Cost of Living in Scotland

Drew Hendry Excerpts

Tuesday 9th January 2024 Westminster Hall

[David Linden]

Absolutely. My hon. Friend is absolutely spot on, and that is the reason, I believe, why when the general election comes the best opportunity to make Scotland Tory-free is to vote SNP. That includes in his constituency in West Dunbartonshire, because his constituents, who are paying higher mortgage prices, will know that the cost of living crisis that they face at the moment has been made in Westminster.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

rose—

[David Linden]

I see that my hon. Friend the Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Drew Hendry) is seeking to catch my eye as well.

[Drew Hendry]

On the subject of reserved matters, energy policy is entirely reserved. The current cost of energy and electricity is particularly painful for people in the highlands. It is exceptionally galling in an area that produces six times more electricity than it needs to use. Highlanders pay a higher unit price, we have to use more electricity to heat our homes, because of the climate, and we have the highest level of fuel poverty. This Government should have taken the opportunity to do something to help people in the highlands and yet they did not.

[David Linden]

I absolutely agree. As somebody who represents the highlands—I think the constituency he is seeking to contest at the next election is even more rural than the one that he represents at the moment—my hon. Friend is right to make reference to the challenges in relation to energy, particularly for constituents who are off-grid. Fundamentally, he is right to highlight the fact that Scotland is an energy-rich nation but that far too many of our constituents are living in fuel poverty, particularly those in his constituency and that of the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone), to whom I am happy to give way.

Cost of Living and Brexit

Drew Hendry Excerpts

Wednesday 14th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Dr Whitford]

The proposal for this economy, as I said at the beginning of my speech, is not just for the people of Scotland: it is for the people of the four nations of the UK. The review of the TCA will come up in 2026, and while it is not possible to make Brexit work, it is possible to mitigate some of its worst effects. For that, though, we need to understand what Brexit is doing to the UK’s society and economy and have proposals that we can bring to the EU to ask for change.

Unfortunately, the opportunity to change to a different economy and society has not been taken. We already see poverty and inequality rising, and the climate emergency being pushed off the action list—including by Labour, which has just U-turned on its pledge to invest £28 billion in the transition to a green economy. Unfortunately, the climate crisis cannot wait. Scotland is blessed with extensive green energy potential, from wind and tidal power to green hydrogen and pump storage hydro. The current Government have failed to support Scotland’s green energy potential, and sadly there is now little reason to expect much change under Labour, either.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

My hon. Friend talks about Scotland’s energy opportunities, and green hydrogen is indeed one of the key ones. Does she agree that it is perhaps illuminating that the Foreign Secretary himself does not even know about those opportunities, nor has he taken the opportunity to engage with the US on its Inflation Reduction Act regarding the supply pipeline for green hydrogen? Does she think that is absolutely indicative of the relationship of the Government of this place with the needs of the Scottish people?

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[John Lamont]

Indeed, there is little consistency in the SNP’s position, particularly given the importance of the rest of the UK market to Scotland’s economy. We cannot blame the poor performance of Scotland’s economy on our departure from the EU. Export figures from the Scottish Government show that the rest of the UK remains by far Scotland’s most important market. Around 60% of total exports are destined for the rest of the United Kingdom, accounting for approximately three times the value of exports to European Union countries. In the opposite direction, around two thirds of Scotland’s imports originate from the rest of the UK.

[Drew Hendry]

The Minister will know as well as I do that, looking at the figures from the Scottish Government, the vast majority of Scotland’s manufactured goods—the things we make in Scotland—are exported outside of the UK to the US, European markets and other places. The figure is some 63%. He will also know that the vast majority of exports to the rest of the UK are financial services, insurance and things such as gas, oil, water, renewable energy and so on—things that people down here would not like to do without if they were taken away.

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[John Lamont]

rose—

[Drew Hendry]

Will the Minister give way?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. Excuse me, but before the Minister has even answered that point, it is not really fair to ask him to give way straightaway.

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[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

The biggest single issue that has come up on the doorsteps as I have been doing the rounds back in my constituency over the past number of weeks has been the cost of living. People are absolutely terrified, especially as mortgages are increasing and people on fixed-rate mortgages are having to renegotiate those very soon. There is a palpable sense of fear, and I am absolutely astounded that once again in a cost of living debate, we have not only empty Tory Benches—I can kind of understand that, because the Tories want to hide from the consequences of what they have done—but empty Benches on the Labour side of the Chamber. Of course, Labour Members want to hide from the consequences of their support for Brexit.

You would have thought that any sane, normal institution that is interested in pushing things forward for people would want to learn from mistakes. Brexit has cost 5.5% of GDP—or 4%, if we take the estimate given by the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (David Duguid). That is a massive amount. We are talking about some £40 billion a year in tax revenues, yet the excuse for not having a Committee to investigate that is that it will cost a wee bit of money, or that Parliament does not have a big enough room to put it in. That is just insane. It does not make any sense at all. Lessons should and must be learned; if they are impacting on people, those people have a right to know.

Hon. Friends on the SNP Benches have described families as being the backbone of our communities, and that is especially true in the highlands. These are people—families—who are toiling to secure a future for their children, and Brexit has made that significantly more challenging for them. Those hard-working families are now at the mercy of consequences made in contradiction to their voting preference. The people of Scotland went to the polls and voted to reject Brexit, yet we have it imposed upon us, and the other nations of the UK are feeling the effects too, so why should this not be looked at in detail in a Committee? It just makes no sense, but then this place day by day makes no sense for people, especially those in Scotland.

When it comes to Brexit, do not forget that the Tories failed to oppose the hard-right voices in their ranks. They capitulated to them, resulting in these hardships, including price hikes for people and their families for essential goods such as bread, milk, rice and cooking oil. Those things have shot up astronomically in price over the past while as a direct consequence of Brexit—that cannot be blamed on the Ukraine war. That is not the cause of these price increases—there are direct correlations between the cost of basic foods that people are paying in the shops and Brexit.

Post-Brexit immigration policies have led to skills shortages, as we have heard from my hon. Friends, especially in the highlands. The health service, local services, the care sector, tourism and hospitality are all facing difficulties due to the workforce drain, yet there is to be no examination of what has gone wrong there, what could be done differently or what could be improved, because this place decides that it wants to brush all that under the carpet. The Government want to take no responsibility for that and they want to learn no lessons, because they are arrogant enough to say every time, “It is our way or the highway”. That is what they keep saying to the people of Scotland, in direct contradiction to their democratic preferences.

In the highlands, we have record unemployment and struggling industries, which are compounding the problem of a lack of the people we need to come here to work for us. Farms lack labour, resulting in less production and higher prices, increasing the suffering of communities. Rising living costs and mortgage rates have turned homes—homes that are normally the symbol of security—into symbols of anxiety, because people are worried about how they will pay their mortgages or their rent and keep a roof over their head.

Brexit was pitched as a dream of taking back control, but it has morphed into a self-inflicted nightmare. To distract people from the impacts of Brexit, we see the ignition of culture wars to try to take people’s minds off what is happening and to throw a dead cat on Brexit. The Government try to make out that Brexit is not causing harm to people, families and children day by day, but yet again, we are not to examine that. We must not look at that, because it just might expose some truths about what has happened due to Brexit and this place’s ideology coupled to that disastrous, self-inflicted harm.

What do we get from those on the Labour Benches on this matter? They are going to make Brexit great again—that is what they are saying. They say they can fix this. If they really want to do that, why not examine it in a Committee in this House so that we can look over the problems and say what went wrong and what could be done better? Instead they say, “No, let’s ignore that. Let’s not do that. It is too difficult, too challenging and it will upset the apple cart. We cannot do that because we have been told not to by our leadership.”

The promise made of an equal partnership for Scotland has clearly and demonstrably been broken by this place—not only by those sitting on the Government Benches, but by their comrades in the Labour party. They stand in the face of the Scottish people having a democratic choice over their future and being able to make their own examination of Brexit and their own investigation into what has gone wrong and what has been inflicted upon them. The Government and the Opposition are saying no to all that. This is just another example of this place standing in the face of doing what is right for people in their homes and communities.

I come back to the start of this: cost of living is the single biggest issue for people. When people are sitting at home just now, worried about everything, they are also worried when looking forward towards this winter, when they know that things will get worse again. They know that the cost of energy has not gone down very much, they know that prices are still continuing to rise and they know that mortgages will continue to rise. They are looking into that abyss just now and seeing the difficulties. It is affecting not just those who have already been thrust into abject poverty by decisions taken here in Westminster, but people who would have considered themselves relatively well off just a short time ago. Now they face this calamity—this coming together. When the Government talk about all the support they are bringing forward for people in their homes across Scotland and the other nations of the UK, what they are describing may sound a big figure, but it is like pouring a watering can on the bin fire they have set in this economy.

The only way for people to escape this madness, get things looked at properly and get things dealt with in the right way is for them to take the real control that they need, which is to have their democratic voice acknowledged, to have their say on the future of Scotland and for Scotland to regain its place in the European Union as an independent country.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

I am anticipating a Division no later than 4.21 pm. We now come to the wind-ups, and I call the SNP spokesperson.

Points of Order

Drew Hendry Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I noticed that the Secretary of State said during his statement that he had not brought the statement of reasons and that he did not want to bore us with it. That was an extraordinary thing to say, given the gravity of the situation and the subject matter. I wonder whether he has now changed his mind and does not think it is something that is tedious and boring for us to deal with but realises that this is a serious and important piece of dialogue that we should have had from him in advance of this sitting. Are you able to give us any guidance, Mr Speaker, on how everyone who wanted to respond to the statement but did not have the information might be able to contribute to the debate in full possession of the information?

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. Can you advise the House on whether there is any precedent for a situation where a Secretary of State turns up at the Dispatch Box without the accompanying information necessary to advise and guide the discussion and debate in a question session? In my experience here since I was elected, that seems to be the way that things are supposed to be done. Is this shambolic behaviour from the Secretary of State for Scotland precedented or unprecedented?

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I apologise to Mr Deputy Speaker for trying to intervene during the question session. However, this is important, because the statement of reasons is clearly a critical factor in the discussion. We were not able to question the Secretary of State on it after the statement, which he brought to the House. We are going to have a debate, which is encouraging and welcome, but most of us will not have had the chance to see the statement of reasons before it starts. Can you advise us, Mr Speaker, on what further opportunities Members will have beyond this Standing Order No. 24 debate to question the Secretary of State in detail on the statement of reasons, when the Government eventually get around to publishing it?

Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill: Section 35 Power

Drew Hendry Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Flynn]

Absolutely. My hon. Friend has made an incredibly important point about the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill. The UK Government are seeking to overturn and ignore Scotland’s democratically elected politicians not just in relation to the GRR, but, without making any grand assumptions, on the right to strike, because I can say with wholehearted confidence that an overwhelming majority of parliamentarians in Holyrood are opposed to that Bill, but they will be ignored on that too.

Tomorrow, a Bill will come before the House on the 4,000 pieces of EU legislation that the UK Government want to throw into the wind. It is Bill that puts our food standards at risk, that puts workers’ rights at risk and that puts overwhelming power in the hands of Tory Ministers—unelected in Scotland, of course—to do as they please. The Scottish Parliament has been clear once again that it opposes that, yet that too will be ignored: Scotland’s democracy ignored and ignored.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful point about what is, at its core, an attack on the rights of Scottish people and the Scottish Parliament. His comments about attacks on the Scottish Parliament have been echoed by the Welsh Labour First Minister, Mark Drakeford, who has called the section 35 interference a “dangerous move”. Is there not a deafness, not only on the Government Benches but on the Labour Benches, about how dangerous such moves are for democracy across the nations of the UK?

[Stephen Flynn]

Absolutely. It appears that Mark Drakeford has more of a backbone than the vast majority of those in the parliamentary Labour party put together, and they could do well to learn from his views in that respect.

Democracy matters, and this UK Government are consistently seeking to ignore Scotland’s democracy. I mentioned the right to strike and the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, but it is also true of Brexit as a whole in that 72% of Scots want to rejoin the European Union, yet the UK Government and indeed the Labour party have absolutely no interest in that position whatsoever.

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[Stephen Flynn]

I will tell the hon. Member what my colleagues support, and that is enabling the people of Scotland to make decisions over their future without interference from his Westminster Government.

We have heard it all before from the Conservatives in their culture war, and we know that, under the Leader of the Opposition, the Labour party is rowing back from its support for the LGBTQ+ community on this topic. It is deeply disappointing to hear that. When we go to the Scottish electorate again, we will have a Labour party that is against the biggest issue that dominates Scottish politics at the moment. It is also against Scotland having its view in respect of our membership of the European Union, and supports the UK Parliament overriding Holyrood. Shame on Labour, too.

[Drew Hendry]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way once again. Is not this political act of the Tory Government, grubbing around for one last dying ember of distraction and producing this vacuous document as an excuse, an example of desperation? Is it not also, as he has outlined, an example of desperation to get into power that the Labour party will not even take a position to support the devolution that it was supposed to champion in the first place?

[Stephen Flynn]

Absolutely. I am confident that the people of Scotland will be watching and listening to Labour’s position. I am more than happy to let the hon. Member for Edinburgh South (Ian Murray) intervene if he so wishes. [Interruption.] No, he just wishes to chunter from a sedentary position.

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[Stephen Flynn]

I respect the sincerity with which the hon. Gentleman delivers his points in that regard and I see a lot of hon. Members nodding. Well, if that is the case, I am sure he will support us, because we have a solution in Scotland. That solution is the legislation put forward in the Scottish Parliament, which has received democratic support in the Scottish Parliament and which this UK Government are blocking. He should share my anger, and I hope the anger of his colleagues in the Scottish Parliament, on that particular point.

It is a rarity in this place—I am sure she will forgive me—that I agree with some of the comments made by the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine). We heard from her earlier about the difficulty this situation is causing her in respect of the Union. Hers is the sort of voice we need to hear at this moment in time—the voices of reasonable Unionists about where they seek to go. If this is a Union of equals, as it is portrayed, and if Scotland’s Parliament is to be the most powerful devolved legislature in the world, as we are often told it is, then why is the section 35 order being used?

[Drew Hendry]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way once again. He is talking about reasonable Unionists and said he could not see any on the Labour Benches. However, there are reasonable Unionists who have been on those Benches. Would he be interested in the words of Ged Killen, the former Labour MP, who said:

“The idea that one man, elected by 22,000 people, can overturn devolved legislation brought in by the Scottish Parliament and supported by the vast majority of our MSPs is outrageous and will surely not stand up in court.”

[Stephen Flynn]

Indeed, that is very much the case.

While I am on the point about reasonable Unionists, I want to reflect on the words of Donald Dewar in relation to the Scottish Parliament, because that is, after all, what we are talking about. He said:

“Walter Scott wrote that only a man with soul so dead could have no sense, no feel of his native land. For me, for any Scot, today is a proud moment; a new stage on a journey begun long ago and which has no end. This is a proud day for all of us. A Scottish Parliament. Not an end: a means to greater ends. And those too are part of our mace. Woven into its symbolic thistles are these four words: ‘Wisdom. Justice. Compassion. Integrity.’”

Wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity: each of those words is reflected in the legislation brought forward in the Scottish Parliament. That is why it received overwhelming support from Scottish parliamentarians; it is why Members from each and every party in the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of it; and it is why it is so important that we stand up for Scotland’s Parliament, stand up for Scotland’s democracy and ensure that the people of Scotland’s views are heard in this place.

I sincerely hope—I say this to him in all sincerity—that the Secretary of State will reflect on the damage that he seeks to do to his own Union in this regard. I hope that he makes a volte-face, shows that he does respect Scotland’s democracy and allows the legislation to pass as it should.

Scottish Referendum Legislation: Supreme Court Decision

Drew Hendry Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

I suggest that the hon. Gentleman ask that question at Northern Ireland questions.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

Can the Secretary of State confirm that his view is that this is a voluntary Union? If so, by what mechanism can the Scottish people, in the future, have their choice about whether to remain within it?

[Mr Jack]

I feel that I have answered that question many times already, so I will refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier.

Scottish Independence and the Scottish Economy

Drew Hendry Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Ian Blackford]

No, you don’t. If the Liberal Democrats wanted to stay in Europe, as the hon. Lady suggests, they would have that in their manifesto. The Labour party and the Liberal Democrats have run away from Europe, just as they have run away from their responsibilities to the people of Scotland.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

Is it not the case—just to educate the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins)—that not only did we carry the argument in Scotland, winning 62% of the vote for remain, but we carried that argument successfully in all 32 council areas in Scotland?

[Ian Blackford]

My hon. Friend is quite correct that every local authority area in Scotland voted to remain. Not only did people across Scotland vote to remain, but that demand to stay in Europe has increased over the past few years. In fact, recent polling shows as many as 72% of Scots wish to remain in Europe. I say to those watching in our own country that there is a clear way to achieve this. If Scotland has its right to determine its own future, and if our Parliament, which has an independence majority, can enact the referendum that our people voted for, then Scotland’s journey to independence and back into the European union will be complete.

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[Steven Bonnar (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (SNP)]

I take the opportunity to remind the House that no asylum seeker raided or looted pension funds, no asylum seeker used fire and rehire tactics to sack an entire workforce, no asylum seeker tanked the economy, and no asylum seeker is illegal.

I rise to speak in favour of the motion on the Order Paper. The UK that Scotland voted to remain part of in 2014 has gone—Brexit has seen to that. The security and freedoms of our place in the EU, as promised with that no vote, are gone—Brexit has seen to them. The financial stability of the “broad shoulders” of the UK has gone—Brexit continues to see to that. The previous Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss), and her Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng), assisted with that in a spectacular fashion for all the world to see.

The Tory cost of living crisis is spiralling completely out of control. It is putting lives and livelihoods at risk, with the poorest households in our communities being hit hardest. The reality is that we can no longer afford not to be independent in Scotland. As things stand, the poorest people in the UK are the poorest people in the whole of western Europe, while the richest in the UK are the wealthiest in the whole of western Europe. That is right: the poorest people in western Europe are in London, not Lisbon or Larne. The hardest working and poorest paid people with the poorest pensions are in Bellshill, not Berlin or Bern.

That gap between the richest and poorest tells people all they need to know about this right-wing Tory Government and their priorities after 12 painful years in power, including the coalition of chaos with the Liberal Democrats. The economy is broken, the NHS is decimated, immigration is out of control and our standing in the world is a laughing stock. It is a shameful record.

If the Government have any desire at all to change that and ease the pressures on Scottish households, it is imperative that they uprate all social security benefits in line with current rates of inflation. All hon. Members, as representatives of the people, must do all we can to support the most vulnerable through this cost of living crisis. The Tories must ensure that the universal credit uplift is reinstated for all and increased to £25 a week, and that it is extended to all those who have been left, as if they are some Tory afterthought not worthy of the Government’s attention, on legacy benefits.

We must also protect our pensioners. The Government’s triple lock betrayal with regard to the state pension is an undiluted attack on pensioners’ incomes. The Prime Minister refused again today to give them some peace of mind by committing to the triple lock. Those same pensioners, who are the poorest in western Europe with the lowest pensions, are among those most hard hit by this cost of living crisis. Over a decade of Tory policies have pushed people deeper into poverty and further into destitution, and families are out there right now fighting hunger. This is the Union.

[Drew Hendry]

My hon. Friend is making a very powerful speech. He is talking about those people fighting poverty. Does he agree with me that it is a disgrace that, because of the actions of this place and Brexit, we have seen food inflation pushed to such high levels that basic items are now 60% up on a few years ago? It is really hard for people to survive in those circumstances, is it not?

[Steven Bonnar]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. We are being attacked from every possible angle, whether it is food or—in the case of mortgage rates—housing. The Government are sitting on their hands—rearranging the chairs on a sinking ship every now and again—and it is doing no good for the people out there.

The last few months have made it abundantly clear that Scotland cannot rely on this UK Government as we attempt to get Scotland through this cost of living crisis. It is vital that we have a choice, and the choice is thus: we can choose the insular chaos of this place, and to continue to live amid the ruins of this broken Union and among the self-destructive whims of these two parties; or we can choose a different way, and be free from the perennial damage of Brexit, the worst of which is still to bite. We can also have the choice of the Scottish people’s priorities, the choice of how we plan and deliver on our green future, the choice of how we treat the most vulnerable in our communities—as I have said, no person is illegal—and, of course, the choice of the Scottish people to determine their own futures free of Westminster rule.

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[Alan Brown]

rose—

[Drew Hendry]

rose—

[John Lamont]

SNP Members are trying to intervene, but they have had six hours to talk about the issues that really concern people in Scotland. I will make some progress, and then I may take some interventions if time permits.

When he took office, the Prime Minister set out clearly that he wants to bring people back together and unite the country. Meanwhile, the SNP’s priority is division, division, division. Another divisive referendum is the wrong priority at the worst possible time. It is a distraction from the very real challenges that people across Scotland and the United Kingdom face. With that in mind, I turn to points made by hon. Members today.

The SNP Westminster leader, the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford), got in a bit of a muddle yet again, frankly, over what currency an independent Scotland would use. The SNP’s currency proposals lack any form of credibility. In the same breath, the SNP proposes establishing a Scottish pound and committing to rejoin the European Union. Given that the EU clearly states that adopting the euro is a core requirement for membership, I struggle to find any credibility in that. I suggest that the SNP’s proposals to continue using the pound are a subtle admission that the economic benefits of remaining part of the UK are strong.

We also heard from the hon. Member for Edinburgh South (Ian Murray), whom I join in paying respects to the hon. Member for Glenrothes (Peter Grant) on the passing of his father. The hon. Member for Edinburgh South argued that the best way to protect the Union was to elect a Labour Government. I would suggest that the best way to ensure that Scotland remains at the heart of the Union is to elect more Scottish Conservative MPs in Scotland and to secure the re-election of this Conservative Prime Minister here at Westminster, thereby stopping any grubby deals that the SNP may do with other Opposition parties.

My hon. Friend the Member for Banff and Buchan (David Duguid), to whom I pay tribute for his work in the Scotland Office, rightly highlighted some of the important interventions that this Government have made to support Scotland. The hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) encouraged much audience participation in his speech—it was a bit like an early pantomime performance—but failed to produce any answers to fill the gaping holes in the SNP’s argument for another independence referendum.

My hon. Friend the Member for Aberconwy (Robin Millar) did a tremendous job of demolishing the nationalist argument for independence, as did the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins), who rightly identified how bad SNP Members are at losing referendums, in that they constantly demand more and more opportunities until they get the result that they want. Similarly, the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine) made it clear that the SNP does not speak for the majority of Scots on the question of independence.

We heard from a catalogue of SNP and Alba Members: the hon. Members for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands), for West Dunbartonshire (Martin Docherty-Hughes), for East Dunbartonshire (Amy Callaghan), for Edinburgh North and Leith (Deidre Brock), for East Lothian (Kenny MacAskill), for Midlothian (Owen Thompson) and for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan), as well as many others who became increasingly excited about the prospect of another independence referendum but failed to provide any clear answers, any credible solutions or any indication of what an independent Scotland would look like.

Unfortunately time prevents me from referring to all the points that were raised in the debate, but I will happily take some interventions.

Oral Answers to Questions

Drew Hendry Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

For the very simple reason that it is not—and still the SNP cannot tell us one power that is being grabbed, not one single power. It is quite the contrary—more powers are being delivered to the Scottish Parliament, strengthening devolution. SNP Members do not like that. They do not like the UKIM legislation because it strengthens the United Kingdom economy, and that does not fit into their plans either.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

In response to the fact that a majority of people in Scotland, in all recent polls, want Scotland to be independent, the Secretary of State’s Government will today set out steps that betray the fact that they want to fatally undermine devolution, while declaring that they will break international law with malice aforethought. Does he believe that in being an accomplice to this, he will strengthen the Union?

[Mr Jack]

We have been very clear about our position. These are contingent powers that will be exercised only in cases where the Joint Committee cannot be formed or operate, or cannot come to a view at a particular time, to prevent—it is important to understand this—adverse implications for the Good Friday agreement. Our responsibility, first and foremost, is to the people of Northern Ireland. For the SNP, it is always, “Britain second, Brussels first.”

Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer of Functions to the Scottish Ministers etc.) Order 2020

Drew Hendry Excerpts

Monday 2nd March 2020 General Committees

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Sharma. I do not think anybody will be surprised to hear that Scottish National party Members support the measure. It is the right thing to do. Of course, Scottish Ministers should already have the power to make this change themselves, without recourse to this place. The transfer to the Scottish Government of power over areas covered by the Employment and Training Act 1973 will enable the Scottish Government to assist young people between the ages of 16 and 24. As the hon. Member for Rochdale said, this payment will be a powerful incentive, so I make no apology for repeating the details of this great initiative.

The Scottish Government are introducing a new job start cash payment of £250, and £400 for a young person with children, available to those between the ages of 16 and 24 who have been out of work and receiving a low-income benefit for six months prior to finding employment. As mentioned, care leavers will not have to meet this qualification and will be supported until their 26th birthday. This change has the potential to have a transformational effect for a lot of young people seeking to make their way in the world. The payment can help with travel costs, clothing, lunches and other expenses that need to be met before someone receives their first salary. If all goes well in this place, it will be launched this spring.

The Scottish Government are doing all they can within the constitutional and financial restraints placed upon them to build a social security system for Scotland based on dignity, fairness and respect. Clearly, we are pleased that the UK Government have agreed to share this function of making arrangements so that the Scottish Government can deliver the new payment, but I feel compelled to say that it is ridiculous that Scottish Ministers are forced to get permission from the UK Government, instead of having the powers themselves. We want the Scottish Parliament to have full power over social security, so that we can introduce inclusive and progressive policies, without being at the whim and favour of the Westminster Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Drew Hendry Excerpts

Wednesday 8th May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Brendan O’Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

10. What recent discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on the potential effect on the devolution settlement of the UK leaving the EU.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

11. What recent discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on the potential effect on the devolution settlement of the UK leaving the EU.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)]

I refer the hon. Members to my answer to Questions 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7.

--- Later in debate ---

[David Mundell]

We are engaged in a year-long consultation on the immigration White Paper. I am happy, as part of that consultation and engagement, to come to Argyll and Bute, just as the Home Secretary went to Aberdeenshire last week, to hear what businesses and people there have to say.

[Drew Hendry]

It was reported at the weekend that the Secretary of State could not even get toast out of a toaster. We cannot get an answer out of him. Are there any circumstances whereby he would support the right of the Scottish people to determine their own future through a referendum?

[David Mundell]

I support the right of the Scottish people to determine their future through a referendum. They already have—on 18 September 2014, when they voted decisively to remain in the United Kingdom.

Claim of Right for Scotland

Drew Hendry Excerpts

Wednesday 4th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Stuart Andrew)]

May I begin by referring to the hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Hugh Gaffney), who rightly mentioned the sad death of his constituent, Alesha MacPhail? It is right that we all send our condolences to her family and say that we are with the community at this very difficult time.

I am beginning to realise that these debates become incredibly lively. Last week’s debate in Westminster Hall was just as enjoyable, and I am pleased to be responding to today’s debate. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland suggested, the debate has served no real purpose for Scotland. As he said, we could have debated our preparations for leaving the EU, the economy, or how to address the many and varied failings of the Scottish Government. I would add that we could have debated the expansion of Heathrow airport, and the many benefits that that will bring to Scotland through extra routes and greater opportunities for exporters. It is no surprise that we are not debating that issue, however, because SNP Members refused to support the proposal. It did so not because that is not good for Scotland—they agree that it is—but because they believed that that stance would be good for the Scottish nationalist party. That, I am afraid, is this debate in a nutshell. It is not about what is right for Scotland; it is about what serves the self-interest of the Scottish National party.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

Can the Minister name one route that was guaranteed by the UK Government to Heathrow in the national planning statement?

[Stuart Andrew]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, 15% of the routes are guaranteed for regional connectivity. He has turned down the opportunity for his country to have better connectivity to the rest of the UK and the rest of the world. He says that he wants to stand up for Scotland, but he should take part in the debates that happen here and vote in Divisions, rather than walking out, as he did at Prime Minister’s questions.

The claim of right was about devolution, and we support devolution. This Government have consistently supported devolution ever since it was backed by the people of Scotland in a referendum in 1997. It was the Scottish people who reaffirmed their support for devolution in the independence referendum of 2014. We have shown our support in the Scotland Act 2016, which transferred wide-ranging powers over tax, welfare and much more to Holyrood.

We continue to show our support for devolution as we prepare to leave the EU. Scores of powers previously held in Brussels will flow to the Scottish Parliament, and we are working with the Scottish Government to ensure that Scotland and the whole UK are ready. In doing so, we are listening to the people of Scotland. We respect the votes that they cast in 1997 and in 2014. We are respecting their rights, as expressed by the authors of the claim of right.

The truth is that SNP Members cannot bring themselves to show the same respect. They refused to sign the claim of right because it had nothing to do with their cause of independence. They saw devolution only as a stepping stone to independence, and they have shown themselves to be equally opportunistic when it comes to breakfast—[Interruption]—Brexit. Yes, breakfast, dinner and tea, as we say in the north.

Shamefully, SNP Members have no interest in preparing Scotland and the UK for leaving the EU. They see Brexit only as a chance to scaremonger and manufacture grievances in a bid to boost calls for independence. That is their purpose in holding today’s debate, but people will see it for what it is. They will see through the SNP’s games and they will understand that it is not acting in Scotland’s interest, but in its own narrow party interests.