Katrina Murray
MP for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch · Labour · United Kingdom
“My very first experience of employment was waiting at a van to try to get a day’s work, cash in hand, at the berries, which was what people usually did when they were aged 13 or 14 and looked a wee bit older.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. New cases are still coming into my office, with tales of failure to get through on the telephone or a lack of online access. They remain common, but most common is the financial distress. My case team keep hearing about people who are about to lose their house.”
“Protecting our interests in the High North depends not only on our armed forces, but on a resilient defence industrial base. Constituencies such as mine are home to highly skilled defence and engineering businesses that play an important role in supporting our national security.”
“I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as co-chair of the Unison group of Labour MPs. For too long, many workers have been expected to keep themselves available for work without any certainty over the hours or income that they would receive. The right to guaranteed hours was designed to change that.”
“Before my time in this place, I lived this issue. When the Assembly collapsed in 2022, health workers in Northern Ireland received no pay increase because there was no functioning Executive able to implement the recommendations of the independent pay review body. The eventual award had to be backdated at the end of the financial year.”
“It was unfair on staff, inefficient for employers, and, ultimately, patients paid the price when public services could not plan with certainty. This was not a one-off. It has happened four times in the past five years, regardless of whether or not Stormont has been sitting. I know that the hon.”
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“The fact that she was hired by NASA to recruit women and people of colour for the space shuttle programme between 1997 and 2015 showed the impact that she had. Many astronauts have credited Nichols and Uhura with inspiring them to want to work in that industry. Mae Jemison was the first African-American woman in space in 1992, and a year later she appeared on the decks of the USS Enterprise as part of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. All the devices that we love to watch on “Star Trek” are what we are using today—look at our iPads. It had the first handheld mobile devices and personal access display screens. In the “Star Trek” world, Jean-Luc Picard would say to his replicator, “Tea, Earl Grey, hot,” and it would then appear from the ship’s reserves.”
“However, we must break up the dominance of the US private sector in this space. To develop the sector at warp speed is vital. Constituencies such as mine are crying out for advanced engineering jobs—jobs that are highly skilled and naturally well paid. Our local economies benefit from people coming from all over the country to work in those factories and warehouse units. People visit those units, as I have had the privilege to do, and they meet the range of people who work there. No longer is this the engineering I knew in my childhood—it is no longer pale, male and stale. The role of women in the industry is obvious, which takes us right back to the original series of “Star Trek” in the ’70s, where the inspirational and transformative effect that Nichelle Nichols had as Lieutenant Uhura cannot be overstated.”
“Friend the Member for Glasgow East from mine is the M73, a major part of Scotland’s motorway and logistics infrastructure, it is probably fair to say that people do not boldly go on that journey every day, although having once spent the night on the motorway during a snowstorm, it does feel a bit like the final frontier at times. The Bill is exceptionally technical, and the need for it is immense. The Prime Minister rightly reminded us this week of the need for Europe to be united and not rely on the United States when conflict comes to our continent. While that is true in Ukraine, it is also immediately true in space. There may be competition within the sector in Europe, and we have even heard about competition within the sector in Scotland, but that is healthy.”
“I am proud to speak in support of the Bill promoted by my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (John Grady) on the space industry. Like large parts of Scotland, my constituency has a burgeoning footprint in the aerospace industry—indeed, not just the industry, but the supply chain, because as my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) pointed out, Kirkintilloch and Kilsyth are very much part of my area and it is becoming one of our largest industrial sectors. To be honest, my interest in space, like that of many in my generation, comes from a combination of sci-fi and being made to watch the launch of the space shuttle. As the opening statements of “Star Trek” told us, space is “the final frontier” and we should “boldly go where no man has gone before”. Given that what separates the constituency of my hon.”
“There is Louise Carberry, a primary 7 pupil at Kilsyth primary school, whose app-designing skills saw her win the Make It Happen Club app design challenge. Her “save the whale” idea was not only recognised, but developed into reality—yet another woman going into science, technology, engineering and maths. There is also RSE, an engineering company in my constituency that is overwhelmingly recruiting graduate women engineers in the water industry. There are the inspiring women of Kilsyth and Stepps guiding. I must admit that I am biased—I was a Guide, a Brownie and an occasional adult volunteer—but the volunteers there are bringing young women forward. Our fight is not finished. The battle for equality continues everywhere, so let us recommit ourselves to not only celebrating progress, but truly accelerating action.”
“It is a fight against exploitation, trafficking and the silencing of women’s voices. The theme for International Women’s Day this year is “Accelerate Action”. While every single one of us in this place has a role to play in that, it is also necessary for our communities. Like other Members, I will take a moment to share the stories and celebrate the achievements of some really spectacular women in my constituency. However, not a single one of them would say that they were spectacular or that they are doing something above and beyond. They are women like Lavinia McElhinney, the ladies’ president at Woodilee bowling club, whom I met at the club’s fundraising coffee morning last year. Women’s sports, such as bowling, are just as important at the sport on the telly.”
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler) for allowing us to do what this House does at its best: speak as one and work together. International Women’s Day is an opportunity for us all to celebrate the achievements of women, reflect on the progress we have made and, crucially, recommit to the work still to be done. As we have been rightly reminded throughout this debate, there are still many, many battles to be won, whether in our local communities, across the nation or globally. Women have always been at the forefront of change, often having to fight to have their voices heard, yet they have made significant contributions and led movements for justice and equality. The fight for women’s rights is a fight for economic justice, reproductive rights and freedom from violence and discrimination.”
“Pathways and strategies are good, but they need to be delivered. I know my hon. Friend the Minister, and I am assured that the Government are focusing on delivery, not just the strategy and a publication that can be held up. I welcome that.”
“Unlike the experience in England, where waiting lists are starting to come down, in Scotland they are not. My constituency of Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch straddles the periphery of NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. On average, 65% of people referred to specialist gynaecological services in Scotland wait more than 12 weeks for the first appointment—most wait an awful lot longer than that, as the number of clinics is certainly less than when I worked in the service 30 years ago. One of my constituents informed me that after fighting for a year with her GP to get a referral to a specialist service, she waited over a year before deciding to go private. She travelled abroad for treatment because she could not stand the uncertainty and the pain. That is just one case from my inbox; there are many, many more.”
“People, particularly younger women, are living with pain. It is difficult to get on to the referral pathway, and long waiting times for people who do get there. The Scottish Government’s strategy detailed a clinical endometriosis pathway for women that was launched in January ’23. It was rightly lauded at the time, but the Scottish Government have a habit of announcing and launching brand new shiny things that are then not delivered operationally. There is a review date of January ’24 on the pathway, but I cannot find any evidence of that review having ever happened. It gives a set of criteria for women to be referred to specialist services, but when someone has those symptoms and declares them to their GPs, they are still do not getting that referral. When people actually get on to a waiting list, it is endless.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Helena Dollimore) on securing this vital debate. In the time available, I will concentrate on the importance of delivery. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) spoke eloquently about the experience in Northern Ireland; it is only appropriate that I, as a Scottish MP, talk about my constituency and my constituents’ experience. In 2021, the Scottish Government published its women’s health plan, the intent of which was absolutely sound. In November ’24, they provided the final report for this plan, measuring what it had delivered. I looked at that when preparing this speech, and in particular at one of the topics that comes up regularly in my inbox—endometriosis.”
“Last month, along with approximately 20 local employers, I attended Cumbernauld academy’s world of work event, where I was able to engage with more than 100 13-year-olds about the skills needed to be an elected politician and how to work for one. It was a crucial part of their preparation for choosing which subjects they wanted to take at national 4 and national 5 level. I really got put through my paces on all that, and it was an absolutely fantastic event; I commend the school on doing that. It is important that we further debate the importance of careers advice for young people.”
“One of my earliest memories is being in a hospital room as my grandfather was dying of cancer. Ten days ago, I was in the same hospital as my father died with the same cancer—50 years in between, almost to the week, but no significant change in prognosis. Can the Minister assure me that what are termed the less survivable cancers, which are not necessarily rare cancers, are included as part of this work?”
“I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests; prior to my election, I represented disabled members on the national executive of Unison. There are many barriers that prevent disabled people and those with long-term health conditions from not only entering but staying in the workplace, from a strict and punitive approach to attendance and sickness to a failure even to consider adaptations that make work possible. It is clear that employers have to be supported to make high-quality work accessible to disabled people. What work is my right hon. Friend therefore doing to engage employers in making work a positive and constructive experience for disabled people?”
“In the Hillhead, Waterside, Harestanes and, in particular, Twechar parts of my constituency, the issue of buses—or, more accurately, the lack of them—is continually being raised with me. My constituents cannot get access to local services, whether it is going to the bank or going to church. They need to change buses and wait for up to an hour for a connecting service—that is if the connecting service ever turns up. I wish to request a debate in Government time on the need for bus services in local communities.”
“While the contract with Airbus is welcome, there is concern about the split of the Spirit plant in Belfast. Can the Secretary of State reassure me that wider defence and aerospace contracts with companies such as Skyrora in my constituency that are held in Belfast by the non-Airbus part of Spirit will not be put at risk because of that?”
“She cannot get a tenancy in a private flat, because she does not have the good financial standing to get a reference. She cannot get a council house, because we have a housing emergency, and she has no children. She does not want to sit and wait for 10 years without work. I know fine well that the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones), and my hon. Friend the Safeguarding Minister know this inside out. I know that they can make the case that, as a joined-up Government, we need to solve the housing emergency, and we need to reform universal credit. It is only when we get this joined- up Government moving and working correctly—”
“It was a person uttering those words that got me out. I did not believe it; I did not recognise it. I pooh-poohed it in that meeting, but then I sat back and reflected. Every single one of us here will have come to the debate thinking of women we know—women we met before we came to this place. There were those who I represented in the trade union. There was one I sat in the car with and did the midnight flit with. They got out. I phoned managers and said that we needed to get her moved. There are people whose stories I do not have the privilege or the permission to tell, but one woman—one of my constituents—who did give me that permission got out of the relationship. She moved 400 miles to be beside her family and is now sitting in temporary accommodation, working part-time and on universal credit.”
“I am honoured to participate in this debate and to follow such esteemed colleagues from all sides of the House. Violence takes many forms, not just physical or sexual, but emotional, financial and coercive control. Those acts, which do not leave physical bruises, have just as bruising an effect—the effect cutting off the women on the receiving end from their families, from the friends who support them, and not necessarily from their abuser. It is the effect of cutting off women from the people who will provide support and help, and from those who will utter the immortal words, “Do you know you are living in an abusive relationship?” I thank the right hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Dame Karen Bradley) for what she said. We must not underestimate the power of those words, or the power of those friends.”
“I will continue, if that is okay; I do not need the time. I am good, thank you. Everything I had written down has gone. I have been struck by the power of words in this Chamber. People out there listen. As has been said, we are working for the good today. We need to make sure that everybody out there hears us working for the good. We believe everyone who comes forward, and we thank everybody who has shared their stories this week. Thank you all.”
“Q7. My constituents in the east of Kirkintilloch are experiencing a housing emergency. There are not enough houses for families or for those fleeing domestic abuse, and what houses there are are in drastic need of repair. Does the Prime Minister agree that the Scottish Government should prioritise repairing that housing emergency and funding local authorities to address this crisis of their own making?”
“Small businesses are a crucial part of the economy in Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch. There are huge opportunities to help them further, and one way of doing that is to work across the public sector and with local authorities—in my case, North Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire councils, with contracts as big as the redevelopment of Cumbernauld town centre. Will the Minister work with local authorities and the Scottish Government to help more small businesses to bid successfully for contracts?”
“Today, 5 December, is International Volunteer Day. In the interests of time, I will not list all the voluntary organisations, volunteer groups and roles in my constituency, but the contribution they make is vital. May we have a debate in Government time to celebrate the contribution that volunteers make to our local communities?”
“Cumbernauld airport in my constituency has been in the application process for vital instrument approach procedure for over 10 years. It has been subject to many delays by the Civil Aviation Authority and has been delayed yet again. This ongoing delay to the approval of the global navigation satellite system is putting future commercial operations at the airport at risk. May we have a debate in Government time on the importance of local airfields to the delivery of public services?”
“T8. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that Iran’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine is a direct threat to Europe’s security, and can he outline what steps he is taking to respond?”
“I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and to the work that I did prior to prior to entering this place. It is difficult enough for a disabled person to enter employment; it is even more difficult for a disabled person to remain in employment if the employers are not aware of or not accommodating their disabilities and the reasonable adjustments that they might need. Within the debate on this White Paper, will the Secretary of State ensure that the work of exemplar employers is picked up and credited? There must be a recognition of the value that disabled people can bring to all workplaces. I also invite her to come and meet my old team in the employability service within NHS Lanarkshire, who have worked not just with Project Search but with disabled—”
“As a long-term member of the NHS Scotland credit union, I know the importance of having community and workplace-based savings and lending provision, which is much more accessible for people on low incomes than buy now, pay later. However, it has become much more challenging for the sector to operate beyond the common bond. What is the Minister doing to ensure that credit unions are able not only to compete with the wider financial sector, but to thrive in those circumstances?”
“One in six Scots are on a waiting list for treatment, tests or appointments. Hospitals post on social media telling patients not to go to accident and emergency unless their condition is life-threatening—my local hospitals did so on 27 October. GPs are at breaking point, with a prescription system that still requires paper and fax machines, and there is no NHS app or e-prescribing for Scottish patients. I commend the largest budget settlement for the Scottish Government in the history of devolution. Now, the Scottish Government must use it to fix the system that they broke. Devolution is massively important to me—I knocked on doors to campaign for the creation of the Scottish Parliament—and I will defend it with my life, but we want to ensure that it works for everyone, so that there is no chance of “big boy done it and ran away.””
“They face difficulty in getting GP appointments and being referred to the appropriate waiting lists, and they then spend years on those waiting lists. Young people with neurodevelopmental conditions might spend years not being seen by local child and adolescent mental health services, until their case is referred to the private sector because they are about to turn 18 or they are transferred to the bottom of the adult waiting list. The Budget is clear that there is a need for investment. My Scottish constituents have been failed by two Governments. The previous Conservative Government have rightly been the focus of much of today’s debate, but the current Scottish Government have been asleep on the job, quite frankly. All the signs that made Lord Darzi say that the NHS was in crisis in England apply just as much to Scotland.”
“Lord Darzi’s independent report pronounced that the NHS in England was in a critical condition. By commissioning the report and through the announcements in last week’s Budget, the Government have declared their intention to fix our NHS and set a firm foundation for the future. I particularly commend the decision in the Budget to invest in mental health crisis centres, in order to move those experiencing a mental health crisis away from the accident and emergency unit. Although we will always need crisis support, mental health provision—like physical health provision—should focus on intervention at the earliest possible juncture, rather than relying on emergency care. So often, those in need of mental health care face barriers to accessing help.”
“I would like to associate myself with the remarks made by the Prime Minister. Cumbernauld in my constituency was promised an elective and diagnostic treatment centre by the Scottish Government in 2021. This has continued to be delayed and is now alleged to be mothballed. What assurances can the Prime Minister give me that any Barnett consequentials from today’s Budget will be used to benefit my constituents and not be held on to by the Scottish Government?”
““Buy now, pay later” is attractive to young people who are trying to survive on zero-hours contracts with irregular hours. What assurances can the Chancellor give me that the coming regulations will protect this group from problematic debt?”
“The village had already lost its post office and its shop and, with the pub about to be turned into residential accommodation, the community stepped in. It formed a management committee, secured community funding and shareholding, and reopened The Swan, fully renovated, in the middle of the pandemic. It is not just a pub; it is the centre and social hub of the community. It is warm and friendly, and last month I was proud to attend the Macmillan coffee morning in the village, along with local councillors. Nearly £2,000 was raised, which isn’t bad for a village of just over 350 people. We can surely agree that we need a good-quality steak pie —that is really important in my part of the world—good coffee, a nice wee gin, and somewhere to watch the football or dry off after a dog walk. Our pubs are vital.”
“I commend you for your chairing of this debate, Ms Vaz, and I commend the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire (Mr Bedford) for securing this debate. I follow my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Dr Gardner), who spoke about the role of the community pub, and the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Sarah Bool), who spoke about the importance of the industry, the challenges it faces and the fact that, when hospitality businesses close, the heart of a community is ripped out. The more rural a community is, the bigger the hole that is left. When the local pub in my constituency was threatened with closure after its lease was up, the PUB stepped in—People United for Banton, not the bar.”
“According to research by UK Feminista, over a third of female school pupils have been sexually harassed while at school. Much of this can be traced back to misogynistic online influencers and the harmful impacts of pornography. Will the Home Secretary tell the House what she is doing to prioritise women’s online safety and how she is engaging with counterparts in the devolved Administrations to ensure that no woman or girl is left behind when it comes to ending sexual harassment and the exploitation of women?”
“Q11. The Fairways Networking Group is a group of small businesses in my constituency, all of which operate on tight margins. Can my right hon. and learned Friend help me to reassure this group that not only do they have nothing to fear from the Employment Rights Bill, but they have plenty to gain as exemplar employers?”
“Access to GP appointments is consistently raised with me in Cumbernauld. A number of constituents have informed me that, having made complaints, they have been removed from the list of the general practice at which they have been patients for many years. Will the Minister raise the matter with the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, so that we can get some resolution for my constituents?”
“Digital access has become an increasingly essential part of everyday life. However, large parts of my constituency suffer from both slow speeds and digital dead zones, which has a massive impact on residents and businesses, particularly as more of my constituents are embracing flexible hybrid working. Will my right hon. Friend grant a debate on digital connectivity?”
“It is probably no surprise that I ended up a trade unionist in the health service, fighting for public services and never shutting up. For the whole of my working life, I have worked in partnerships and tried to build alliances between workers, and between communities. Many of the communities of Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch are at a point of transition. It is in a spirit of partnership and alliance that I will work to strengthen the bonds that bind our people together. I will work in this place, and in Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch, to confront the challenges that we face around those points of transition, and to ensure that it is what unites us that guides us. This afternoon, we have heard from across the House all the points that unite us.”
“But in the 1920s, dairymen’s daughters did not go to grammar schools, certainly not if they were the eldest and they had six younger siblings. She never forgot that, and among her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren there was an expectation that we would take all the educational chances open to us, and fight for them when they were not obvious. We were expected to “stick in” at school, go to university and, when we had got our qualification, embrace a life of service. I am proud to come from a family of teachers, doctors, civil servants, health workers, school staff and social care staff. I am also proud of the fact that my parents are here today. We were supported in challenging things that were not fair and standing up for ourselves.”
“It involved multiple buses and ferries, but it required phoning around to get lifts back to the village for the last leg of the journey, as the Twechar bus stopped running at 5 pm. Like most of us, I have spent more time than is healthy considering the basis of my politics and values. One benefit of making my speech later on is that I have been able to listen to the maiden speeches of so many other Members. When the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) made his maiden speech, he spoke about Galloway dairy farms, which was important to me because I immediately thought of my grandmother. She grew up on one of those farms. The oldest daughter of the dairyman, she was bright; she passed her 11-plus and was entitled to a place at the grammar school.”
“As I have said, one of the big selling points of the constituency is its connectivity to Scotland’s central-belt cities. If there is to be that connectivity, we need a proper, integrated public transport system, based on public need, rather than on the most profitable routes. No matter which part of the constituency I am in, what people want to talk to me about most is public transport—whether it is an amended railway timetable that means that there are no services after 10 am on a Sunday, or a bus service that gets cancelled because there is no cover to allow the driver to take a break. During the summer holidays, the youth group at Twechar Healthy Living and Enterprise Centre planned a day trip to Millport using the bus service.”
“For those who are not familiar with the film, it centres around a school football team who experience a significant improvement in form when one of the girls, Dorothy, turns up for the trials and subsequently plays up front as a striker. This film is a firm Murray family favourite. Our house was burgled when I was quite young, and the younger members of the Murray family were probably more upset that the “Gregory’s Girl” video was in the recorder that had been stolen, so it is poetic that one of Scotland’s biggest women’s teams, Rangers Women, play all their home matches at Broadwood in Cumbernauld. I am sure that I can pass on the best wishes of probably most in this House for when the team faces Arsenal’s women’s team in the semi-finals of the first qualifying round of the champions league tomorrow.”
“The northern boundary of Roman Britain, the Antonine wall, runs through the constituency. The Bar Hill fort, garrisoned by people from across ancient Europe and the middle east, which was established to protect the wall, is still accessible from Twechar. Evidence of the mining history of the constituency remains strong. There is the Kilsyth Victoria cottage hospital, one of the places in the constituency where I first went to work; the remnants of the miners’ rows, which are now farm outhouses; and the vast swathes of new housing built on former colliery land in Cardowan, Chryston, Kilsyth and Twechar. It would take a far braver woman than me to make comments about football in the weeks leading up to or following an Old Firm game. Cumbernauld’s most famous outing on film was in the 1980s Bill Forsyth classic, “Gregory’s Girl”.”
“She was one of the people who sat me down and said, “Maybe you should think about standing.” The new constituency of Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch runs from the boundary of Glasgow in Millerston to the boundary with Falkirk at Castlecary, and is bisected by the M80 motorway. It is served by Croy station on the main Glasgow to Edinburgh express railway line, with Stepps, Greenfaulds and Cumbernauld being on the local line from Glasgow. Rail services are vital in a constituency where people travel to work. Cumbernauld was designated a new town in 1955, but it has a very rich history. It includes Cumbernauld village and its weavers, and Condorrat, and the rich farmland between the Campsie hills to the north and the Luggie water to the south. There have been settlements there since before Roman times.”
“Member for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Murray) will know—that there is a further complicating factor locally, in that East Dunbartonshire council’s Kirkintilloch East and North and Twechar ward is very ably represented by Councillor Stewart MacDonald. I thank all of them for the commitment that they have shown to their communities. I wish to thank a further predecessor, Rosemary McKenna. She served initially as Member for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, then as Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East, from 1997 to 2010. When I was a young woman activist in the Scottish Labour party, Rosemary was one of the big influences on me that eventually brought me to this place.”
“I pay tribute to my immediate predecessor, Stuart C. McDonald, who was MP for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East for the last nine years. It is appropriate that I am making my maiden speech as the ballot for private Members’ Bills takes place in the Lobby, because the progression into law of his private Member’s Bill, protecting the rights of parents of premature babies, shows that we can all make a difference when we work together in the House. As Stuart C. McDonald said in his maiden speech, the former Member for Glasgow South was also called Stewart McDonald, and there continued to be significant confusion. Many Members may not be aware—well, the hon.”
“Thank you, Madam Chair, for calling me to speak in this debate on public ownership of the railways. As a lifelong trade unionist who has spent the last 20 years campaigning to bring public services back from the private sector, this issue is understandably close to my heart. I congratulate all the other Members who have made their maiden speech today. New Members from across the House have shown their passion and their reasons for being here. I very much appreciated the comments made by my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland (David Smith) for reasons that may become apparent. It is a great honour to be the first Member of Parliament for the new constituency of Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch. My thanks go to the people of the communities that make up the constituency for placing their trust in me.”