Mr Angus MacDonald
MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom
“In the highlands, powers and funding have also been moved back to Inverness city, at the expense of Wester Ross, Skye, Caithness, Sutherland and Lochaber. Capital investments, such as city deals, have been hogged by cities.”
“Scotland has, except that has produced very few local jobs, little legacy housing and minimal community benefit. It is not a boom. Scotland as a whole received only £30 million of community benefit in 2025, and the highlands, which are covered in wind farms, got only £7 million.”
“Isolation comes as a result of many of the issues that I will point out, and deprivation, as has been mentioned, is much less obvious in a small, pretty croft house on the lochside than in a deprived inner-city housing estate.”
“We have had an 18% fall in the number of care homes, despite the rising number of elderly people; there are only 45 care beds in Skye for a population of 10,000. NHS Highland is paying £77,000 a day for delayed discharges. In short, people in rural coastal communities earn less money.”
“The small schools do not get science, technology, engineering and mathematics coverage; they do not get the physics, mathematics or computing teaching that the big urban schools get. That means that parents with children who are gifted in those subjects move into the cities, so there is a downward spiral at those schools.”
“A week before his election, Boris Johnson promised that not a penny of funding for rural areas would be lost as a result of Brexit. That money funded skills training, community projects and infrastructure, including roads and bridges.”
The complete record
Every one of 213 lines we hold for Mr Angus MacDonald, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 5.
“I appeal to our Prime Minister to grow a bit of backbone with Trump, side firmly with European nations and once more ensure Britain is the leader of the world’s civilised countries in supporting Ukraine.”
“Donald Tusk declared: “We know this is not about peace. It’s about business.” Did the PM see Steve Bannon stating that Russia was America’s true ally in world war two and that they should be allies again? Did he read the press yesterday where a German general, Christian Freuding, said that he no longer has peer group contact with US generals and that channels had been “cut off, really cut off”. My mother is American, from a long line of Republican supporters. She is appalled that the party of Reagan and George Bush has decided to ally itself with Russia, rather than its traditional allies of Britain, Germany, Canada, Japan and its many other old friends.”
“Surely the Budget would have been the perfect time to have announced a substantial new contribution to Ukraine to help it fund the defence of western Europe? Why is our Prime Minister being so timid in his support for Ukraine? Is he still hoping that President Trump will stop his flip-flopping and actually firmly support Ukraine? Is he not upset that the United States no longer donates arms to help Ukraine, but sells the arms to Europe? Just yesterday, Trump boasted that Ukraine is forced to pay “top dollar” for weapons to give to Ukraine. This is war profiteering. Does our Prime Minister read the Wall Street Journal , where he will have read a detailed report on Steve Witkoff and Trump’s own son-in-law, Jared Kushner, meeting the Russians to carve out multibillion dollar deals for the benefit of themselves and major American companies?”
“In the meantime, all over Europe Russia is conducting sabotage: rogue drone flights, towing anchors over our power lines and data links, cyber-attacks, exploding packages in courier flights and even assassinations in the UK. In the previous Government, even Boris Johnson was much more supportive in his response than our current Government. France and Germany are very much leading the way now, with Britain timidly following on. The Chancellor raised £28 billion in the recent Budget and £40 billion this time last year, yet we have a target to increase defence spending from a very modest 2.4% of GDP to only 2.5% by 2026. Whether our Prime Minister or Chancellor will admit it, we are at war with Russia already.”
“I thank the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin) for bringing this very important debate to the House. It is very disappointing that the Chamber is not full and that we do not have the Prime Minister sitting there. I cannot think of a more important subject for us to be debating in the United Kingdom—the almost certain outbreak of war, as far as I am concerned. I am very sorry that the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) is not here to tell us his view on Russia. I think we would all be very interested in what he had to say. Ukraine is defending the western world against Russia. There is no doubt about that. The Baltic states, Finland, Moldova, Poland and Estonia are all building up their military forces. They expect that Putin has territorial ambitions on their land, too.”
“My family has served in the Army for many generations, including myself in the troubles in Northern Ireland, and indeed my son is serving now. We have seen and deeply admired the Army’s core values of courage, discipline, respect, integrity, loyalty and selfless commitment. Would my hon. Friend accept that the retired generals and the many serving friends of my son make an extremely pertinent point when they say that the Bill will negatively impact retention and recruitment in the British Army, and at a time when we are desperate to bolster our armed forces?”
“Q5. Successive Governments have imposed massive environmental tariffs on customers using UK-produced renewable electricity, but far less on imported carbon fuel mains gas. This is the main reason why those not on the gas grid—those living in rural Britain—pay a great deal more to heat their properties. Yes, renewable projects are important, but the huge environmental tariffs on our electricity bills are not fair. Will the Prime Minister acknowledge this injustice and commit his Government to addressing this?”
“It is an incredibly important subject. I left school before I was 17, and that was the end of my education. I have had a fantastic business career, I have written lots of novels and I am now an MP. That is despite no help at all from the educational system, and society as a whole putting across the message that people such as me at school are not on the same level as more intellectual people. The subject is close to my heart. Does my hon. Friend agree that society should better recognise people such as him and me, to help people get on with their careers?”
“I wrote to the Post Office in July, three and a half months ago, and it emailed a response this week—I think three and a half months might be a record. The posties in the west highlands, a very rural area, get paid an amount of money that is not attractive to them. We have areas in Wester Ross and Skye that are getting no post at all and have not for some weeks. Does the hon. Member not agree that the Post Office should use the flexibility that it has to pay a reasonable sum to attract postal staff?”
“(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the planned use of MOD barracks to house asylum seekers.”
“Why were the Scottish Government not engaged in conversation, and why were Highland council and other authorities just informed, rather than engaged, which is the word that the Minister used? Secondly, did Home Office officials consider the fact that the site is in a city centre before they agreed to take it on? Why is it okay to close town centre migrant hotels in the south of England, yet plan to house 300 migrant men in Army quarters in Inverness city centre? It is effectively the same thing. Thirdly, will the Minister meet me to discuss the Home Office halting its plan to utilise Cameron barracks to house migrants?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer, and the Speaker for allowing me to ask this urgent question. I got a call yesterday at 7.10 in the morning from the BBC, who asked, “What is your comment on the Cameron barracks being taken over and used to house migrants?” I know that place well, because I was based there when was in the Army. It is residential—it is surrounded by housing that is very close by—and what is more, it is only 10 minutes from Inverness city centre. I asked for a briefing from the Home Office and got one, which was wonderful. What I learned is that there are going to be up to 309 single male asylum seekers there, who will move in at the end of November. I have a few questions arising from that. First, why was I not engaged in any discussion?”
“Does the Minister really consider this a just transition? We have thousands of contractors arriving in the highlands. They stay in workers’ camps, and very few legacy houses are agreed. The companies are not employing local people, and this is all in an area with the greatest fuel poverty in Britain.”
“Will the Minister acknowledge the unfairness that my constituents in Skye, and indeed people all across rural Scotland and rural Great Britain, are paying four times as much to heat their houses using locally generated renewable electricity—often while looking at wind turbines outside their windows—than those in cities who heat their houses using imported high-carbon gas, which is largely due to the fact that the environmental tariffs fall wrongly on the renewables and not on the carbon fuel gas?”
“Would the hon. Member agree that transmission line operators should consider the impact on local communities by leaving legacy housing, employing graduate apprentices from the area and not swamping local villages with workers’ camps?”
“I have personal gratitude to them, because my wife was going along a ridge and fell off and was scraped up by Arrochar mountain rescue team and flown to Glasgow hospital, where they fixed her up—which was good news, she tells me. In addition, my father was involved in the Glencoe mountain rescue team for the whole of my youth. He said the search and rescue helicopters were probably the biggest positive change for saving people’s lives in the mountains, so this is a very important debate.”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered access to community helipads in rural areas. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I am delighted to be speaking on an issue that impacts not just my constituents, but pretty well the whole of rural Britain. I spoke in this Chamber earlier this year during the debate secured by my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on coastguard helicopter services. At that time, I pointed out that search and rescue helicopters are an extremely valued facility; I think everybody who has had any dealings with them would respect the quality of people involved.”
“In August 2024, following the CAA’s publication, Bristow helicopters undertook a thorough review of all helicopter landing sites and helipads that may be used for hospital purposes, to assess their compliance. The review highlighted that the majority of those sites were not compliant with the new guidance, and so Bristow withdrew from operating on the non-compliant helipads. Out of fear of litigation after the Derriford tragedy, Bristow insists that it needs legal authority to operate from sites that are not CAP1264 compliant. The problem is not the quality of Portree helipad; it is the red tape around liability and the ownership of risk.”
“Understandably, that is causing a lot of confusion and irritation for mountain rescue, the community trust and the wider Portree community. What is behind this? In March 2022, a lady attending an appointment at Derriford hospital in Devon was knocked over by a downwash from a helicopter and died tragically from a head injury shortly thereafter. Following that tragic incident, safety guidance was tightened—but in practice the new approach has gone too far, and has created a fear of litigation rather than a focus on safety. In April 2024, the Civil Aviation Authority published the third edition of its guidelines, “CAP1264: Standards for helicopter landing areas at hospitals”, which some Members may have read.”
“The ambulance can drive right up beside it; there are lights that can be turned on from the helicopter; it has windsocks; it is fenced off; it has special paint demarking the H—it has every facility one could want from a helipad. Despite that, members of the community trust tell me that the helicopter is not allowed to land on that H. It has to land on the boggy, wet hillside beside it. It is not allowed to use that helipad. That sounds quite extraordinary; I am sure everybody here is wondering why, so let me inform them. The aviation regulations have been updated, meaning that the helipad is no longer functioning for search and rescue. It is being used by air ambulance and other helicopters, but not by the Bristow search and rescue helicopters.”
“The hon. Gentleman makes a very valid point. Safety is at the bottom of it all, but I will be talking about over-safety in one particular instance. I am always pleased to recognise the dedication of the helicopter crews, but there is one specific case I want to talk about, in Portree on the Isle of Skye. The Portree and Braes Community Trust manage the helipad, not NHS Highland or anybody else. The helipad is a community venture; the trust raised the money and built it. It was set up 30 years ago and has been refurbished in conjunction with the coastguard, NHS Highland and other bodies, so it is very much an approved helipad.”
“That was also the sentiment of the family of the Derriford victim, who agreed that they did not want the CAA’s guidance to negatively impact helicopters’ being able to land and pick up people. I have a brief anecdote, which is true—a real incident in Portree recently. A woman was suffering from a suspected heart attack. An ambulance was called and took her to the bit of land adjacent to the helipad. The ambulance crew could not get a wheelchair or stretcher to take her to the helicopter. Instead, despite thinking that she was having a heart attack, she had to walk across the boggy ground to get to the helicopter. She could have taken the ambulance right to the helipad, but that was not available, so she had to walk across a very rough bit of ground—I have done that walk myself. One could not make it up.”
“By contrast, a boggy hillside or the King George V play area in Portree are not shared workplaces, so Bristow can land at such sites. That is ridiculous; Bristow is not allowed to use a helipad, but it is allowed to land in a play area, which it does occasionally. I ask the Minister to consider whether there is a problem of health and safety over-regulation. The coastguard, Bristow Helicopters, the CAA and the Department of Transport all have a responsibility to make sure that whatever actions they take in the name of health and safety do not hinder helipad sites. I know that the CAA does not wish for its guidance to close helipads; that is why it did not make its guidance mandatory.”
“The hon. Gentleman has hit the nail on the head, as usual. I have met all the interested parties, apart from the Health and Safety Executive, which we will come back to. The CAA has made it clear that the new guidance does not prevent Bristow helicopters from landing in Portree. Its guidance is non-mandatory. In any case, helicopter operators can land anywhere if they carry out what is known as a dynamic risk assessment, a real-time safety judgment that allows them to land wherever conditions permit and it is deemed necessary to do so. One would think that clarification was a cover-all, but the Health and Safety Executive’s rules have led to an overly heavy-handed approach. It now treats every landing site as a shared workplace—those are the key words. It is piling on paperwork and bureaucracy.”
“I have great respect for the CAA, the coastguard, Bristow and the Department for Transport, all of which have been incredibly responsible and helpful. However, I ask the Minister to meet me in person to discuss in more detail the issue that I have raised today, so that, hopefully, we can move to a position where it is resolved once and for all.”
“I thank my hon. Friend very much. I do not think that many people in urban Britain know how important the ambulance services are to remote and rural areas, so her point is bang-on. Had that lady in Portree had a heart attack while walking to that helicopter, would we not all be shouting at the Health and Safety Executive, asking, “Why wouldn’t you allow the use of the purpose-built helipad?” We would all be saying that. We would have had another Derriford-type inquiry, because a helicopter landed on a boggy hillside rather than on the perfect helipad on the other side of the fence. I hope that I have articulated the reason behind my application for this debate, which was to shine a light on what I consider to be a bewildering anomaly of over-regulation.”
“I thank my hon. Friend. That is a point I did not know, but I will certainly bring it up should I get a meeting. Rescue helicopters are vital for rural communities, as are organisations such as mountain rescue, which are voluntarily staffed. It is imperative that we do not over-legislate and create red tape that hampers the amazing work that these crews carry out right across the United Kingdom.”
“It is difficult to get a word in. [Laughter.] I am married; I know about these things. I have 100 staff members in the hospitality industry in the highlands, and I can say that all is not well in hospitality by any means. Those who are not on mains gas are paying for electricity, by and large, and we are paying four times as much for energy as people in the city. Moreover, we in Scotland do not receive the same business rates relief as the rest of the UK. [Interruption.] I thank my Scottish National party friends, who are sitting next to me. Our staffing costs, including employers’ national insurance contributions, have increased by 12.4%. So we have real problems, and I must say to the Minister that all is not well.”
“Would the hon. Gentleman admit that what actually happened in the Budget was a transfer of 2% of GDP from the private sector to the public sector? That private sector is, to a significant extent, the hospitality sector.”
“When the hon. Gentleman prepares his agenda for the next small company roundtable, will he ask companies how they are getting on with the 8.7% national insurance increase, and the total employment cost increase of 12.4% as a result of the Budget? That is four times inflation. I think he will be surprised how uncomfortable the answer is.”
“My son is a serving soldier, and he tells me that many are leaving the forces because of this issue. We are tens of thousands below our recruitment level. Does the hon. Member think he is right and that this is damaging our ability to defend our country?”
“The transmission line from Skye to Fort Augustus has been approved. Due to a technicality, the people along the route will be deprived of £22 million. Will the Minister take this up with Ofgem?”
“When the hon. Lady was on that Bill Committee, did she consider the fact that a large part of the hospitality sector in Scotland would have no business rate relief, even though businesses in the south could get it? It was a favour done for England and Wales, but did not help Scotland.”
“A hotel in rural Britain, whether it be in Cornwall or the highlands, would need to pay £100,000 to heat itself using electricity; using mains gas, the cost would be £25,000, and if it were in America, heating would cost £10,000. Environmental tariffs are on the wrong energy source. They are on renewable energy and not on imported carbon fuel mains gas. That is just so wrong. The Government declared that they are a growth Government; we now know that they meant growth in costs rather than growth in revenue. The impact of the autumn Budget was a 2% increase in the cost of the public sector and a 2% reduction in the private sector. It seems that the hospitality sector is bearing the brunt of that. I would say that the hospitality sector in rural Britain has not struggled more in my lifetime.”
“At the start, I declare an interest, as my children and I own a cinema, restaurant and big visitor centre in Fort William, employing more than 100 people. I was brought up in a rural inn and my brother has a brewery. I am steeped in the hospitality sector. At the autumn Budget, the Government increased the rate of NIC by 8.7%, which, added to other measures, resulted in an increase of 12.4% in payroll for hospitality businesses like mine. That is four times the rate of inflation. The hospitality sector in my constituency and other remote areas faces additional challenges, particularly the cost of energy. Businesses that cannot access mains gas often have to use electricity, which is four times the price of mains gas.”
“As we speak, there is a massive fire south of Inverness. All around that fire are the gamekeepers in that area. It is they who are controlling that fire, but they do not own that land. The heather has been allowed to grow long, lank and uncontrolled. Does the hon. Lady agree that gamekeepers play an important role in stopping fires on moorlands?”
“There is no healing of the glen, When land forgets the touch of men. The crofter’s roof caves in with rain; The keeper’s track turns wild again. The pub is shut, the school is bare— What future grows when none live there? So mark this truth in storm and soil: This land must live by native toil. Let birch and beaver find their place— But not at the cost of the Highland race.””
“Invariably, this involves the issuing of P45s and the loss of housing for the gamekeepers, some of whose fathers and grandfathers lived and worked on that same property. If we love our moorland, if we want to see our wildlife thrive, and if we strive for the economic viability of remote areas and good local jobs, we must keep grouse shooting going. Do not let urban MPs once more hammer us rural people without knowing the awful consequences. I conclude with a little ditty: “No more the keeper tracks the hill, His shotgun cold, his bothy still. The ghillie’s rod, the shepherd’s dog, Lie idle in the creeping fog. The red deer fall in bloody ranks, Not for food, nor sport, nor thanks, But culled like vermin, cast away, So saplings might have room to sway. No flight of grouse along the scree, Just silence now, for every tree.”
“The owners of the moors could take their money elsewhere, and buy yachts, or chalets in the Alps. Instead, they choose to pour money into our area for the love of grouse. Their passion results in good jobs in remote areas, and lots of spin-off economic benefits for caterers, fencers, diggers, drivers, gamekeepers and so on. Grouse moor activities also play an important role in reducing loneliness and mental health in rural areas. In the last 15 years, the big buyers of moors have been those wanting to conduct carbon offsetting by rewilding the land: conservation charities, corporates and wealthy individuals, almost invariably receiving massive Government rewilding grants, paid for by the unknowing taxpayer.”
“They earn a tenth of the income of a certain celebrity TV presenter who spends his time vilifying them. They do it for the love of the countryside, the wildlife, and the traditions of the land from which they hail. They know where the curlews nest, can identify a golden plover from 500 yards, and know how to restore a collapsed wall or lay a hedge. They keep the mink, rats, crows and other vermin under control. If they did not, our precious wildlife population would collapse. The founder of Curlew Action says that conservationists must choose between gamekeepers with curlew, or no gamekeepers with no curlew. Yes, there are a few unscrupulous keepers who, egged on by grouse-greedy lairds, kill raptors, but raptor deaths are at an all-time low, and there are bad eggs in every profession, as we MPs know only too well.”
“There were 50 folk from three generations together, many the descendants of those who have gathered there for the same purpose for two centuries. Back then, as no doubt today, the chat was great. We set off in a convoy of locally bought Land Rovers, ready to walk a dozen miles across the hill, with the beaters’ spaniels dashing back and forth in front of us. Interspersed along the long line were the gamekeepers: men and women from various estates nearby. Fit and strong, they are the pillars of the local community. They serve in the volunteer fire service, they run the village hall, and their spouses and partners staff the medical centre and pub. Without their children, the local primary school would close. The keepers are not in well-paid jobs.”
“Rural Britain, and particularly remote Scotland, is in crisis. The young are moving to the cities, the schools are closing, healthcare is being centralised and the cost of living is far higher than in the conurbations. Soon, our glens will be populated only by incoming retirees. I took my townie friend, a senior politician, along the beautiful 30-mile single-track road along the south side of Loch Ness. The road winds through a patchwork quilt of well-managed heather moorland. It is lined with well-kept cottages, pubs and village halls. As we drove, I pointed out where I had stayed as a teenager, grouse beating one glorious August. I explained to my companion the extraordinary social role that shooting plays there.”
“The results of my proposed VAT change would be more people in well-paid employment, a gateway for the young into an excellent career, a solution to skilled trade shortages, a stimulant to the economy, and higher tax collected by the Exchequer—a win-win. Why would we want to incentivise millions of people not to hire youngsters, not to grow their businesses and not to pay more tax?”
“Small businesses, having built up a bit of a scale with three employees, might then grow into a proper business with 100 or more employees, like Pimlico Plumbers. It is believed that my proposal would cost the Treasury perhaps £2 billion in lost VAT, but I am sure that HMRC would win out overall. It would get income tax and national insurance from the newly-hired and well-paid staff, and the bigger companies would start paying corporation tax. It would also reduce the tax-avoidance cash economy. In my opinion, the 20% difference in the change from £90,000 to £250,000 would be easily made up. Arguments are made that we should drop the threshold to zero and make all sales subject to VAT, but that would be a massive disincentive to people starting a business.”
“We need to make it worth their while, so an increase of a few tens of thousands will not do the job. There are 4.4 million self-employed people in the UK; just think what a catapult forward for our economy we would see if only 10% of them were to hire a couple of people. I propose that the VAT starting level be increased from £90,000 to £250,000 for all businesses. If that happened, I predict that a massive number of microbusinesses would hire an apprentice or two, creating a pool of young plumbers getting trained. As the availability of plumbers increased, householders would get work done quicker, there would be more competition and therefore lower charges, and clients would be happier.”
“An early learn for all those people is that the VAT registration threshold is essential: they need to pay 20% beyond that £90,000. My key point is that these sole traders will not take on an apprentice or an assistant, because that would take them over the VAT starting point. Not being VAT-registered is a fantastic advantage for a person. He or she has a 20% advantage over competitors who have several staff. In addition, the sort of person who likes being on the tools is not the sort of person who would relish the additional paperwork of being VAT-registered. It is not only doing the VAT paperwork that puts sole traders off growing their business; it is the real burden of hiring people, the payroll, the contracts of employment and the HR responsibilities.”
“They tend to be older, they learned on the tools or at a technical college, and they are happy to limit their income to squeeze below the £90,000 VAT restriction. There are many who, looking for a bit of holiday money, might do a job on the side for cash. There is a real shortage of plumbers, joiners and electricians, in part due to the closing down of technical colleges, and the young pursuing non-vocational degrees while loading themselves with student debt. Historically and internationally, skilled tradespeople have been held in great esteem, although not so much in today’s Britain. We all know good tradespeople with a great client list and reputation, all of whom make excellent money and are their own boss.”
“Thank you for allowing me to speak, Mr Vickers, after I turned up late. Few people can speak about VAT with such excitement as I can. I was UK entrepreneur of the year, I have lectured on entrepreneurship for 20 years, and I have mentored many early-stage businesses. I have concluded that the one thing we can do that could transform the small business community is to increase the VAT registration threshold to allow microbusinesses to scale up. Has anyone tried to get hold of a tradesman recently—a plumber, a decorator or an electrician? I will use the collective word plumber, to make it easier for people of my mentality to understand. There is an army of plumbers —mostly men who work alone—who seem incredibly hard to get hold of.”
“The hon. Gentleman mentioned the increase in the registration threshold from £85,000 to £90,000, which came after many years of it not being increased and is far below inflation. In your time in office, you did no favours for small businesses, as far as VAT is concerned. Would you agree with that?”
“I am reluctant to come in on the side of the Opposition on this issue, but I can tell the Minister that my constituency has never suffered as much in my whole business career as it has since the Budget last year. National insurance increases and related increases have absolutely crucified business up there. If the Government cared to come up to the highlands and come round local businesses with me, they would be in for a real shock, but I strongly recommend that they do so.”