Energy Security

Elaine Stewart Excerpts

Tuesday 19th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Elaine Stewart (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)]

I have cut my speech down so much I do not know if I can fill five minutes, Madam Deputy Speaker.

In the King’s Speech, His Majesty set out a clear and sober assessment of the challenges facing our country. He reminded us that energy independence is now a matter of national security, not just environmental ambition. His Majesty warned that recent events in the middle east have once again shown how global instability can reach directly into the homes of families across the country. That is why the Government have committed themselves to an energy independence Bill designed to scale up home-grown renewable energy and protect living standards for the long term.

If we are to deliver on the significant commitment to build an energy system that is secure, clean and resilient, then we must learn from the evidence. The reality is that we will not win the argument for clean climate action unless people feel the benefit. Energy independence cannot be something that happens to communities; it must be something that happens with them.

The transition of clean energy is already shaping our energy landscape. Renewables are reducing the number of hours when gas sets the price of electricity. New technologies are emerging as the backbone of a modern energy system, and the grid, long overdue for investment, is finally being reimagined for the 21st century.

Faced with decades of deindustrialisation, communities like Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock need to see and feel real benefits, such as lower bills, good jobs, and investment in local services, otherwise support for the transition will erode—and if support erodes, we risk losing the wider public argument on climate change altogether. In Scotland, delivering those real benefits means Governments working together. The clean power mission is an objective shared by both the UK and Scottish Governments; it is important to acknowledge constructive co-operation, and encourage more of it where possible.

As we debate energy security, we must place community benefit at the heart of our approach, not as a voluntary gesture or token payment, but a core principle of how we build the energy system of the future. In Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, the 9 Community Council Group administers large amounts of community benefits, with over 60 young apprenticeships, alongside other fantastic community support, creating an ongoing legacy to my communities. I invite the Minister to attend a meeting with that group.

However, we must go further. Community ownership—giving local people a real stake in the energy produced on their doorstep—should be a core feature of the transition. When communities share in the profits, they share in the purpose. When they have a voice, they have a better reason to support change, both locally and nationally. It is about not just fairness but effectiveness, because the fastest way to lose public trust is to impose changes without their consent. The fastest way to build trust is to ensure that communities are partners and not bystanders.

Finally, I will touch on the Scottish Government’s continued opposition to new nuclear development in Scotland. Their stance was clearly shaped in a different political moment, but today it means that Scotland risks standing apart from what the King’s Speech rightly called

“a new era of British nuclear energy”.

By ruling out nuclear energy entirely, Scotland risks losing out on long-term skilled jobs and major inward investment. At a time when the UK is moving to expand nuclear, Scotland risks being left behind, missing opportunities that could support communities and contribute to the secure, clean energy mix that we need for decades to come.

Onshore Wind and Solar Generation

Elaine Stewart Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Elaine Stewart (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for explaining why this motion is so important, and how it will unblock the system and unlock potential. The move to cleaner home-grown energy demands nationwide delivery of our critical infrastructure, yet the current planning system is holding that back. Without home-grown energy we will not have control over energy prices in the UK, and we need the infrastructure to deliver that. There will always be a degree of opposition to the development of wind farms—that is democracy—but it is how we respond to local concerns that makes a difference. Burying our head in the sand, as the Conservatives chose to do for 14 years, is simply not an option.

It is important to share some experiences of the development of wind farms from my constituency, and to be clear that Scotland is on a different track, as wind farm developments fall under national planning framework 4. I want to share two lessons from my constituency. People across the country understand and see the natural benefits that the infrastructure covered by motion will unblock. Those include local employment opportunities through construction and maintenance, a boost to the local economy, increased local spending and, of course, a legacy of endless clean energy. However, experience from my area shows that those natural benefits should be topped up by community benefits.

Lesson No. 1 is that there is a need for community benefits and a fair and transparent model of distributing them. The Nine Community Council Group in my constituency represents nine Cumnock and Doon Valley communities, which manage and distribute community benefits from multiple wind farm developments across the area. They embody a collaborative community approach to wind farm benefit, and that must be the way forward for the country.

Lesson No. 2 is to consider the impact of building this crucial infrastructure on other crucial infrastructure, such as roads. By their very nature, wind farms are often in rural areas where transport links are already under-resourced. In rural areas people use roads more to go to work, to shop, and for basic living. Building wind farms is a great boost to the local economy, but it can take its toll on the roads. That means that we need to do more to support and invest in maintaining good road links in those communities.

Those lessons are about taking people with us when it comes to the transition to clean energy. Ayrshire’s story is about making the move from coalfields to clean fields. It is one to be replicated, but we must ensure that our communities are onside in the process.

Oral Answers to Questions

Elaine Stewart Excerpts

Tuesday 18th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Elaine Stewart (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)]

11. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the mineworkers’ pension scheme on the living standards of the recipients of that pension.

[The Minister for Industry (Sarah Jones)]

This Labour Government have ended the historic injustice of the mineworkers’ pension scheme. At the end of November last year, the first uprated payments for the pension scheme landed for over 100,000 miners and their families. That is an average increase of 32% on their monthly payments, or an average additional £28 a week.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sarah Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for his concern for his constituents who are in the BCSSS. I am very receptive to the calls from BCSSS trustees. I wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury at the end of last year to begin discussions. We have received a positive response from him, and we are now taking the next steps to move this process forward.

[Elaine Stewart]

We are only partway there on the pension injustice for miners. The British Coal staff superannuation scheme has around 40,000 members who formerly worked in mining industries, including a number of my constituents. They include many women who were among the lowest paid in the coal industry—my own mum worked in the pit canteen. Can I assure my constituents enrolled in the BCSSS that transferring the £2.3 billion investment reserves to its members is a priority for this Government?

[Sarah Jones]

My hon. Friend is right to point out that there are about 40,000 people in this scheme. About 5,000 of them are women, unlike the mineworkers’ pension scheme, of which the vast majority of members are men. The two schemes are different and operate in a different way, because in 2015 the BCSSS had run two deficits and was at risk, so there had to be an intervention from Government. The two schemes operate differently and have to be looked at differently. The Government Actuary’s Department team is working its way through the mineworkers’ pension process, and we are now working with officials on this issue. I am meeting officials later today to talk about it more to see what we need to do. I stress that this is very complex—we are talking about billions of pounds-worth of assets—but we are absolutely receptive to calls from the trustees, and I will meet with them again soon.

Great British Energy Bill

Elaine Stewart Excerpts

2nd reading
Thursday 5th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Elaine Stewart (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)]

I begin by congratulating the previous speaker, the hon. Member for Caerfyrddin (Ann Davies), on making an excellent maiden speech. I also congratulate all new Members who have made interesting and inspiring contributions today. I am delighted to be making my maiden speech as part of the debate on the Great British Energy Bill. GB Energy will, of course, be headquartered in Scotland. With clean energy infrastructure already in place and the workforce to match, Ayrshire would be an ideal setting. However, regardless of where it is located, GB Energy will create thousands of jobs and deliver energy security and lower prices for consumers throughout the UK.

As it is customary, it is right that I pay tribute to my direct predecessor, Allan Dorans, who served his constituents well through the last five years. Politics aside, it is important to acknowledge the hard work and dedication that is asked of us elected Members. We carry out our duties and represent all constituents to the best of our ability. In his maiden speech, my predecessor said he hoped that voters in Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock would never again elect an MP to go to Westminster. On that point, I am glad to say he was wrong.

I also pay tribute to my Labour predecessor, Sandra Osborne. Sandra was the first Labour and first woman MP for Ayr from 1997 until 2015. Sandra was an outstanding MP and is still remembered fondly by many throughout the constituency. I also pay tribute to her predecessor as MP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, George Foulkes, who now sits in the other place as Lord Foulkes of Cumnock.

Madam Deputy Speaker, allow me to say a few words about my constituency of Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock. It runs all the way from Pinwherry to my beloved Dalmellington, with many rural and coastal towns and villages in between. Ayr is the county town of Ayrshire and hosts vital services such as Ayr university hospital and the University of the West of Scotland campuses, as well as a first-class racecourse that hosts the Scottish grand national.

The constituency is also famous as the birthplace of Scotland’s national bard, Robert Burns. Robert Burns is a global icon. His poems and songs are renowned across the world. It would be difficult to pin Burns down on his politics, but our shared admiration for the red, red rose fills me with quiet confidence.

Carrick lies to the south of the constituency. Maybole and the seaside town of Girvan both look out on to the Ailsa Craig—yes, I have an island, too. Ailsa Craig is famous for granite, which is quarried to make curling stones worldwide. There is a joke that Scottish women make champion curlers because they are used to sweeping around dead weights.

Cumnock and Doon Valley consists of former mining areas, and Cumnock was a home to Keir Hardie, the founder of the Labour party. When critics take a pop at the Labour party, they say, “Keir Hardie would turn in his grave.” They do not realise that he was, in fact, cremated in Maryhill in Glasgow. A fine marble bust of Keir Hardie sits outside Cumnock town hall. It is a popular spot for a photo for leading Labour figures visiting the area. Even Michael Portillo felt obliged to have his picture taken for his travel documentary. He, too, will be happy that this Government have been so quick to act to improve the great British railways.

When hon. Members decide to travel to my constituency, they will also find the magnificent Dumfries House in Cumnock. Saved by an intervention in 2007 from the Prince of Wales, now His Majesty King Charles, the project has developed much-needed educational, research and employment opportunities across the area, with great success.

There are many gems to be found across the constituency. However, my fond memories are of growing up in a small village called Dalmellington and being born and raised in Bellsbank, as part of a scheme built to house the miners moving into the area. Picnics at the spectacular Loch Doon, pit parties with all the miners’ weans and playing kerby in the street—it was a simple life, but filled with joy. I am the proud daughter of a miner and an NHS worker. Given that, I was delighted to stand on a manifesto to end the injustice of the mineworkers’ pension scheme, and I was proud to ask about that very issue in my first question to the Government yesterday.

As the youngest of four siblings, times were tough growing up in our house—it was a case of first up, best dressed. These humble beginnings make my journey to this place even more remarkable. The journey was made easier by my two beautiful children, who have supported me all the way. My friends keep me grounded every day, and I thank them for that. I have always been keen to push and challenge myself, which is why I decided at the age of 18 to move to New York, where I worked as an au pair. If someone had told my younger self where I would be standing today, I simply would not have believed it. The odds were stacked against me—back then, the glass ceilings were still very much in place. Around that time, I assume a young Kamala Harris felt the same.

Thankfully, progress has been made. I am thrilled to sit as an MP in this place alongside a record number of women. I am thrilled to see a Government with a record number of women in Cabinet. I am thrilled that this Government have appointed the first female Chancellor in history. Yes, progress has been made. In November, I am sure that the whole House will welcome the prospect of yet another glass ceiling being smashed in the world of politics.

I returned from the United States to become a youth worker. Through my work in the third sector, on projects such as the Zone initiative and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, I have supported communities to help them flourish. Over the years, I have worked tirelessly in those communities to give children and young people the opportunity to socialise and to champion them. It is about providing vital training and employment opportunities to deprived areas. My work in this place and in my constituency will continue in the same vein, as it always has—supporting communities through public service. My direct experience of how local communities are suffering is exactly why I am standing here today. The chance to change the lives of people, who are often vulnerable and feeling left behind, is a passion that lies deep in my soul.

I will end with this: the day before his tragic, untimely death, the late leader of the Labour party John Smith ended his last speech by saying:

“The opportunity to serve our country—that is all we ask.”

I promise to serve my constituency to the best of my ability.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call Anna Sabine to make her maiden speech.