Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower

Kirsteen Sullivan Excerpts

Friday 26th July 2024 Commons Chamber

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

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and may I congratulate you on your elevation to the Chair?

I am grateful for this opportunity to make my maiden speech, especially during this debate, given that Scotland is at the heart of the Government’s plans to make the UK a green energy superpower. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett), who gave such a fantastic tribute to her constituency, and indeed all other hon. Members who have spoken with such passion and eloquence during their maiden speeches, particularly my hon. Friends the Members for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed) and for Central Ayrshire (Alan Gemmell), as well as my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton)—I am glad that he is no longer in the Chamber to hear my mispronunciation.

I extend my gratitude to all parliamentary staff and those involved in the induction processes. Their limitless patience and understanding, and the wealth of information that they provided, have made a daunting process much easier to navigate, and they have done it all with welcoming smiles on their faces, so I thank them.

As many mentioned yesterday, this is no ordinary job, and there are no 9 to 5 hours. It would be impossible to do this without the love and support of our families, friends and campaign teams. To my husband and our three children, our parents and friends, including those in our Labour family, I say, “Thank you for your patience, your encouragement and your steadfast faith in me.”

It is an incredible honour and privilege to serve as the first representative of the new constituency of Bathgate and Linlithgow. I must thank my predecessor, Martyn Day, for his service to the former constituency of Linlithgow and East Falkirk. He served as a Member of this place for nine years and, prior to that, as a councillor representing his hometown of Linlithgow for 16 years—a remarkable quarter century of public service, for which I thank him. I must also pay tribute to the former MP Michael Connarty, a friend and colleague who is always on hand with advice and support.

Campaign trails can be tough, with long hours, many miles walked, thousands of doors knocked and mountains of Haribo consumed—other brands are available. One of the greatest pleasures of my campaign was meeting so many people who shared personal and heartwarming accounts of the help they received from the former Father of the House, Tam Dalyell, or who simply knew him as “Tam.” The affection and respect in which he is held to this day is something to which I can only aspire, and I will endeavour to live up to his example of dedicated service to constituents. I cannot confirm or deny whether this will involve being awkward.

I am not a Bathgate bairn. I chose to make Bathgate my home almost 17 years ago, leaving behind Scotland’s greatest city, Glasgow, to lay down roots for my family, and I could not have made a better decision. With the beauty of the Bathgate hills on my doorstep, as well as the Beecraigs and Polkemmet country parks, the Kinneil local nature reserve and the shorelines at Bo’ness and Blackness, I am never far from stunning and tranquil countryside. We must seek to protect and preserve this natural beauty for future generations.

Key to this are our efforts to reach our net-zero targets and combat climate change, which is causing significant damage to our environment, but let us be clear that our natural environment also has a key role to play in achieving our goals, so it is in our interests to do all we can to protect it.

With the passion and commitment shown by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and his team, ably represented today by the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), and the ambitious plans that they have set out, including on support for community energy projects, which I welcome as a Co-operator, I am confident that we will leave a legacy for future generations to enjoy.

Our landscape also tells the story of our industrial and manufacturing heritage. From the shale bings across the constituency, and the former brickworks and foundries, to the former British Leyland site, Plessey Semiconductors —now Whiteside business park—and the Pyramids business park, which once housed Motorola, the people of the Bathgate and Linlithgow constituency have always embraced change and technological advances. The constituency has a highly skilled and flexible workforce, with opportunities attracting workers from across the central belt, including the Glasgow overspill, which is still referred to as such today, despite many living in the area for almost 50 years.

I recall my first visit to Aldo’s chippy in Bathgate, when the lady behind the counter, recognising my accent, asked if I wanted salt and vinegar rather than salt and sauce, which is a topic of heated debate between Glasgow and Edinburgh colleagues—of course, the correct answer is salt and vinegar.

However, the story of the constituency has not always been one of prosperity. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the miners’ strike and the subsequent closure of Polkemmet colliery after the pit pumps were switched off, flooding the galleries. The smouldering slag heap has been removed, and new houses have been built as part of one of the biggest regeneration projects in Europe, but the town of Whitburn and the surrounding communities were devastated, with many families enduring severe hardship.

The mistakes of the past must not be repeated. Lessons must be learned about the impact of such loss on individuals, on families and on entire communities. That is why I support the fight to keep Grangemouth working and to keep the jobs on which many of my constituents rely, particularly in Bo’ness and Linlithgow. I thank my hon. Friends on the Front Bench for their proactive approach to working towards a sustainable future for the site; I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Alloa and Grangemouth (Brian Leishman), who has been steadfast and vocal in his support for the campaign.

While we honour our history and the traditions of the past, we look to the future with hope and ambition. We are situated at the heart of Scotland, with easy access across the central belt via the M8 and M9 and rail routes to our great cities and beyond—with the unfortunate exception of Winchburgh, which still awaits its train station. More people are choosing to live in the constituency, and more companies are choosing to locate there to do business, including in manufacturing, technology, communications, logistics, retail and hospitality.

Tourism also drives our local economy, particularly in the royal burgh of Linlithgow. With the royal palace set aside the loch and the peel, St Michael’s church and its newly refurbished crown of thorns, the Union canal, the historic canal basin it passes through, and other treasures, there are plenty of reasons to linger longer in Linlithgow. In Bo’ness, we have the steam railways museum, the motor museum, the restored Hippodrome theatre and numerous places of interest.

We are also seeing a growth in tourism as a result of the increase in TV and film production in the area. The Blackness Bay distillery, set in the picturesque village of Blackness, is one example: it is benefiting from the increase in visitors to the castle as a result of the success of “Outlander”. I can tell those who have not visited yet that they will receive the warmest of welcomes from Sheena and Colm at the distillery. I also want to mention the major historic house attractions of Kinneil House, Hopetoun House and House of the Binns, the ancestral home of the Dalyell family, as places to visit.

As a Labour and Co-operative Member, I see the opportunities to expand the co-operative economy, putting power directly in the hands of local people for the benefit of local communities. I look forward to working with fellow co-operators to do just that.

Although jobs and opportunities are on our doorstep, too many people still face barriers to employment and many are not earning enough to get by. That creates huge demand on local food banks and other vital support services, including those offered by our local third sector organisations, which do a tremendous and invaluable job. Child poverty is a scandal that blights communities across the country and in my constituency, but it does not exist in a vacuum. Low pay, high rent, high mortgages, exorbitant energy bills and the rising cost of food all contribute to severe financial pressures on families. That is why I welcome the announcement of the child poverty taskforce, which will bring together voices inside Government and those of outside experts to take a holistic and targeted approach to tackling this scourge and ensuring that every child has a chance to achieve their goals, irrespective of their background.

With more people choosing to live in the Bathgate and Linlithgow constituency, we are seeing increased pressure on vital local services, which are significantly underfunded, as well as pressure on GP surgeries and on our local infrastructure. Both the Avon gorge junction and the Burghmuir junction are in serious need of upgrading. With under-investment in bus transport at a Scottish level, our more rural communities, such as Greenrigg, Newton, Philipstoun, Bridgend, Torphichen, Westfield, Blackridge, Seafield and even the town of Blackburn, are struggling to keep connected. It is crucial that investment in vital services and local infrastructure keeps pace with development, and that is something that I will champion in my constituency.

As a young girl growing up in the small village of Lennoxtown at the foot of the Campsie hills, never did I think that I would be standing here in the House of Commons as one of 263 female MPs, the highest ever number of women representatives. That did not just happen; we are here only because of the women who forged the way for us, such as the incomparable Harriet Harman, who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time at last year’s Edinburgh festival. It is empowering to see so many incredible Labour women take their rightful place on our Front Benches. Their example will let young girls today know that they can be here one day, too.

While the increase in women Members to 40% of this place is hugely welcomed, we still have much work to do to achieve 50:50 representation. As a councillor, I worked to remove barriers to participation, doing my bit to ensure that council chambers started to reflect the communities that we represent. I pledge to continue that work with hon. Members in and across this Chamber.

Finally, I think most people here would agree that our politics has been mired by division and scandal in recent years, and that has undermined public trust in politicians. We have a duty to restore that trust, which is key to our democracy. In Scotland, there has been far too much finger pointing, with representatives retreating to their respective trenches and endless constitutional debates that ultimately deliver nothing for the people of Scotland. I welcome the new approach of working with the devolved Governments, and the response from the Scottish Government on issues such as the tobacco and vapes Bill and, hopefully, a UK-wide deposit return scheme. This relationship reset will be further strengthened by the new council of nations and regions, which will facilitate a return to constructive engagement and co-operation in the interests of the people we are all here to serve.

For my part, I will work with hon. Members in this place and with elected representatives in all chambers to deliver for the people of Bathgate and Linlithgow. My constituents have bestowed their faith on me, and for that I thank them. It is a responsibility that I will carry every single day, and I pledge to be the champion and advocate they need and deserve.