Exiting the European Union (Excise)

Douglas Ross Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Douglas Ross (Moray) (Con) [V]]

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington (Felicity Buchan), who has been a great champion on this issue for her local constituency for some time, and it has been a pleasure to work with her on this. I also agree with the remarks of the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine). Sadly, this is another situation where the separatists in Parliament make a point that is very important to their local area and local jobs—I agree with the hon. Member for Glasgow East (David Linden) about that—but every single SNP speech also had to include reference to separation. This is far more important than that. It is important to jobs here in Moray, as it is in other parts of Scotland and the United Kingdom, and I think it demeans the argument being put forward by SNP Members that they had to stoop to yet more divisive topics, such as independence, in this important debate.

I come at this issue slightly differently from other hon. Members who have contributed today. I do not have an airport in my constituency. I do not have a port where ferries are coming in, but I have more Scotch whisky distilleries and visitor centres than any other constituency in Scotland. It is also home to producers such as Johnstons woollen mill, which makes outstanding, high-quality produce that is very much sought after by people affected by this statutory instrument. I met Stephen Rankin from Gordon & MacPhail and Simon Cotton from Johnstons woollen mill to hear directly what it would mean for these local businesses.

Just as an example, Gordon & MacPhail is part of the Walpole Group, and earlier today, I got some statistics from Walpole about what this would mean. It estimates that 40,000 jobs across retail, hospitality and manufacturing could be lost as a direct result of this decision. It says that the impact will not just be lost revenue and jobs, but, critically, lost investment. It goes on to say that from 15 brands that it is aware of, over £1 billion will not now be invested in the United Kingdom. That is new stores, expanding factories and distribution centres that will now be developed outside the UK because of this instrument.

Crucially, I want to look at the impact that this has here in Moray on local employers and crucial jobs. Simon Cotton made the point on behalf of Johnstons woollen mill that VAT-free shopping is responsible for over 50% of the company’s revenue in its London and Edinburgh stores. It believes that at least two thirds of that will be lost, which would make those stores no longer viable. He went on to say that, overall, VAT-free shopping accounts for over a third of its retail as well as being critical to the customers that it sells to at a wholesale level. He said—and this point really hits home to me—that, generally speaking, every job lost in retail is matched by two to three jobs lost in manufacturing. That is two to three jobs lost in the local Elgin mill here in Moray for every job lost in the company’s Edinburgh or London stores. That is why I felt I had to speak up for those jobs in this debate.

I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington: we have to look at the impact of this decision, which took effect from 1 January. The new measures are already in place, so I hope the Treasury will take cognisance of their impact on companies such as Gordon & MacPhail, Johnstons, a number of distilleries and visitor centres here in Moray, and other high-end producers throughout the country, and of the effect on those individual companies and, therefore, on the jobs that they supply.

I represent Moray, and for me this is not a party issue; it is a local issue and I am a local representative. For the jobs at risk as a result of this SI, I shall vote to annul it because that is the right thing to do to represent my constituents and stand up for their concerns and those of employers in my area. If the vote is not successful, I hope the Government will at least look again at the impact of the decision.