Luke Graham
Main Page: Luke Graham (Conservative - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Luke Graham (Ochil and South Perthshire) (Con)
On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance on the rules about hon. Members using another hon. Member’s place of birth as a line of attack in this Chamber. Earlier today, I intervened in the debate on the Fisheries Bill. When I sat down, the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Dr Whitford) said from a sedentary position that I should go back and be an MP for Swindon. Now, I am all for robust debate, and I am proud of where I was born, but I understood that the reason we refer to each other by the names of our constituencies is that we are here to represent our constituents, not ourselves, and that therefore where we were born does not matter. I first fought for my seat in 2015 and have represented it since 2017, and I have fought for my constituents every single day. I ask for clarification, for all Members of the House, that whether they were born in Scotland and now represent a seat in England, or whether they were born in Northern Ireland or Australia and now represent a seat in Scotland, it does not matter, because what counts is where we want to be and what we do in this House—
Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. To be quite honest, that is not a point of order for me. What I will say, however, is that you have quite rightly clarified that if Members were allowed to represent only the constituency in which they were born, that would not be possible. Your opinion has been expressed and I think that we will leave it there.