Glasgow School of Art: Mackintosh Building

Debate between Richard Baker and Torcuil Crichton

Monday 19th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Torcuil Crichton]

I completely agree with my right hon. Friend about the style and form of the Mack. It was a beautiful building, and we do miss it. I do not mean that in a sentimental sense, because it was not just a building of bricks and mortar; it was, as she said, more than the sum of its parts. Since its construction at the turn of the 20th century, the Mack has become a symbol of Glasgow’s flair. It has been an incubator for Scotland’s creative spirit, and it has been a building of significance, as Members have said, not just for the city, but for Scotland and the country. It is a story that runs through the Scottish nation, and through the lives of so many famous artists, writers and performers who have been inspired by their time there, and others, like me, who were simply spellbound by its beauty.

If the Minister is looking for evidence of how the Mack runs through our lives, she will recall that tonight at Dover House, as she made her speech for the Poppyscotland appeal, which we all support, she was heralded by a painting by Adrian Wiszniewski on one side and one by Ken Currie on the other—the new Glasgow boys; the most recent wave of artists to come out of the art school.

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

My hon. Friend is being generous with his time. He mentions the new Glasgow boys. Among the other notable graduates of Glasgow School of Art is the late David Harding, the first town artist for Glenrothes. Is that not an example of the significance of the school right across Scotland and internationally, as others have said? That is why its reconstruction should be a priority for all levels of Government who have the interests of Glasgow School of Art at heart.

[Torcuil Crichton]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The school’s influence runs everywhere, and not just in Dover House. In the Lobby tonight, the hon. Member for Foyle (Colum Eastwood), who is not in his place, mentioned how his brother had been to Glasgow School of Art. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has spent so much time at the Dispatch Box today, but his mother was at Glasgow School of Art, as were so many friends of mine. I was only ever a graduate of the art school dance; I never actually went to art school, but many friends, colleagues and constituents did.

We shape our buildings and then they shape us. That was the phrase of another Prime Minister, which should be embossed on the walls of this Chamber, because, as we know, it was rebuilt from the ruins of world war two and functions now much as it did before that visit from the Luftwaffe in 1941. Buildings do more than occupy space; they define who we are. Few understood that more profoundly than Charles Rennie Mackintosh, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) pointed out. His design for the building created an environment in which art, everyday practicality, and beauty and simplicity of design came together as one.

Shipyards: Economic Growth

Debate between Richard Baker and Torcuil Crichton

Tuesday 18th March 2025 Westminster Hall

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

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the role of shipyards in economic growth.

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I thank all hon. Members for attending the debate, because shipyards and shipbuilding are iconic symbols of the industrial heritage of the United Kingdom. From the Belfast poetry of Carnduff and the folk songs of England, from the north-east to the south-west, to the words of Donald Dewar at the opening session of the re-established Scottish Parliament, evoking:

“The shout of the welder in the din of the great Clyde shipyards”,

they are part of the economic and social history of these islands.

Our shipyards and the industry and creativity of their skilled workers have been sources of pride for local communities that have too often felt a keen sense of loss whenever a shipyard closed, as many did in the course of the previous century. When I was elected in July, the threat of closure for the Methil yard in my constituency was very real. After three centuries of the yard being the beating heart of the local economy, it was clear within days of this Government taking office that Harland and Wolff, seen as the saviour of the yard after the collapse of previous owners BiFab in 2021, was itself in dire financial difficulties.

That was a hugely anxious time, not only for Methil but for other Harland and Wolff yards in Belfast, Appledore and Arnish, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton), with whom I shared many challenging meetings on the prospects for the yards. Those were times of stress and worry for the future for all workers at each of the four yards. It was essential that, where the previous Government had not acted, this Minister and her colleagues took decisive action to save the yards. Many of us were relentless in making the case for the four yards, because not only their facilities but the skills and commitment of their workforces are essential for our mission for economic growth.

I want to pay tribute to the workers at the yards and their unions, Unite and GMB, who fought for their future. In particular, I thank the union representatives at Methil yard, Dougie Somerville of Unite and George McClelland of GMB, who worked alongside the yard’s manager Matt Smith to make the case for the yard to be saved. George started working at Methil in 1973, which is even before I was born. His commitment to the yard has been amazing, and it has paid off.

I recognise it was no easy process to secure a deal for Navantia UK to take on all four yards. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade, the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister for Industry had to go to great lengths to secure a deal. For the Scottish yards, an important advocacy role was played by the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar. I was also pleased that there was positive dialogue between UK and Scottish Ministers on the future of the Scottish yards. I hope that spirit of collaboration continues, working together to promote the facilities at the yards.

It was deeply dispiriting to see yesterday’s announcement that the £175 million contract for seven loch-class vessels to serve our island communities had not been awarded to a Scottish yard but has gone abroad. That is highly disappointing for the shipbuilding industry in Scotland. It is a great concern for Ferguson Marine in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West (Martin McCluskey). SNP Ministers simply have to show more ambition for Scotland’s shipyards.

[Torcuil Crichton (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine, and I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for raising this subject and particularly for referring to the workforce at Ferguson Marine, who have lost out on that small vessel replacement programme, sending 170 jobs down the Swanee. Those workers were political pawns in a nationalist game, which I guess came to its peak when the First Minister launched a ship with painted-on portholes.

All is not lost because it was only phase one of the small vessel replacement programme that went to Poland this week. There is a phase two, which would provide vessels for my constituency: two ferries for the Western Isles and one for Iona. Surely the answer that the Scottish Government should seek to find is that phase two be rolled into phase one and that a direct award be made to Ferguson’s shipyard on the Clyde, which has experience of building those small vessels. We can save jobs, we can deliver the ferries and we can serve the people of the Western Isles by making a direct award.

[Richard Baker]

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend who, as always, is a doughty campaigner for his constituents. He has also put forward very practical proposals that offer a real way forward to ensure that those vessels are built by Scottish shipyards. We should all be working together to fight for the future of Scotland’s shipyards, so it is a matter of regret, particularly after the announcement yesterday, that we have no Members from the Scottish National party in Westminster Hall for this debate.

The sad news yesterday was in stark contrast to the day of excitement and celebration when the Minister for Industry, who is here today, visited Methil to mark the formal handover of the yard to Navantia UK. Let us hope that in the future we will have joint working and effective collaboration between UK Ministers and Scottish Ministers, and that Scottish Ministers show some ambition for future investment in and contracts for shipyards in Scotland.

Let us be clear that saving the yards is not an act of charity to their workers or the communities they support. The reason it is so important to save these yards is that they have an essential strategic role in promoting economic growth in this country. In 2024, the economic output of our shipyards was £2.7 billion. Between 2019 and 2024, the economic output of the sector increased by 72%, at a time when the overall value of the manufacturing sector declined by 2.4%.

Today, there is so much potential for our shipyards to play an even greater role in growing our economy. The national shipbuilding strategy had already set out plans to deliver a pipeline of more than 150 new naval and civil vessels for the UK Government and the devolved Administrations over the next 30 years. Ports are now one of the five key sectors earmarked for £5.8 billion of investment through the National Wealth Fund. Those plans for investment are all the more important today, as the budget for defence spending increases to enable the UK to fulfil our responsibilities to Ukraine and in other arenas.