Glasgow City Region Economy

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered Government support for the Glasgow city region economy.

It is a pleasure to serve with you chairing, Ms Jardine. The Glasgow city region is at the heart of the Scottish economy and is a fundamental pillar of the larger UK economy. Home to 1.85 million people, across eight local authority areas, the Glasgow city region accounts for around a third of Scotland’s employment and economic output. Shipbuilding on the Clyde; world-leading university research and spin-offs; the largest production of miniature satellites in Europe; one of the largest financial sectors in the UK outside London; an established and growing advanced manufacturing base; and a dynamic and thriving cultural sector are integral parts of the city region’s economy.

This is a city region that includes UNESCO City of Music status for Glasgow, and playing host to COP26 in 2021 and the Commonwealth games in 2014, to be hosted again in Glasgow this summer. That all paints a picture of the Glasgow city region as a major economic and cultural success, but it is still held back by historical challenges. Its history of deindustrialisation has left deep-rooted issues of poverty and inequality that are still being grappled with today in many communities. The region has one of the highest percentages of people with no formal education, while also having one of the highest percentages of people with higher-level qualifications or more.

Parts of the region have some of the highest deprivation in the UK, along with some of the highest drug deaths in Europe, although the city region also contains some of the wealthiest areas of Scotland. That gets to the crux of the matter. Support for the Glasgow city region economy must be judged not only by headline growth figures but by whether the benefits reach all communities, particularly those who have waited longest for change.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Member for bringing this forward. I spoke to him beforehand about city region deals recognising the situation in Glasgow and my constituency, yet this work has only just begun. Does he agree that sustained funding has to be available to local councils to build on those foundational deals? The funding needs to be adequate to make a difference, not just in Glasgow but in Newtownards.

[Martin Rhodes]

I thank the hon. Member for that intervention. I agree and will go on in my speech to talk about how the work of the city deals needs to be developed further. Those structures and activities need to be built on to ensure we get the most from that initial interest to develop it further.

The Glasgow city region economy has seen real investment from the UK Labour Government but much more can be done. With greater devolved powers over areas such as infrastructure, skills, investment and public health, the region will be better placed to shape solutions around the needs of its communities. That would not be devolution for the sake of it. Greater local autonomy can help reduce inequality, improve health outcomes and create new jobs and opportunities across the region.

As the city region is right now, I welcome the significant investment that the UK Labour Government are already delivering. The new local growth fund, combined with the Pride in Place programmes, is set to deliver nearly £94 million in investment over the next three years. The combination of those funds delivers long-term infrastructure and renewal. That approach will help the Glasgow city region to invest in long-term renewal, an ambition that needs to be matched by sustained adequate local government funding from the Scottish Government.

This UK Labour Government have delivered the largest spending review settlement in the history of the Scottish Parliament, which amounted to £50 billion in last year’s settlement. That is in stark contrast to the Scottish Government, which instead of passing that funding increase to local government, continued to enforce cuts to communities. From 2013 to 2026, Glasgow city council alone has seen a £1.5 billion loss in Scottish Government funding. Those cuts to local government funding have left councils across the region overstretched and focused on struggling to deliver core services, with little left over for the long-term investment the city region needs.

Devolution in Scotland

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

I start by thanking the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) for introducing the debate—it took us two goes to get here, but I thank him. I was inspired by his bravery in admitting that he was on the committee that oversaw the building of the Scottish Parliament, because I think it was 10 times over budget, but perhaps those are skills we can deploy to build ferries in Scotland. Perhaps they are already; I do not know.

It has now been 26 years since the Scottish Parliament was established with the promise of empowering our nation. For that to work, it has always been the case that the Government in Scotland need to have a can-do attitude. In the early years under Scottish Labour, the Government made significant progress, as we have already heard. We abolished tuition fees. We introduced a smoking ban, free personal care, and free bus passes for older people—that is one of my favourite ones—and we reintroduced the rail link to the Borders. One of the most amazing things that I read today was that during the 1999 to 2007 Parliaments, life expectancy in Scotland increased by 2.3 years. These are the wonders of a Labour Government. Of course, we also oversaw a vital expansion of social housing in Scotland, something that is needed today.

The pace of change during that era was incredible, as Scotland was finding its feet with its new Parliament, which felt like a bit of an experiment at the time but is now here to stay. In the two decades since then, however, the SNP Government have overseen a period of stagnation and decline across all of the same areas.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman on including some positivity in his speech. Does he agree that we do not want my Gaelic brothers and cousins, the SNP Members who are sitting in front of me, to leave the Union? I want them to stay in this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland forever, because we are better together. It is the money that comes centrally from Westminster that keeps the Scottish Parliament and its people going.

Something that perhaps has not been mentioned yet is that one of the advantages of devolution has been the tourism connections between Northern Ireland and Scotland—our cousins across the straits. Does the hon. Member agree that that is one of the things that is positive and good in the relationship between people from Ulster and people from Scotland? I am descended from the Stewarts of the lowlands of Scotland, so I am probably Scottish, maybe from before some people were—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. Mr Shannon, I am sure we are all fascinated by from whom you are descended, but could I respectfully point out that Members who have not been in the Chamber for the bulk of this debate should not be making lengthy interventions?

Lisbon Maru Memorial

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Kirsteen Sullivan (Bathgate and Linlithgow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Minister for her time and attention on the debate.

On 1 October 1942, an unmarked Japanese freighter called the Lisbon Maru was carrying over 1,800 British and allied prisoners of war—hundreds were from the Royal Scots regiment. The prisoners had been captured after the fall of Hong Kong and were destined for internment in Japan. Conditions for prisoners on this ship, and many freighters like it, were brutal and unsanitary. They became known as “hell ships” because of the suffering of those on board.

For many, including the freighter, that was their final voyage. On that day, the Lisbon Maru was torpedoed by a submarine in the east China sea. Although the Japanese troops on board the vessel were rescued, the POWs were locked in the ship’s hold. As the vessel sank, many were trapped, and those who escaped were shot by guards who remained board, or from nearby Japanese vessels. Many others were gunned down in the water as they desperately tried to survive.

Amid that horror, a glimmer of humanity emerged: Chinese fishermen from nearby islands risked their lives to rescue hundreds of survivors, and gave them shelter in their homes. Their efforts speak to a spirit that we know well, one that reminds us of our own Dunkirk evacuations, showing common humanity in the face of unimaginable horror.

This tragedy was not known to me until this year, when a constituent reached out. For Gerry Borge, his father John and uncle Eddie’s extraordinary experience on board the Lisbon Maru and their miraculous survival was a story he needed to share. John and Eddie were unfortunately recaptured and imprisoned for the remainder of the war, but they finally returned home, unlike so many others.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Lady for securing this debate. She has put forward this story with so much passion and interest in the people, and I congratulate her on that. Again, I remember and pay tribute to the victory over Japan. I commemorated it at an event just last week, and so this is a timely debate. I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for her passion for establishing a fitting tribute. I will support her as she tries to achieve that goal. Does she agree that the tragedy, resulting in the deaths of more than 800 prisoners —many of whom were from Scotland and, in particular, areas such as West Lothian—makes a memorial seem appropriate as we understand the loss to families throughout Scotland that took place as a result of the sinking of the Lisbon Maru? It would be appropriate to do something like that now.

[Kirsteen Sullivan]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and one that I will come on to. I agree wholeheartedly with his sentiment.

Gerry wrote to me in a plea to shine a light on the tragedy when the Lisbon Maru sank, which impacted many families. I spoke to him last week in my office and the message he wanted me to convey this evening is the timeless one that, even during the horrors of war, the actions of the Chinese fishermen exemplify the human instinct to reach out and to help our fellow human beings.

Many who experienced conflict, especially in the Pacific theatre, never felt able to share their stories, yet each town and village in this country will have its own relationship with conflict and a loss to remember. Honouring our history and the conflicts that have often defined it is something I believe Britain has done well over the years. The dedication of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the monuments that we erect are a powerful legacy of the sacrifices made and the lives cut short. However, that is also a promise: wherever one dies in conflict around the globe, they will be remembered back home for their heroism, their service and the legacy that they leave.

Spending Review 2025: Scotland

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd July 2025 Westminster Hall

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

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the impact of the Spending Review 2025 on Scotland.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. On behalf of the Scottish contingent, I would like to thank the weather for finally breaking slightly, so that we can enjoy these much more suitable conditions—something else delivered by a Labour Government.

It is a privilege to discuss today the implications of the recent UK Government spending review for Scotland—a review that marks a pivotal moment for our country, offering both opportunities and challenges that we must confront with clarity and resolve. Let me begin by acknowledging some of the significant investments that were announced in the spending review and associated announcements. The allocation of £25 million for the Forth green freeport, which includes Rosyth in my constituency, is a welcome development and an investment that has the potential to transform the local economy, create jobs and position Scotland at the forefront of green innovation. I commend the Government for recognising the strategic importance of that initiative. In addition, the provision of £234 million in local funds to bring investment to communities across Scotland is a vital step forward.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on all he does in this place; he is making an excellent name for himself when it comes to working for his constituents. Although the new growth fund that will invest in deprived communities across the United Kingdom is welcome, the Scottish funding from it will be the same overall level in cash terms as under the UK shared prosperity fund for 2025-26. There are regions and locations in Scotland and Northern Ireland that have been historically underfunded, and therefore equality of spending will not bring about equality of outcome. Does he agree that the Minister, who is an honourable lady, must look at this and ensure that the Government’s goal is equality of outcome? It must be the same for everybody.

[Graeme Downie]

I think the Government are already moving towards a focus on outcomes for budgeting, and I would like to see more of that.

As my constituency contains a large number of former coalfields, I have been working closely with colleagues on the replacement of the shared prosperity fund and how we can ensure that it delivers skills and investment for young people and opportunities in all parts of the United Kingdom. I can assure the Minister that I will be working with local stakeholders in Dunfermline and Dollar to ensure that our area secures a fair share of the funding that has been allocated for the many great projects that stand to deliver real benefits to my constituents.

Over the next three years, this Labour Government will provide the Scottish Government with an additional £9.1 billion for Scottish public services. That is the largest settlement in real terms since devolution began, and a historic opportunity for the Scottish Government to invest in the NHS, police, housing and schools—services that are the bedrock of our society, yet are the root cause of much of the correspondence I receive from constituents who are being failed by the current Scottish Government in Holyrood.

One year on from a housing emergency being declared, house building is down in Scotland, and 10,000 children remain in temporary accommodation, with no home to call their own. Indeed, as a former Fife councillor, I know that Fife council is still in the unenviable position of knowing that it breaks the law every single day when it comes to housing, because of the salami-slicing of local government budgets by the Scottish Government. That the SNP Scottish Government knowingly preside over such a situation is unfathomable, having taken their eye off multiple balls during their disastrous time in power.

I must also express my concern that, no matter how much funding is made available, the Government in Holyrood continue to fall back on a familiar pattern of whingeing and wasting. We have seen this time and again, from the mismanagement of ferry contracts to the establishment of overseas embassies that serve little practical purpose beyond a vanity project and a residence for the Minister to have a very nice time on holidays funded by the public purse.

This morning I looked over the caseload in my office, and a third of cases received are from people with problems relating to devolved policy areas. So fed up are the people of Dunfermline and Dollar by the myriad failures of the SNP that they know the best place to come for help is Scottish Labour MPs and a UK Labour Government. This morning, we learned that more Scottish public money will be spent on defending the former chief executive of the SNP in a court case about a caravan found in my constituency.

In England, the UK Labour Government have recruited more than 1,500 GPs since 1 October thanks to Government action and the digitisation of the health service in England progressing more quickly. Meanwhile, in this place I have had to raise issues including access for little boys to timely medical help for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a lack of local dentists, and care and support for those with Parkinson’s. I am also aware of the case of Vicki Tocher, a constituent of mine who has been battling for almost a year to get her eight-year-old son, Issac, in front of doctors after he suffered a traumatic brain injury while at school.

In Scotland we see delays to national treatment centres. One in six Scots is on an NHS waiting list, there are 50,000 fewer operations than before the pandemic, and a record number have been forced to turn to private healthcare. In February, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said that the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in A&E in Scotland is 99 times higher than it was 14 years ago.

Scotland: Transport Links

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 8th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Thank you, Mrs Lewell-Buck. I wish you all the best in your new role as Chair in your first Westminster Hall debate—I am sure there will be plenty more of them. I thank the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) for setting the scene. I wish the new Minister well in her role. Equally, I wish the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie), well in the role that he plays, just to keep the record okay—he always reminds me of these things.

First, I want to give a bit of history. Scotland and Northern Ireland were once joined by a path hewn by giants, or so the legend says, and giants we remain—giants of industry and giants of culture, and we have the ability and the facility to do even better and to be more. I have always said that this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is always better together, and today we will prove that to be the case. I fully support the efforts for the A75 and the A77, but I want to focus on the ferry links, because they are vital. The ferry links are an issue: from the beginning of December, the operators have highlighted difficulties during these winter storms, beginning with Storm Bert, and the effect they have had upon the business, trade and tourism links between Scotland and Northern Ireland. Those links are an intricate part of the UK that are ferry dependent and we need to secure them.

Stena Line was in contact with me regarding issues that must be addressed to continue an operational and effective transport route within the UK. A mechanical issue with the Superfast VII ferry on the Belfast-Cairnryan route during Storm Bert emphasised the critical need for flexibility in managing workforce and operational changes within the ferry sector. Had that happened in the Black Friday or pre-Christmas period, there would have been absolute chaos.

That underscores the necessity of solutions such as the ferry worker concession, and I ask the Minister specifically to ensure that operators such as Stena Line can swiftly deploy vessels and staff to maintain resilience and continuity in the face of inevitable future disruptions. For example, during previous staffing challenges faced by P&O, Stena Line was able to deploy the Nordica on the Belfast-Cairnryan route. Formalising a process between the Government and the ferry operators to enable similar measures in future emergencies would be highly beneficial.

The ferry routes across the Irish sea are a natural, vital national infrastructure that ensure trade, tourism and essential services flow. If the routes were not able to operate in the future because we did not have some of the necessary qualified seafarers, it would mean empty shelves and would affect the economy, including the delivery of medical supplies, and I believe that my Scottish brethren and sisters would not wish to see that happen.

Scotland is a vital cog in the operation of the UK machine and we must ensure that it is affordably and reliably accessible. That can be done only with infrastructure and investment in the ports by land and sea, and I encourage the Government to foster that connectivity and to put the funding in place. We are stronger together and achieve more together, and the Northern Ireland-Scotland link is a vital part of that strength.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Lewell-Buck. I join hon. and right hon. colleagues in congratulating you on your appointment. I hope you have enjoyed your first foray into Scottish politics this afternoon, and I look forward to seeing you back in this Chamber on many an occasion as we continue the various debates. Indeed, this is the second time in two days I have found myself here debating issues pertaining to Scotland, although in my view that is still not enough.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) on securing this important debate. Cross-border connectivity is an issue he has championed as an MSP, as a Back-Bench MP and indeed as a Minister in the previous Government, and he continues that laudable work now. I am pleased that so many colleagues from across Scotland and Northern Ireland have come to the Chamber this afternoon to discuss this important issue.

As I said, I and others here, including the Minister, found ourselves in this Chamber yesterday afternoon discussing the impact of the UK Government’s Budget on Scotland. To save Members from looking the debate up in Hansard or watching it on Parliament Live—I do recommend it; some stellar speeches were delivered—I will give a brief synopsis. For farmers, family firms, oil and gas workers, the Scotch whisky industry and the Scottish economy in general, the Budget was not good, but despite the best efforts of the Labour party and the SNP to undermine confidence, deter investment, stymie ambition and entrepreneurship and punish success, the fact is that across the UK and especially in Scotland, we need growth, investment and new jobs.

For all those things, good connectivity to our biggest market by far—the rest of the UK—is key. It is integral to economic growth and business, but also to leisure, education and even health. Fundamentally, good transport links unlock opportunity across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That is precisely why the Conservative Government launched the Union connectivity review. Despite the lack of co-operation from the Scottish Government, we made several critical commitments, including, as some have mentioned already, to supporting enhancements to the A75 between Gretna and Stranraer to improve the main artery linking south-west Scotland and Northern Ireland, recognising the vital importance of east-west connectivity within the United Kingdom; to funding for dualling the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham, a vital road route between England and Scotland; and to funding for Network Rail to look at options for boosting capacity and improving services more broadly between England and Scotland.

In other important areas, we delivered improved transport connectivity, with major projects taking big strides forward. We were delivering long-awaited upgrades to the A1 coastal route between Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh, reducing congestion for the communities of Ashington, Felton, Alnwick and Amble. However, as has been said time and again today, away from cross-border routes, responsibility for our roads lies with the Scottish Government. Companies and individuals seeking to export fish landed at Peterhead, for example, or on Orkney and Shetland, are reliant on increasingly dangerous roads to get it to the border and then into Europe, as a result of the SNP’s failure to deliver on its promises.

It has been almost two decades since we first heard the SNP make promises to improve some of Scotland’s most dangerous roads, yet those promises remain undelivered and, frankly, broken. The SNP promised to fully dual the A96—a road close to my heart, connecting Aberdeen and Inverness—the A90 and the A9 between the central belt and Inverness, but not one of them has been. Of course, we now know that the SNP’s promise to dual the A96 to Inverness by 2030 has been shelved completely, letting down people across the north-east of Scotland once again—and let us not even begin discussing the Laurencekirk junction in my constituency or, just further north, improvements at Toll of Birness on the road between Aberdeen, Fraserburgh and Peterhead.

While we are rightly talking today about cross-border connectivity, let us not forget those who are reliant on the SNP to ensure they can get their goods and themselves to the border. Air travel, which Members have raised this afternoon, is similarly critical for not just business but remote settlements. We protected socially and economically vital domestic routes through public service obligations, and indeed we reformed how the PSOs operated to include routes that operate to and from different regions of the UK, rather than just into London. However, one route into London we did back was from Dundee: in 2021, we provided up to £2.5 million to fund direct flights between Dundee and London for a further two years, keeping a critical route running and ensuring that people at both ends of the UK could keep connected.

We cut the reduced rate of air passenger duty for domestic flights to just £6.50 and consulted on reform to airport landing slot allocations, including proposals to ringfence some slots for domestic flights, which, as the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) said, is so important. I would be grateful if the Minister could update us on the Government’s position on that and whether they intend to issue a response to the consultation on ringfencing those slots for domestic flights.

When it comes to rail, we committed over £1 billion for east coast main line upgrades, including a programme to replace Victorian infrastructure with digital signalling, which provides drivers with continuous real-time information. That was designed to boost train performance and cut delays. It is hard to overstate the importance of the east coast main line. A third of the nation’s population, who together produce more than 40% of the UK’s GDP, live within 20 minutes of an east coast main line station.

The dreadful decision of this Government to hike air passenger duty will mean that people who do not live within a few hours of London on a main rail line such as the east coast main line—for example, those living and working in and around Aberdeen—will face higher fares and fewer options for travel. It punishes those who live outside the central belt and flies in the face of better connectivity around the United Kingdom, which brings us back to the woeful record of the SNP Government in Holyrood.

I have taken the long train journey from Aberdeen to London on many occasions, and the time it takes to reach Edinburgh is striking. Almost a third of the travel time to London from Aberdeen is taken up just reaching Scotland’s capital. The SNP promised yet again in 2016 £200 million to cut journey times between Aberdeen and the central belt by 2026. Almost 10 years on, not even 10% of that money has been spent. As with roads, people who rely on infrastructure for which the SNP is responsible to get to the border are failed by the Scottish Government.

[Jim Shannon]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman plans to mention ferries, but if not, perhaps he could.

[Andrew Bowie]

Of course, ferries are increasingly important. I did not want to embarrass the hon. Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey (Graham Leadbitter) by dwelling too much on ferries, because that is something on which the Scottish Government have such an embarrassing record. The ferry links between our islands and the mainland—be they the links with Orkney and Shetland, the Western Isles or across to Northern Ireland—are vital to the economic success of our country, linking communities and providing essential routes for health, leisure and tourism and to export the goods that are produced in those communities.

The way that those communities, especially in the Western Isles, have been let down by SNP ineptitude to deliver new ferries on those routes has been embarrassing. The sight of windows being painted on the side of a ferry just so that it can be launched in a PR stunt by the former First Minister will go down in history as one of the most embarrassing moments for the Scottish Government in recent times. Frankly, they owe an apology to those communities who have been so let down by their failure to invest properly in the future. It is not only the Western Isles; other communities rely on ferry connectivity, and it is essential that they get the funding they deserve.

We do not only have questions to ask of the Scottish Government, whose record on transport is dismal. We also have questions for the UK Labour Government about their own record, the decisions that have been taken and their future plans.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kirsty McNeill]

I am delighted to do so, and the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie), asked me about that too. We are delivering on the recommendations made by the Union connectivity review, which was conducted by my noble Friend Lord Hendy. The review highlighted the need for strategic transport connectivity improvements across the UK and made recommendations to support improved connectivity to, from and via Scotland.

I have been asked by a number of hon. Members, including the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell), the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper), who spoke very movingly about accidents on the A75, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister), for an update on our plans on the A75 and connectivity to Northern Ireland, and I am delighted to provide it. The Hendy review recommended upgrading the key A75 link to improve freight and passenger connectivity with Northern Ireland, so I am pleased to say that the Chancellor has confirmed funding for this financial year and for next for Transport Scotland to continue development work on upgrading the A75. Transport Scotland has completed initial work to scope out possible options for the realignment of the A75 around the settlements of Springholm and Crocketford.

[Jim Shannon]

I asked some specific questions, so apologies for reiterating this—it is to do with Stena Line, ferries, food, medicine, deliveries, continuity and connection. We do not have roads, and we cannot drive across the Irish sea—unless we find a new James Bond car—so we depend on ferries to get our goods across. I am sorry to ask again, but if the Minister does not mind, I really need that answer. If she cannot give it to me now, I am happy for it to be sent by letter.

[Kirsty McNeill]

My understanding is that those ferries are operated commercially, but I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman and colleagues from the Department for Transport.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim Shannon]

It is important infrastructure and needs an upgrade.

[Kirsty McNeill]

As I said, I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman and colleagues from the Department for Transport to follow up on that. Furthermore, I am pleased to say that the Scottish Government have confirmed their commitment to the feasibility study on the A75 changes to progress that work. That is our reset in action.

My hon. Friend the Member for Bathgate and Linlithgow (Kirsteen Sullivan) helpfully anchored this debate to what it is all about. Of course, it is about growth and the maintenance of the Union, but transport is also fundamentally about people. It is about women, disabled people, and families living with the cost of living emergency. That is why, when families are so up against it, it remains inexplicable that it is cheaper under the SNP Government to fly from Edinburgh to London than it is to go from Edinburgh to Glasgow on a ScotRail peak fare.

That is why this Government have already fulfilled one of our key manifesto commitments and passed the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 to bring railways back into public ownership—we are committed to functioning railways. The Act will stop the taxpayer footing the bill for more than £100 million each year in fees to private operators, which provides no benefit whatsoever to passengers or to the taxpayer. It will also ensure that ScotRail is kept in public hands permanently, pave the way for the creation of Great British Railways and end the fragmentation of the franchising system, which will improve our railway network and strengthen connectivity to and from Scotland, including via the vital west coast and east coast main lines.

The hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine asked a number of questions on air passenger duty, which I am delighted to answer. As he will know, we are trying to support a fairer and sustainable tax system, and taxation on the aviation sector must be put on a sustainable footing. That is why we are consulting on a proposal to extend the scope of the higher rate of air passenger duty to all private jets, including business jets. That is driven primarily by the Government’s commitment to ensuring that operators of and passengers on such jets contribute fairly to the public finances. As he will well know, air passenger duty rates have fallen behind inflation, and private jets are relatively undertaxed, so in 2026-27 the Government will adjust all air passenger duty rates to help to correct for below-inflation uprating in recent years.

Because this Government are committed to supporting working people, we have frozen fuel duty and extended the temporary 5p cut for one year. That will benefit an estimated 3.2 million people in Scotland, supporting hard-working families and businesses and saving the average car driver £59 in 2025-26. I am sure I do not need to remind colleagues that the cost of living remains high, so these measures are vital to support working people across the UK.

As I mentioned earlier, none of these decisions can be taken piecemeal: they must form part of a coherent and ambitious plan. That is why this UK Government is mission-led, with long-term objectives that will deliver our plan for change and spread prosperity across the UK.

I once again congratulate the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk on securing the debate and thank all hon. Members for their contributions. I am sure colleagues across the House will agree that it is essential that we continue to do all we can to strengthen our transport network, ensuring that communities in Scotland and across the UK remain connected and play their rightful role at the heart of this Government’s ambitious agenda.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray]

I join the right hon. Gentleman in his tribute to Peter MacMahon as he steps down as the political editor of ITV in the Borders region. He and I share something closely: we both have good faces for radio, but it is always nice to appear with Peter MacMahon on television. This Government are committed to clean power by 2030, and of course, nuclear is part of that mix.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

The Secretary of State will recognise that the rise in national insurance contributions will have a clear impact on economic growth, whether in Scotland or anywhere else in this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Representatives from the food sector tell me that food prices will increase by between 15% and 20%. That will impact the ordinary man and woman in the street. What impact does the Minister think the rise in national insurance contributions will have on economic growth?

[Ian Murray]

Economic growth is the No. 1 mission of this Government, as the hon. Gentleman knows. When the Chancellor came to the Dispatch Box to deliver her Budget, she started on minus £22 billion—that black hole left for us by the previous Government. We chose investment over decline and we chose to end austerity, so tough decisions had to be made.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 30th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray]

My hon. Friend has been a doughty campaigner for the Drumchapel project. She will not have long to wait, as the Chancellor will come to the Dispatch Box shortly and announce the Budget. I am hopeful that all these projects, including some of the anti-poverty projects that my hon. Friend has championed for years in her constituency, come to pass.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

When it comes to promoting economic growth in Scotland, it is clear that the best way to do that is from within this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. What is the Minister doing to make that happen, and to convince my SNP colleagues sat in front of me of the best way forward?

[Ian Murray]

The best way to keep the United Kingdom together is to make sure that this is a successful UK Labour Government, and that is what we are determined to do. May I point the hon. Gentleman to the row in front of him? There are nine SNP MPs left, and we have 37 Scottish Labour MPs. That is how we protect the Union.

Points of Order

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 14th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Further to those points of order, Mr Speaker. Alex Salmond was a great friend at university and also in this House. Despite political differences, I speak from personal experience when I say that he was a man capable of very great kindness. I shall certainly miss him, and Moira certainly has my condolences.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Further to those points of order, Mr Speaker. On behalf of the Democratic Unionist party, I would like to join right hon. and hon. Members in expressing our sincere condolences on the death of Alex Salmond. I would like to begin by assuring Alex’s family, his wife Moira and all those who loved him that our thoughts and prayers are with them all at this time, after the sudden shock of losing Alex. We are all the poorer for his passing.

Over the years, I did a number of interviews with him in the job that he had for a certain station. Interviews with him were always enjoyable. He always had a chat beforehand about the questions he was going to ask, so that I was able to prepare the answers. He always did it with humour and it was always a delight.

I sat behind him on these Benches during the time that he and I were in this place at the same time. I had seen him only on TV and was not quite sure what sort of a person he was, so it was a pleasure to get to know him—he was most disarming. He was a colossus of nationalism, but he always asked me about the colossus of Unionism, Dr Ian Paisley—they were diametrically opposed in their politics, but in many ways they were similar. Alex’s questions were always about those he had served with and those he had the pleasure to be with. That made him much more human, perhaps, and brought the person to life more than the TV did.

As has been said, Alex was a man of great passion and a wonderful speaker. We were diametrically opposed in terms of our Unionist and nationalist views, but Alex’s passion was the stuff of Scottish folklore, and reminiscent of the rich culture of Scots in the past who gave their all for their ideal. This was a quality that I could admire, although I could never agree—but that was OK, because Alex was enough of a politician to give respect to my firmly held views on Unionism.

Alex was a man of sincere beliefs and a consummate politician, and he was also a man of great pride: he was proud of his culture, proud of his roots, and proud of what he believed Scotland had the potential to be. Today in the House, with his passing, we recognise and respect the memory of a proud, passionate politician who opposed, who led, and who inspired us all in turn.

[Torcuil Crichton (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)]

Further to those points of order, Mr Speaker. May I pass on my condolences to Alex Salmond’s family, friends and former colleagues, and may I also do so on behalf of many of my constituents who would have known him and supported his cause?

As a journalist, I landed very few blows—very few journalists landed any blows—on Alex Salmond. As the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) mentioned, there was one quarrel about fishing in 1992, which was forgiven eventually in, I think, 2006, by which time Alex Salmond had transformed himself and his movement; he had stopped being thrown out of his party and thrown out of this place, and had replaced that complaint with a message of optimism, hope and self-confidence, often based on his own hope, self-confidence and optimism, and nothing more. But that great communication skill, and that ability to forgive, if not forget, and to have political opponents but not political enemies, was one of his great legacies to his party, to all of us in this Chamber and to Scotland.

Petitions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 30th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North) (Con)]

I present this petition on the popular uprising in Iran on behalf of residents of Southampton North who wish to protest against the violent repression of women and young people in Iran by the Iranian regime. More than 500 of my constituents have also signed an associated petition. These petitions note that the atrocities committed have been categorised as crimes against humanity by the UN special rapporteur. The petitioners

“therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to condemn the Iranian Government’s violent crackdown on protests led by women and youth, support democratic movements in Iran and put pressure on the Iranian regime to stop the repression.

Following is the full text of the petition:

[The petition of residents of the United Kingdom,

Declares that in response to protests and anti-regime uprisings led by women and youth throughout Iran, Iranian repressive forces have opened fire on protestors; notes that more than 750 protestors have been killed including 83 women and 75 children, as well as more than 30,000 protestors arrested; further notes that Amnesty International has reported that child detainees have been subjected to horrific torture, including beatings, flogging, electric shocks, rape and other sexual violence; further declares that the regime’s deliberate poisoning of schoolgirls across Iran is to take revenge on young girls for participating in demonstrations, with the number of executions increased to over 400 this year; further notes that the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran has categorised the atrocities during the uprising as Crimes Against Humanity; and further declares opposition to the killings and arrests of protestors, and support for the Iranian people’s uprising to achieve democracy and freedom.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to condemn the Iranian Government’s violent crackdown on protests led by women and youth, support democratic movements in Iran and put pressure on the Iranian regime to stop the repression.

And the petitioners remain, etc.]

[P002969]

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I rise to present a petition on behalf of my constituents regarding the recommendations of the infected blood inquiry. I pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Dame Diana Johnson). She has done tremendous work and she has been a motivation for us all, and I thank her for that. There are 100 people that I know of in Northern Ireland awaiting compensation, and with each month that passes, so too does their health fail. The act itself was regrettable, and the continued paralysis in implementing the compensation scheme is reprehensible and must be rectified as a priority for this House.

The petition states:

The petition of residents of the constituency of Strangford,

Declares that people who received infected blood and who have suffered as a consequence have, along with their families, waited far too long for redress.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to implement the recommendations in the Second Interim Report of the Infected Blood Inquiry without delay.

And the petitioners remain, etc.

[P002960]

[Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)]

I rise to present the petition of my constituents in Worcester. My petitioners include a constituent who lost her mother to this scandal; a dear friend of mine, who is a long-standing councillor and former chairman of my association, who lost his beloved wife and the mother of his children; and a constituent who was infected as a child with HIV and hepatitis, but went on to found the Tainted Blood campaign.

The petition states:

The petition of residents of the constituency of Worcester,

Declares that people who received infected blood and who have suffered as a consequence have, along with their families, waited far too long for redress.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to implement the recommendations in the Second Interim Report of the Infected Blood Inquiry without delay.

And the petitioners remain, etc.

[P002967]

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 6th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

I think I heard “smoked salmon”, but this is not just about smoked salmon. The most recent figures show that Scotland’s world-leading food and drink sector accounted for 29% of all UK food and drink exports. To help the sector to continue to flourish, the Government have secured trade agreements with 71 non-EU countries and the EU. Total UK trade with those partners is worth £808 billion.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister for that answer. Scotland’s food export—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Mr Cunningham, sit down!

[Jim Shannon]

Some of Scotland’s food export companies have been prevented from trading with Northern Ireland. The InterTrade UK body has been set up as a result of discussions that have taken place. What are the Minister and his Department doing to ensure that the companies that have stopped trading with Northern Ireland are encouraged to start doing so again?

[Mr Jack]

In the UK Command Paper, we said that we are setting up the East-West Council, which will work to bring about the solutions.