St Andrew’s Day and Scottish Affairs

Richard Baker Excerpts

Thursday 11th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Richard Baker (Glenrothes and Mid Fife) (Lab)]

I warmly congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie)—how appropriate that he should lead this debate given the history of Dunfermline not only as historical capital of Scotland, but as our capital in the great Kingdom of Fife. What a time to be a Scot with our team qualifying for the world cup finals! I am sure that the tartan army will once again be a great advert for Scotland, our hospitality and our conviviality.

As we celebrate our patron saint, let us recognise the vital role our faith community organisations play in our communities. Only last weekend, I visited St Luke’s Scottish Episcopal church in Glenrothes, where Father Gerry Dillon has established Luke’s Larder, providing a community pantry and activities to support wellbeing. This Christmas, St Luke’s and the Heart of Fife Church of Scotland will provide a Christmas lunch for people in the local community—another example of the importance of our local faith organisations.

Our patron saint’s national day is a time to celebrate Scottish civil society—not only our faith organisations, but our charities, from Fife Gingerbread, supporting lone parents and families, including through employability programmes, to Kingdom Offroad, tackling antisocial behaviour through providing safe organised off-road motorcycling activities. These charities thrive through their commitment, expertise and innovation, attributes for which Scotland has been known over the centuries.

Those attributes are also very much present in the H100 Fife scheme in Buckhaven in my constituency—a world-first demonstration project to bring 100% green hydrogen to domestic customers for the first time. That is pioneering innovation. In academia, in the third sector and in business, Glenrothes and Mid Fife is continuing the proud Scottish tradition of innovation, and releasing the potential of Scotland’s people through their skills and expertise.

We have to be more ambitious still for our country. I regret to say that we particularly need greater purpose, direction and ambition from a Scottish Government who are clearly failing to provide the leadership our country needs and, after two decades in power with far too little to show for it, are exhausted and out of ideas. That is why we need fresh leadership and a new direction with Anas Sarwar as Scotland’s next First Minister.

Perhaps I can finish on a point on which I hope we can achieve consensus. That is to recognise that in recent years St Andrew’s day has become an important day to mark the work that goes on in Scotland to tackle racism and xenophobia, not least through the work of the Scottish TUC. In a world that seems increasingly intolerant and where international tensions are heightened, that work and promotion of tolerance, understanding and compassion could not be more important and could not be more in keeping with the spirit of St Andrew. Scotland shares St Andrew as our patron saint with countries throughout the world, so as we move on from St Andrew’s day and look towards Burns night, when we remember our national bard who wrote so powerfully of our common humanity, we must note that a truly Scottish celebration does not dwell on what divides the peoples of our world, but what unites us all.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

That brings us to the Front-Bench contributions.