Glasgow School of Art: Mackintosh Building
David Smith Excerpts(2 weeks, 4 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Torcuil Crichton
I agree with my hon. Friend. Part of the Glasgow School of Art’s ambition is that the Mack building could anchor the regeneration of the whole of Garnethill and that part of the city.
Right now, all we have are the singed bones of the building, shrouded in scaffold for so long while the Glasgow School of Art grappled with the insurance arbitration process.
I understand that there may be some progress: the street may be reclaimed to some extent, and we will see the mausoleum of the building visible but protected. However, preventing the building from collapsing appears to be close to the limit of what the Glasgow School of Art can deliver on its own through the insurance claim. I take the point made by the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Douglas Lumsden) that the Scottish Government, as well as the UK Government, could have a role to play in putting their hands underneath the Mack and supporting its restoration.
There is a plan for restoration. There is passion and professionalism in the design team commissioned to look at the restoration, and there is an economic analysis produced by the Glasgow School of Art to rebuild the Mackintosh. That is compelling and attractive, because heritage-led place making is often one of the most effective tools for driving urban regeneration. It is a tried and tested formula, and this approach would see the reinstated Mack building contribute to the economy and the regeneration of Glasgow, as has been pointed out, but it cannot be done by the Glasgow School of Art alone, the UK Government alone or the Scottish Government alone; we must do it together.
Because I was in Glasgow on Friday attending the Mòd, I missed the Prime Minister’s speech in neighbouring Motherwell in which he offered a new direction and a promise of a new deal between Scotland’s two Governments. On the way back south, I listened to the speech— I played it back—and it struck me as a very nuanced and sophisticated offer of co-operation. I hope, beyond the rhetoric, it is recognised as such in Bute House and in Holyrood. I know the SNP First Minster had some speech making of his own to do on the weekend—I did not play his speech back, I must admit—but if I were him, I would listen closely again to the Prime Minister’s message and to my own. If he is looking for progress, he should realise that for the Mack and for Glasgow, he could be in for a big win for himself and for both Governments. Nothing could symbolise a new era of doing politics differently in Scotland than the two Governments coming together, with other interested parties, to raise the Mack out of the ashes and do nothing less than restore it to its former glory.
David Smith (North Northumberland) (Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend for giving way; he is being very generous with his time. Like so many other Members, I have personal connections to the Mack. My best friend went there. I went to the University of Glasgow and he went to the Mack—he is now a successful photographer. My hon. Friend mentions the Prime Minister. Does he agree that one of the aims of everything we do should be culture in every postcode? Whether we are from North Northumberland or South West Devon, that should be our aim.
Torcuil Crichton
My hon. Friend proves my point that the Mack and its influence echoes in every postcode in every part of Britain and beyond.
In terms of solutions, some have called for the Mack building to be part of an independent body. The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, for example, has called for an independent body to oversee the restoration of the building and for its ownership to be transferred away from the Glasgow School of Art. Personally, I am agnostic about the means but devout about the delivery. I believe that restoring the Mack simply must be done.
Oral Answers to Questions
David Smith Excerpts(1 year, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Ian Murray
As the father of an 18-week-old daughter, I am absolutely horrified by those proposals and I know that they will be causing anxiety for families across Lanarkshire. That is why it is so disappointing to see the SNP candidate in the Hamilton by-election back the plans to downgrade the Wishaw neonatal unit. The way to send a message to the SNP that that is unacceptable is to vote for Davy Russell tomorrow in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.
David Smith (North Northumberland) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Kirsty McNeill)
The Chancellor’s autumn Budget delivered the biggest settlement in the history of devolution for the Scottish Government—£50 billion. I want to see that cash reach the frontline services that have suffered years of cuts under the SNP. That record settlement is possible only because of the Barnett formula—something opposed not only by the Scottish nationalists, but by the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), whose Reform circus was sent packing from Hamilton this week.
David Smith
The largest ever devolution settlement—£50 billion—is great news for Scotland and its local authorities, but under the SNP there are 840,000 cases on NHS waiting lists. This affects people in my constituency in North Northumberland, many of whom use cross-border healthcare and dental services, so does the Minister agree that the SNP needs to sort itself out and start delivering change to the NHS, as Labour is doing in England?
Kirsty McNeill
I could not agree more. In England, waiting lists have fallen since Labour came to office less than a year ago, while in Scotland they continue to rise, and we now see nearly one in six Scots waiting for treatment. John Swinney has, in total desperation, announced that the SNP Government’s fifth NHS recovery plan in less than four years, but the reality is that patients, staff and we all know that Scotland desperately needs a new direction.