Town and City Centre Safety

Graeme Downie Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd February 2026 Westminster Hall

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. Last Friday I was at a roundtable with local businesses, creative organisations and city centre groups in Dunfermline to discuss the safety of the town centre and how we can make Dunfermline a prosperous city in the future. What struck me was the unanimity of experience: people love their city and are committed to its future, but they feel that too much of the burden of improvement is falling on them, rather than being supported by different levels of Government.

Those at the roundtable spoke about day-to-day frustrations that shape how safe a city feels: graffiti that is not cleaned; broken cobbles left unrepaired; street furniture that has seen better days, and a lack of accessible parking, which makes the city centre more difficult for disabled residents. I also heard examples of vandalism and shop break-ins not being meaningfully followed up. Here we come to one of the key responsibilities devolved to the SNP Scottish Government: policing.

While frontline officers in Dunfermline and across Fife work incredibly hard, they are operating under sustained pressure from years of cuts, centralisation and under-investment. Dunfermline, with its heritage and potential future, has not received the kind of long-term planning and investment that it deserves from the Government at Holyrood, and that is also true of wider investment in Scotland’s towns and cities.

What was striking at the roundtable, however, was a sense of optimism—from places such as Café Wynd, Veneno Music Store and Caledonian Craft Beer Merchant, there was a clear pride in what Dunfermline has to offer. While many of the policy levers for direct intervention in the future success of Dunfermline lie in Holyrood, there are actions that the UK Government could and should take.

I hope the UK Government will consider Dunfermline as a pilot area for trialling any kind of tax incentives, which small businesses are calling for to support creation and innovation in town centres. We need a shared vision between the UK and Scottish Governments, Fife council and local businesses to deliver that future. Dunfermline has talent, ambition and enormous potential, and with the right support across both Scotland’s Governments, and a clear, shared and deliverable vision, it can become a leading example of how to build a safe, thriving and modern city centre in the 21st century.

Licensing Hours Extension Bill

Graeme Downie Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 17th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Ranger (Wrexham) (Lab)]

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to stand before the House to bring forward a Bill that makes an amendment to the Licensing Act 2003 that will support our vibrant hospitality sector and help our communities come together to celebrate momentous moments in our national life. I am sure I can add a few more puns to our deliberations today. The Bill will do that by changing the procedure for licensing hours extensions in England and Wales, so that the measures are subject to the negative procedure rather than the affirmative procedure, as is currently the case.

Before proceeding in more detail, I want to pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for South Shields (Mrs Lewell-Buck) who brought forward a similar Bill in the previous Parliament. It enjoyed wide support across the House, only for it to fall when Parliament was dissolved for the general election. I am pleased to be carrying forward the work that she started. I would also like to thank everyone who supported the Bill, particularly those who have come to the House today and all those who attended my drop-in last week, in collaboration with the British Beer and Pub Association and UKHospitality.

It is important to start talking about our pubs and hospitality industry, something I can claim to know a thing or two about having had a 30-year career in it before coming to this place. Pubs and other venues are so much more than just businesses. They are often a focal point of our communities, from one generation to the next, and where we gather for life’s big and small moments. They are also fundamental to community cohesion. Two thirds of adults believe that our local pubs are vital to combatting loneliness and social isolation, according to a survey by YouGov in 2024.

It will come as a surprise to no one that I believe it is in Wrexham where the finest pubs and beers can be found. In no particular order, there are great pubs such as Saith Seren, the Acton Park, the Nags Head, the Red Lion in Marchwiel, the Crown in Llay, the Quarry Arms, the Buck in Bangor on Dee, the Cunliffe Arms, the George and Dragon in Brymbo, the Golden Lion in Coedpoeth and the Kings Mill. I will stop there.

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

I am delighted to hear that my hon. Friend will now have, I think, at least 12 free drinks in his constituency! Does he agree with me about the importance of community-owned and operated pubs, and the additional social value they can provide to local communities and groups?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. Before Mr Ranger returns to his feet, I should obviously reference all the fantastic pubs in Sussex Weald!