Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Shanks and Lindsay Hoyle

Wednesday 1st May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Michael Shanks (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab)]

I wish Humza Yousaf well for the future, but after his year in office, nobody in Scotland is better off, and that is coupled with our having a Prime Minister who is clinging on to power. Child poverty is up. Life expectancy is falling. NHS waiting lists are up. Drug deaths are up. Homelessness is up. Economic growth has flatlined. Is it not the inescapable truth that Scots have been failed by two Governments for far too long? Does the Minister agree that what Scotland needs now is to be rid of both these distracted, incompetent and hopelessly out-of-touch Governments?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Shanks and Lindsay Hoyle

Wednesday 6th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Michael Shanks (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab)]

While the SNP and the Tories argue about the financial settlement between the two Governments, they do agree on two things: first, that working people should pay the price of this economic mess, by raising tax to sky-high levels; and secondly, at least until today, that oil and gas giants earning record profits should not face a proper windfall tax, although it now seems as if the SNP might be the only people holding out on that position. Who does the Secretary of State support—the Scottish Tory leader who is standing up in Holyrood today attacking an extension of the windfall tax, or the Chancellor who we understand is about to announce exactly that?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Shanks and Lindsay Hoyle

Wednesday 29th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I now come to the Shadow Minister and welcome him to his position.

[Michael Shanks (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is a pleasure to be here, although I have to say that there was not particularly stiff competition for the role from Scotland.

Inflation might be slowly coming down, but food inflation in Scotland still stands at more than 10%, forcing families to choose between being able to eat or heat their home, or, given the increasing levels of destitution, neither. Thousands of people in Scotland are turning to food banks not as a one-off last resort but as a means of getting by week after week. It is clear that both our Governments should be working together much better to tackle this, so what specific steps will the Minister take to work with the Scottish Government and the food industry to ensure that food prices do not continue to rise at unaffordable rates? Does he really believe that the autumn statement will give families any confidence that the Government understand how difficult it is for people in Scotland right now?