Backing Business to Create Economic Growth

Kirsteen Sullivan Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2026 Commons Chamber

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

I have chosen to speak in this debate on backing British business because when it comes to resilience and innovation, my constituency punches above its weight. Like many in the post-industrial heartlands, my constituency has changed over the years, with the loss of industry. The coal pits, Motorola, Plessey and British Leyland are all long gone, leaving deep scars of inequality in our communities. Yet in Bathgate and Linlithgow we have a skilled workforce strategically located at the heart of Scotland, and the area continues to embrace innovation and new industries.

After years of under-investment in national infrastructure and capabilities, we are now entering a new era of industrialisation fuelled by the Government’s ambition. Indeed, the House will vote on nationalising British Steel after the Labour Government stepped in, saving our steel industry and the future of nearly 2,000 workers. Vocational work and apprenticeships are at the heart of the Government’s mission for young people, closing the skills gap and securing the future of our infrastructure, research and innovation.

Our appetite for risk and advancement must also hold space for learning, and recognise that success is not built overnight. In my constituency, Linlithgow hosts Origin Peptides, an innovator that produces peptides without the nasty forever chemicals, supported by a £7.7 million Innovate UK sustainable medicines manufacturing grant to scale the safer, cheaper production of peptides.

We are in an era when global conflicts have inflated energy, fuel and food costs. The energy independence Bill is vital for our future, and I look forward to scrutinising it. In Bathgate, Invinity produces the UK’s only grid-ready non-lithium batteries. These long-duration, transportable batteries are ready to store renewable power for thousands of homes across Britain. Last week, the batteries were installed at Europe’s largest site of its kind, capable of powering 3,000 homes. They will harness the power of the sun through solar technology and help to deliver the UK’s energy security. How was this achieved? Through the National Wealth Fund, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and private industry working in lockstep, scaling manufacturing and exporting to the world. That matters to business, workers and households in Bathgate and Linlithgow, as well as to new manufacturing across the central belt of Scotland—and, indeed, for our critical energy independence.

Backing British business is a choice to invest in our people, close the skills gap, and use £400 billion of public procurement to champion British firms. The measures set out in the King’s Speech are about not just telling a different story but delivering the future that we want to see in our cities, towns, villages and high streets. Many local high street businesses have struggled to recapture the audience that was forced online during the pandemic.

One stubborn issue we have heard about time and again is late payments. Late payments, weak excuses and silent clients create cash-flow problems for sole traders and small businesses alike. The late payments Bill, long sought by the Federation of Small Businesses, is a game changer, and just one step taken to back our high streets, plumbers, builders, gardeners and retailers.

We must recognise the success of our Prime Minister and Chancellor, who have steadied business confidence—reflected in the IMF’s upgraded forecast today—and who are standing side by side with our allies during global uncertainty, rallying partners around the world. It would also be remiss not to give credit to His Majesty the King, a true statesman who returned home from America having demonstrated British values at their best: care for the world around us and dedication to democratic allies. Most deservedly, His Majesty can enjoy a tariff-free dram.

Backing British business means the UK being a proud and ambitious hub for global trade. The Labour Government have delivered trade deals with India and America, creating new markets for our industries, but we must also speak about Europe with the same sense of ambition, and I very much welcome the steps that have been taken thus far, especially our return to Erasmus+. Our future economic and defence security relies on our collective strength with our European neighbours, so I look forward to considering the European partnership Bill.

From advanced manufacturing in Bathgate to life sciences in Linlithgow, we can see what is possible when the Government and industry move forward together with purpose. The King’s Speech spells out the ambition to rebuild our industrial strength, secure our energy future, and ensure that opportunity and investment are felt in every community across these isles—words with action and deeds with purpose to deliver the security, prosperity and equity that our constituents deserve.

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[Kirsteen Sullivan]

We have just heard mention of the very ambitious Government plan for investment in national infrastructure. Does my hon. Friend agree that we must consider the safety of workers in our procurement contracts and include inclusive personal protective equipment in any specification for public sector procurement going forward?

[Lillian Jones]

I agree. Health and safety should be written into public procurement contracts as standard.

Finally, economic growth is about not only national strategy but the small businesses and entrepreneurs driving our local economies at home in our communities. On the day of State Opening, I was delighted to welcome to Westminster my constituent Elaine Borland, founder of Kilmarnock-based Blowin’ Free Gin, whose premium small-batch Agronomist gin is the very best of local produce and innovation—it is available to try now in the Strangers Bar. Businesses such as hers are exactly what we should be championing, and I welcome the Government’s commitment to supporting them through exports and by promoting British excellence.

I welcome the direction set out in the King’s Speech, but I urge the Government to go further and faster: recognise strategic industries, back British supply chains, use procurement to strengthen domestic manufacturing and ensure that growth reaches every nation and region in our country. When we back British industry, support local enterprise and invest in resilient supply chains we do more than grow the economy; we create skilled jobs, strengthen the communities we serve and build a more secure future, giving hope to our great nation.