Budget Resolutions

Tessa Munt Excerpts

Wednesday 30th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Pamela Nash (Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens (Dave Doogan), despite his failure to acknowledge that this is the biggest real-terms block grant that Scotland has ever seen from the UK Government, and his failure to apologise for the mess that his Government, the SNP Scottish Government, have made over the past 17 years for people across Scotland.

It was from the Opposition Benches in 2010, during the Budget debate, led by the Conservative Chancellor of the time, that I rose to make my maiden speech. It feels fitting to speak for the first time since my return to the House in today’s Budget debate, following our first Labour Budget for many years—and from the first female Chancellor, no less.

With your leave, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will touch on my return to the House and my new constituency before returning to the Budget. I am from a working class background, the daughter of a factory worker and a car salesman. I was raised to know that the odds were against us. I entered politics to work hard to even the playing field with my colleagues, giving people the homes, the education, the healthcare and the money in their pocket to ensure the best possible quality of life. But during my last period serving in this House as a Scottish MP, from 2010 to 2015, all politics was seen only through the prism of the constitutional debate, and progress in Scotland withered in its shadow. It means the world to me to return to Parliament now, when we are moving from a period of stagnation in Scotland and across the UK, and to get back to fighting to improve the lives of our constituents from every single background.

In my constituency of Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke, I am now the next-door neighbour to my previous constituency. It is an area I know and love exactly the same, and I am so excited about working with the people there in the months and years to come. With the three main towns of Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke, the smaller towns of Forth and Law, our lovely villages and beautiful rolling fields and views of Clyde valley, our constituency is a brilliant place to live and visit. Carluke is picturesque, with its sandstone town centre, and is known as a “town called courage”, in recognition of three sons of the town, William Angus, Thomas Caldwell and Donald Cameron, who were each awarded the Victoria Cross. More than 2,000 men and women with local connections have served our armed forces in the past 200 years. That is testament to the bravery and dedication of our community, both past and present.

Motherwell and Wishaw were at the heart of Scotland’s industrial landscape, with the towering Ravenscraig at its centre. Its closure in the early 1990s had repercussions that we still feel today. Now, the site is home to our state-of-the-art sports centres, the New College Lanarkshire campus, and thousands of people and homes built for the future. The rejuvenation and hope at Ravenscraig symbolises both the hardships that Lanarkshire has faced for decades, and our ambition and drive to achieve a better future. I will do everything I can, as the MP for Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke, to make that future a reality.

Until the election, our constituency was represented by Angela Crawley and Marion Fellows, and I pay tribute to them. Angela was a hard-working champion for her constituents, and became known in this House as a vocal advocate for LGBT rights, and especially for trans people at a time when it was most difficult to do so. I applaud her for that work. Marion proved to be a respectful and fair opponent in this summer’s election campaign. Her time here will be remembered for her work for the rights of people living with disability, and as a lead campaigner for justice for sub-postmasters long before it became a fashionable cause to champion. I wish her well in her retirement.

Before returning to the Budget, I cannot let this moment pass without paying tribute to my Labour predecessors in my constituency, whom I served alongside in this House between 2010 and 2015. Jimmy Hood and Frank Roy both had their politics forged in the Thatcher years. Jimmy was a leading member of the National Union of Mineworkers during the miners’ strike, and Frank was a steelworker at the forefront of the battle to save Ravenscraig. Jimmy served his constituents for 23 years, and we sadly lost him 2017. People here in Parliament and at home in Carluke often remember him fondly to me. I knew him to always be always smiling, fun and kind.

Frank Roy has been a trusted friend of mine since I started out in politics. In fact, Frank was the first person who asked me to stand for Parliament. That simple question helped to give me the confidence to express my ambition to do so. He was an incredible representative for Motherwell and Wishaw, and continues to serve the people of Lanarkshire now, leading the Lanarkshire Cancer Care Trust based in Wishaw. I am lucky to call him my friend.

I will turn my comments to the business of today’s debate. Today’s Budget represents a real commitment to protect working families and to reject the damaging austerity measures that have scarred our communities for far too long. We all remember—indeed, are still living with—the effects of austerity: cuts to vital services, job losses and increased hardship for our most vulnerable citizens. This Budget unequivocally signals that this Government are committed to moving away from that approach. We will not return to the failed economic model of the past 14 years, which prioritised cuts over care. Instead, we are focusing on investment and growth. The people of Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke have felt those consequences deeply, and it is our responsibility to ensure that we do not return to that path. The country voted for change, and this Budget is all about delivering the solutions we need for a brighter future. It was the irresponsible choices of the last Government that caused this mess, and it is the responsible choices of this Government that will get us out of it.

I cannot help but have a bit of personal excitement to see an old friend, my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds West and Pudsey (Rachel Reeves), deliver the Budget at the Dispatch Box, the first woman to do so. I have been asked several times recently, “When you were first elected together in 2010, did you ever think that she would end up Chancellor?” And the answer to that is yes—yes, I did. It should never have taken us this long to have a woman at No. 11, but I think we can all agree—at least on the Labour Benches—that it has been worth the wait.

Let us be clear that today’s Budget from a Labour Chancellor is good news for people across Scotland and across the UK, especially in my constituency of Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke. We on the Labour Benches campaigned loud and clear at the general election for change, and that is what has been delivered here today. The triple lock is confirmed for pensioners, meaning that pensions will go up by £900 this year and £470 next year, and they are projected to go up by another £1,700 during this Parliament.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Pamela Nash]

I will not give way just now.

There is a wage rise for 200,000 Scots, with the increase in the minimum wage and the steps taken to remove the discrimination against young people, who deserve the same wage for the same work; the largest increase ever for carer’s allowance; and an additional £3.4 billion for Scotland, bringing our block grant to a record level. It is now the responsibility of the SNP Scottish Government to put that money to good use.

Madam Deputy Speaker, you and I know that those of us in this House are a bit unusual. Political animals are not the norm. When I speak with my constituents, they do not care if it is Labour, Tory or SNP politicians who put more money in their pockets and fix public services—they just want it done. So we need no more vanity projects, and no more money wasted on research papers for an independence debate that people are sick of hearing about. This is real money that can alleviate real problems now. I do not want my constituents to have to wait until the Scottish elections in 2026 for an improvement in our schools and our hospitals. This money has to get to the frontline immediately, and the Scottish Government will be judged at the ballot box if it does not.

I will finish by saying that my welcome back here has been heartfelt and warm, from colleagues across the House to the Doorkeepers and staff across the estate who look after us in this place every day, but the one question I am asked over and over again is, “What has changed since the last time you were here?” The truth is that not much has changed. We still work very much the same way. There are, perhaps, a couple of changes for me. Last time I was here I was the baby of the House and now I am old enough to be the current holder of that title’s mum. But the one enormous change from the last time I was here is that I am in government with this Labour party—a Labour Government. There could be no bigger change, and we are just at the start of seeing the great waves of investment, progress and growth that this new Government will achieve.