(1 week ago)
Commons ChamberMy hon. Friend is right. Potholes are a real nuisance; if somebody is using their car or van for work and they hit a pothole, they are looking at a bill of several hundred pounds, which for many working families is unbudgeted for. That is why we are handing the West Midlands combined authority an additional £8.6 million to help repair its roads, as part of a record £1.6 billion invested across the country. On top of that, every council must now publish how many potholes it has filled so that we can show that we are making progress and delivering—something that did not happen under the last Government.
This is a really important issue, and Labour in Scotland has been clear that it would separate that role. That is the right thing to do, for the reasons that have just been articulated; it is the obvious thing to do, and obviously it is what we do in England and Wales. There have been calls for a review of this issue since 2021, but the SNP has not acted fast on those calls. It really does need to bring forward proposals now to deal with this problem, which has been sitting there for a very long time.
(2 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberMy hon. Friend is right that further education plays a critical role in giving young people the skills and confidence that they need, and the training that we need for the future. We are investing £400 million in education for 16 to 19-year-olds this year, and our levy-funded growth and skills offer will create jobs in key industries. I can assure her that the funding will deliver enough places for young people.
Large spending announcements for defence would make people think that Britain is marching to war, but the Ministry of Defence is bimbling along with procurement systems that are better designed for peacetime. Will the Prime Minister use his good offices to bring British industry into this fight, and quickly?
Yes, but the Opposition did leave a bit of a mess that we are clearing up, having hollowed out our armed forces and having not made the investment that we needed in our defence. We have announced the largest sustained increase since the cold war to 2.5% by 2027 and 3% in the next Parliament, subject to economic circumstances. We are getting on with the job and clearing up the mess that they left.
(4 weeks, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberWe will continue our discussions with our European allies. They have meetings this week, and further follow-on meetings are planned coming out of yesterday. As the hon. Gentleman will understand, between those meetings, we are in constant touch with each other about how we take forward the plans we are working on.
“Scottish soldiers could be in Ukraine by end of the year”, was the headline in The Herald newspaper this morning, based on quotes from First Minister John Swinney in answer to questions from the BBC. Notwithstanding that the British armed forces have many fine and gallant young Scots serving with them, can the Prime Minister confirm that the decision on—indeed, the burden of— deploying British troops anywhere sits with him and with this House, and not with a divisive First Minister and the head of a devolved Administration.
Yes, and a good thing too, because the First Minister confirmed his view that we should weaken our defences by getting rid of the nuclear deterrent. What a good thing it is that the security, safety and defence of the whole United Kingdom rests with this Government here.
(1 month, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberThe industrial strategy and steel within it are vitally important, as my hon. Friend and the House will know. Steel and our ability to manufacture it are vital to our security, and we must do everything to ensure that is preserved into the future.
Scotland wants to play its full part in this great national endeavour at this moment of peril, yet, almost incredibly, tomorrow the Scottish Parliament will discuss stripping defence companies of state funding. It is remarkable. The measure may not pass, of course, and I certainly hope it does not. Will the defence industrial strategy take into account what is happening in Scotland, where certain elements seem to be siding with other national interests, so that we can protect our defence industry and this great country?
Across the country, it is important that we stand by our defence sector and enhance our defence sector. We should thank those who work in it for what they are doing. Today’s announcement will mean that there is more yet to do.
(4 months, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberYes. This alliance will push forward the UK’s drive, and that of other countries, towards renewables. That will have an impact on the constituents of everybody in this House, because it will give energy independence, lower bills and, of course, the next generation of jobs, which will go elsewhere if we do not win these contracts.
In government, my party championed North sea oil and gas, securing 200,000 jobs, not just in Scotland but right across this country, in every constituency—including mine, rural Dumfries and Galloway. The Prime Minister talks about us having Putin’s boot on our throat, but surely pulling the plug on the North sea oil and gas industry, as he is doing, delivers us into the hands of Putin and makes our energy security less viable.
As the hon. Gentleman knows very well, North sea oil and gas is sold on the international market and therefore is subject to constraints. The proof is there; over the last few years, we have had terribly high energy bills—it was worse in this country than in others. The suggestion that somehow the last Government insulated us from the impact felt by other countries is ludicrous against the evidence.