Business of the House

Katrina Murray Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

As my hon. Friend will recall, I have met her and other right hon. and hon. Members to discuss this idea. It is an interesting proposal, and I encourage her to put it to the Modernisation Committee as part of our “pitch your ideas” session. As the deputy shadow Leader of the House, the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont), can confirm, our first “pitch your ideas” session—which we had earlier this week—was a resounding success, so I encourage my hon. Friend to consider that as a way forward.

[Katrina Murray (Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch) (Lab)]

This year, 16 September marks the 89th anniversary of the Eastside bothy fire in Kirkintilloch, in which 10 young men from Achill in County Mayo lost their lives in what is widely considered to have been a deliberate fire in their accommodation. Like many thousands of Irish migrants before them, those young men came to Kirkintilloch to work as tattie howkers on the potato harvest. Will the Leader of the House join me in paying tribute to the committed local volunteers who have done so much to ensure that those young men are not forgotten, whether in Kirkintilloch or in Achill, and are doing what they can to have a permanent memorial in place in time for the 90th anniversary next year?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the volunteers in her constituency who ensure that we remember the Eastside bothy fire—it is important that we continue to do so. I am pleased to hear that funding is being raised for a permanent memorial, and I hope that work with East Dunbartonshire council can progress swiftly so that it is built in time for the 90th anniversary.