Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ross Thomson and John Bercow

Wednesday 4th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I appeal to the House to calm down. There are a very large number of noisy private conversations taking place, which, at the very least, is rather discourteous to and disrespectful of the people of Wales.

[Ross Thomson (Aberdeen South) (Con)]

9. What steps the Government are taking to strengthen the Union.

Business of the House

Debate between Ross Thomson and John Bercow

Thursday 18th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Unless I am misinformed, I think that was the hon. Lady’s first intervention in the Chamber. I congratulate her on it and express the hope that we will hear a lot more from her in the days, weeks and months to come.

[Ross Thomson (Aberdeen South) (Con)]

On Tuesday, we learned that drug-related deaths in Scotland have reached their highest level on record—three times higher than the rest of the UK and the highest in the developed world. After 10 years in government, that is a shameful stain on the SNP’s record. This needless loss of life is a national emergency, so will the Leader of the House agree to hold an urgent debate in Government time?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ross Thomson and John Bercow

Wednesday 4th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I will take Questions 7 and 9, but there will be no time for supplementaries.

[Ross Thomson (Aberdeen South) (Con)]

7. What steps she is taking to support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Points of Order

Debate between Ross Thomson and John Bercow

Tuesday 26th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am very grateful to the hon. Lady for her point of order. The short answer is that I have received no indication of any plan on the part of a Minister to deliver an oral statement to the House on the subject. However, she has flagged up her very real concern and dissatisfaction, which will have been heard on the Treasury Bench. There are many days to go between now and the summer recess and it is a matter to which, I suspect, she will wish to return, quite conceivably, on the Floor of the House.

[Ross Thomson (Aberdeen South) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your guidance on a matter of procedure. Is there any provision in the Standing Orders of this House that defines the notion or action of flip-flopping? If not, could “Erskine May” be updated to include this, because it happens increasingly frequently in this House? Yesterday, within 24 hours, the Scottish National party orchestrated the most spectacular political flip-flop, as it backed Heathrow expansion but then abstained when it came to the vote. I would be very grateful if you could look into this issue to see whether we can define flip-flopping in the Standing Orders.

[Mr Speaker]

No looking into the matter by the Chair is required. I will not say that the visage of the hon. Gentleman displays a puckish grin. Rather, I would say that he is finding it difficult to contain his own excitement and hilarity at the point that he has just made. The notion of flip-flopping, as the hon. Gentleman describes it, has never found its way into the Standing Orders of the House, and I would not advise him to bet a large sum of money on the likelihood of it doing so. He has made his own point with his customary alacrity and he looks well pleased with his efforts.

NATO

Debate between Ross Thomson and John Bercow

Wednesday 20th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Ross Thomson (Aberdeen South) (Con)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Because the hon. Lady was on the list, I will call Carol Monaghan next, but I hope the hon. Gentleman will be accommodated.

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Debate between Ross Thomson and John Bercow

Report stage: First Day: House of Commons
Tuesday 16th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dr Whitford]

Did the hon. Gentleman watch the programme? The entire session was about Brexit. Andrew Marr asked the First Minister about independence—she was asked by someone else. You have just spent about five minutes talking about it, but suddenly it is the SNP banging on about it.

[Mr Speaker]

I have done no such thing. I have been a very good boy!

[Ross Thomson]

I was not talking about the questions asked but about the answer given. That is the broken record. The First Minister has always had the opportunity to accept the result of 2014. She never has and she never will. That is why independence transcends everything else for the SNP. It does not speak in the national interest, but only ever in the nationalist interest.

To conclude, powers will come back from Europe and will be exercised directly in Scotland by the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government Ministers. I know that the Scottish Government do not have a great track record when it comes to managing things in Scotland, so I understand their trepidation about any other powers going to the First Minister. That is no doubt why they want to keep all those powers in Brussels.

At least those of us on the Government side actually want devolution—not the kind of crazy centralisation that we have seen from the SNP. That is the hallmark of its Government and of the party here. That is why on this side we will stand up for Scotland and deliver for Scotland.

Jobcentre Plus: Closures

Debate between Ross Thomson and John Bercow

Thursday 6th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We are always grateful to you, Mr Docherty-Hughes, for your observations from a sedentary position. No doubt we will be hearing more of them in due course.

[Ross Thomson (Aberdeen South) (Con)]

In Aberdeen, Greyfriars House will close and staff will move to the front-facing jobcentre at Ebury House. Can the Secretary of State reassure my constituents that the level and quality of service and support they receive will not diminish following the decision, and what improvements can they expect to see in the level of service?