, but when the Department looks at these claims, will the Home Secretary keep in mind that Syria’s new leader is a committed jihadist who has voiced support for the 9/11 attacks? There are, therefore, very serious questions, particularly for women and minorities, and all paused asylum claims should be processed with that firmly in mind. In a similar vein, although I fully support the increased efforts to shut down illegal and dangerous trafficking routes, it is important that we have safe asylum routes for those who are still at significant risk.”

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21. “Q12. A WASPI—Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaign—woman dies every 13 minutes. That is two women since the Prime Minister took to the Dispatch Box today, and it is 111 women every day, and nearly 17,000 since he took office. How many more WASPI women have to die before the Government take action to give them the financial redress and justice that they are due?”

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22. “Friend share my concern about how more vulnerable people, who may feel immense pressure from operators installing new meters, will be impacted?”

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23. “Like my hon. Friend, I have significant concerns about the end of RTS in rural Scotland. Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey has a disproportionate number of RTS meters, and I include myself in that statistic. My own experience with OVO Energy and switching to a smart meter from RTS has left a lot to be desired. I have had several telephone conversations with OVO representatives as a private customer regarding the RTS switchover. The main question I had during those phone calls was, “If I switch, will I be better or worse off, or paying the same as I am now for electricity?” I had to push extremely hard to get a straight answer to that. If that is the difficulty I am experiencing, as someone who is experienced in assisting constituents with this very issue, does my hon.”

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24. “There is a sense of urgency that needs to be injected, but it needs to come with a note of caution about how it is injected and how it is communicated, and it needs to make sure that customers understand how much they are likely to be paying. There also needs to be a transitional arrangement so that if somebody gets the wrong tariff, they are not penalised for that and it can be changed.”

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25. “My experience is that the energy company has been in touch with me. The tone of the emails has been quite pushy, which is what we are talking about, in that they need to be pushing quite hard on customers to make that change and get the right meter in place. However, when I have subsequently been in touch with them—I do not have a smart meter yet; it is coming in January—the first time there were no appointments and they were unable to answer that simple question of whether it will be cheaper. I cannot stress enough how much I have had to push them to get that answer out of them. I am not a vulnerable customer; I understand why this is happening, like everybody else in the Chamber. Vulnerable customers, however, may just accept that.”

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26. “The Office for Budget Responsibility has cautioned that the increase will likely lead to lower wages and higher prices; effectively, the burden will be passed on to consumers, and the purchasing power of hard-working families will be eroded. We urge the UK Government to reconsider this damaging Bill, to fully fund the cost of this tax hike to public services in Scotland, and to engage in a meaningful dialogue with the Scottish Government, so that Scotland’s interests are protected.”

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27. “The funding disparity is a clear indication that the UK Government have given scant consideration to the unique needs and circumstances of Scotland. That includes the disregard demonstrated in the winter fuel payment debacle, which exposes a pattern of neglect, regardless of which party occupies the Government Benches. It is exactly this pattern of neglect and lack of understanding of Scotland by successive UK Governments that strengthens the case for Scottish independence, and for our ability to take decisions for ourselves, like every other normal country, on the delivery of public services and taxation that impacts us. The impact of the Bill goes far beyond mere budgetary concerns. It will have a ripple effect across our economy, harming businesses, stifling growth and ultimately hurting the very workers it purports to protect.”

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28. “To give another example, a local dentist has said that the increased cost of employment as a result of the Bill may force them to go private to recoup those costs. Finally, the Bill is a double whammy for GP practices. They face the national insurance hit, but by dint of being designated a public service, are not eligible for employment allowance. The UK Government’s paltry offer of £300 million in Barnett consequentials is simply not enough to bridge the gap, and it fails to account for Scotland’s proportionally larger public sector, which employs 22% of the workforce, compared with 17% in the UK as a whole. Among other reasons, that is because in Scotland, we already have a publicly owned and managed rail service, and a publicly owned and managed water service.”

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29. “We will be left grappling with the fact that the UK Government undervalued the cost of the measure by at least £200 million. Scottish Government figures, corroborated by independent analysis from reputable institutions such as the Fraser of Allander Institute, paint a grim picture. The national insurance hike will cost Scotland more than £500 million, including a staggering £191 million burden on our already stretched NHS. That figure rises to an alarming £750 million when we factor in indirect employees in sectors such as childcare, GP practices and social care—sectors vital to the fabric of our society. In Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, a local firm with a number of care homes across the north of Scotland faces an £800,000 bill. It provides vital services to the community.”

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30. “Government Members have talked about difficult choices. Not taking away the winter fuel payment from people, or voting to remove the two-child cap, might also have been difficult choices, but instead they have been easy targets. This Bill adds to those easy targets. The Bill, presented under the guise of fiscal responsibility, is a thinly veiled austerity measure that will disproportionately burden Scotland and undermine our ability to deliver vital services to our citizens. The increase in employer national insurance contributions is touted by the Government as a necessary step to bolster public finances. However, closer examination reveals the stark reality: the increase will lead to a significant shortfall in Scotland’s public sector funding.”

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31. “The Minister will be aware that there is a strong link between communications technology and the roll-out of smart meter technology in areas in the north of Scotland that are suffering from cold weather. Particularly at the moment, connectivity is really important for such alternative technologies to work. What discussions has he had with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on that issue?”

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32. “In Scotland, the Scottish Government have chosen to provide the child payment for every child, and that is a substantial amount of money every single week, but the choices that have been made here in Westminster include removing the winter fuel payment from so many people.”

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33. “I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. In my constituency, food banks operate in every major town, including Moray Food Plus and the Badenoch & Strathspey Food Hub. Over and above that, we have community halls offering food hubs and a clothing bank for school clothing, and they provide cross-referral to the other organisations. There are many churches and other organisations all providing a basic food service to literally thousands of people in a single constituency, and this is replicated throughout the UK. Does my hon. Friend agree that this is basically about choices?”

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34. “There is a lot of talk about going back to how things were prior to privatisation, but governance and scrutiny are now in a very different place from 40 years ago, and we should acknowledge that. A railway that is publicly owned might bring about a real and sustained age of the train, which we might recall from our youth, with real infrastructure investment like that seen in Scotland. We want to continue to do more of that. That will drag people back on to the railways and move them off the roads, which will contribute to our efforts on climate change and gently improve people’s lives. That is why we support the Government’s position on the Lords amendments.”

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35. “They open up the railway to far more people, meaning that more people are using the line, spending money on rail services, and taking cars off the road, even if the overall journey time has not been reduced. Therefore the definition of an improvement in performance is really important, and the amendment gives no indication of how that will be dealt with. For that reason, the SNP does not support it. We agree that Lords amendment 2 could result in further loss to the public purse and the paying of excessive fees over an extended period. We want that money to come back to the public purse so that it can be reinvested in the railway and increase the usage of our trains. This is not the 1980s.”

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36. “The SNP supports the Bill and the Government’s position on the Lords amendments, mainly because the SNP Government in Scotland have already driven forward with public ownership. Sadly, without full and normal powers of independence—those will come in due course—the Bill is the current means to support and underpin those actions by the Scottish Government. I accept the Secretary of State’s position on Lords amendment 1. To take an example from my constituency, Inverness Airport station was opened relatively recently, and that adds time to the journey between Inverness and Aberdeen. Kintore station in Aberdeenshire was also opened, adding time to the overall length of the journey, but I do not think anybody would dispute that those are good improvements to the railway.”

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37. “Defence professionals across Whitehall will have their heads in their hands at this Government’s commitment to 2.5% at some point and when fiscal conditions permit. To fail to commit on defence investment with the multiple security threats facing us, from the Ukraine war to the middle east and a plethora of global cyber-threats, is strategically illiterate. Those threats will not wait for the Chancellor to get a grip, so what urgent steps will the Secretary of State take with the Chancellor to ensure at least the 2.5% promised by the Labour party on defence is spent when the threat assessment demands it, which is now, and not when the Chancellor feels it to be convenient?”

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38. “I welcome the Secretary of State’s update on how the UK Government are following in the Scottish Government’s footsteps by nationalising train operating companies, but Labour cannot claim to be nationalising the railways while leaving the trains in private hands. Even with the passage of her Bill, profits will continue to flow out of our railways to rolling stock companies, some based in tax havens, rather than be reinvested in services and infrastructure, and consequently in performance. Will the Secretary of State set out when she plans to bring forward proposals to nationalise the rolling stock companies and bring the railways back into public hands in their entirety?”

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39. “A third impact that I want to touch on is forestry. Here I can maybe throw the Minister a bone, having had a bit of a go about the first two issues. On forestry, I think we have a lot in common. We want to see more housing built; I am very supportive of that. I also support the need to see progress on sustainable aviation fuel. Both of those rely on significant investment in forestry. There is a serious issue about the availability of new wood beyond 2035, and if we are to achieve progress on sustainable aviation fuel and house building, that needs to be in the balance. Forestry needs to be in balance with the rest of our agricultural land needs. I urge the Minister to commit to a statement on the future of forestry beyond 2035, in order to support those two objectives, which, as I say, I believe we share.”

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40. “The supply chain for those whisky distilleries is in rural areas; these are rural jobs. If the increase in whisky tax reduces sales, that reduces investment. Those 48 distilleries range from big corporates such as Diageo through to small independents, and even a community-run distillery; I recently had the pleasure of being at its opening. The supply chain includes farmers producing grains—this is a double whammy for farmers in my constituency, as many of them produce grain for the distilleries—as well as mechanical engineers, process engineers, hauliers, maltsters, plumbers, joiners, gardeners, tour guides and those working in retail and hospitality. All those jobs are in rural areas, and they are a lifeline source of well-paid, good employment for many rural communities in Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey.”

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41. “A farm owner may choose to protect their family farm assets by selling off tenanted land, creating huge financial uncertainty for tenant farmers, and giving many cause to question whether it is worth continuing in farming. Food security is national security, but these measures are increasing uncertainty and insecurity for hard-working farming families—and in most farms, the whole family is working it together. A constituent wrote to me to say that APR is not a loophole, as has been suggested, but a targeted and necessary relief designed to support multi-generational businesses, food production and economic growth. A second issue of real significance to my constituency is whisky tax. That might not immediately jump to mind when we think about rural affairs, but the vast majority of the 48 distilleries in my constituency are in rural areas.”

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42. “Labour Members have referred to farmers having time to do financial planning, but significant sums of money will have to be put aside; if we were talking about pensions, we would say that people needed 10, 15 or 20 years to change their financial plans in that way. The NFUS has given the example of a family farm worth £4 million. The vast majority of that value is tied up in farm buildings, machinery and livestock. A family member inheriting the farm could be liable for a £600,000 tax bill—a demand enforceable by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, with £60,000 due within six months. Let us be clear that for many people, the only way to cover that would be to sell off buildings, machinery or stock. That may inherently make the farm financially unviable and put the whole business at risk of failure.”

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43. “First, I commend the maiden speakers in the House today. There have been some excellent maiden speeches. I particularly liked the reference by the hon. Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) to Tolkien, of whom I am a big fan, but today we are talking less about the bounteousness of the Hobbit’s Shire and more about needing a wizard to figure out how the Budget is good for farmers. Like many Members across the House representing rural areas, I have received significant correspondence from those on family farms, and from industry representatives such as the National Farmers Union of Scotland. The changes to inheritance tax and agricultural property relief have sent a wave of despair through the farming community, given the impact on family farms.”

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44. “Recent data from the Highlands and Islands housing associations’ affordable warmth group reveals that households in our region pay about 40% more than the UK average for energy. To highlight the disparity further, daily standing charges for electricity in northern Scotland stand at 61.98p, compared with 41.59p in London. That, coupled with higher per-unit rates, translates to energy bills that burden our residents and, for many, make basic heating a struggle to afford.”

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45. “This situation is simply a legacy of long-standing structural failures in the energy regulation system, and a lack of action by successive UK Governments and the regulator, Ofgem. In a previous debate, the Minister mentioned giving Ofgem more teeth to deal with energy suppliers, but who deals with Ofgem’s failings? We need to tackle that. As a result of the situation, our residents, especially those not connected to the gas grid—representing the vast majority—rely almost exclusively on electricity for heating. That electricity comes with elevated standing charges and higher unit rates compared with the rest of the UK. What are the consequences? The impact on the quality of life and economic wellbeing of our communities is severe.”

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46. “That regional discrimination has been compounded by the removal of the winter fuel payment from so many vulnerable people in some of the coldest parts of the UK, in communities such as Aviemore, Kingussie, Newtonmore, Grantown-on-Spey and Tomintoul in the Cairngorms in my constituency, and many others across the entirety of the highlands and islands and Moray. For decades, these communities have paid far more than most for the basic human need to stay warm. People living in the north of Scotland quite literally have energy generated within sight of their homes, but it is transmitted hundreds of miles away so that other consumers can pay significantly less to heat their homes.”

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47. “First, let us acknowledge the glaring inequity and downright discrimination in our energy landscape. The highlands and islands contribute disproportionately to the UK’s renewable energy supply, yet we bear the highest energy costs. That is particularly unjust considering that our region generates about 5.5% of the UK’s total renewable energy, while our population constitutes only 0.4% of the UK total. Despite the fact that we power homes across the UK, our residents face some of the highest fuel poverty rates in the UK.”

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48. “I beg to move, That this House has considered the potential merits of energy rebates for the Highlands and Islands. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I am here to address a matter of critical importance to my constituents in Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, and indeed to residents across the highlands and islands: the vital need for a highland energy rebate. I first pay tribute to my predecessor, Drew Hendry, who played a leading role in the campaign, and my hon. Friend the Member for Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber (Brendan O’Hara), who has been involved in the campaign since its inception. Our region’s unique energy challenges would be met by a highland energy rebate—a solution that is as equitable as it is necessary.”

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49. “I urge everyone here today to support this campaign for a fairer energy system and for economic justice for the highlands and islands, and I hope the Minister will take this opportunity to provide an assurance that the new Government will take this matter seriously and act quickly to address the inequalities in our energy system and lift people out of fuel poverty.”

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50. “A highland energy rebate would take us a step further, applying it to areas where renewable energy infrastructure already exists, and supporting the nation. In conclusion, this is a matter of fairness, equity and regional support. The highlands and islands play a pivotal role in the UK’s clean energy production, yet we bear the highest costs. The highland energy rebate would be an acknowledgment of the contributions of our communities and would ensure a share in the benefits of the energy they help create.”

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