Contributions
962 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDClosure of High Street Services: Rural AreasI hope Treasury Ministers take the hon. Gentleman’s intervention into consideration.05 Feb 2025HANSARDClosure of High Street Services: Rural AreasIndeed. The hon. Member makes a sound point. My wife hails from Northern Ireland, and I know that the problems there are very similar to those in Monmouth, the highlands of…05 Feb 2025HANSARDClosure of High Street Services: Rural AreasI agree with my hon. Friend, and I will touch on that matter later in my contribution. I want to go back to when I was a boy—some time ago, I might say. My hometown of Tain in the…05 Feb 2025HANSARDOff-grid Communities: Energy PricesEvery winter, Altnaharra in my constituency is the coldest place in the UK. I can think of lots of pensioners who are faced with the invidious decision of whether to switch off…04 Feb 2025HANSARDOff-grid Communities: Energy Prices15. What steps he is taking to support off-grid communities with energy prices.04 Feb 2025HANSARD National Insurance ContributionsI am very interested in what my hon. Friend is saying about the threat to jobs. At the other end of the country, the north of Scotland, we have the same issue. The loss of any…04 Feb 2025HANSARDStrengthening the UnionFurther to that answer, I see from recent press coverage that the SNP Government are once again banging on about another independence referendum, despite the Supreme Court’s…29 Jan 2025HANSARD Rural Housing TargetsOn a personal level, it is a particular pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. We go back a long way, do we not? I congratulate the right hon. Member for East…29 Jan 2025HANSARD Agricultural Property ReliefThe hon. Member will be aware that my wife’s family come from Northern Ireland. My understanding is that the price of land there is quite a lot higher per acre than in Scotland or…28 Jan 2025HANSARD Agricultural Property ReliefI sincerely hope that I am wrong in what I am about to suggest, but if the value of land were to drop as a result of these measures, and a farm had borrowed heavily and owed the…28 Jan 2025HANSARD Agricultural Property ReliefI find the notion of people buying and selling land purely for fiscal purposes abhorrent. I come from a farming family. My father was broke. He had to sell most of the land. There…28 Jan 2025HANSARD Creative Industries“The Traitors,” which attracted 7.4 million viewers on the BBC last Friday, was filmed at Ardross castle in my constituency.27 Jan 2025HANSARD Creative IndustriesWill the Minister give way?27 Jan 2025HANSARD Creative IndustriesI observe no Paddington stare. The point is well made about young people starting off and growing into the creative industries. The pantomimes and local amateur dramatics that I…27 Jan 2025HANSARDListed Places of Worship Grant SchemeI, too, want to refer to the land of Calvin, oatcakes, and sulphur—Scotland. In a village in my constituency where I used to live, there is a lovely old Church of Scotland church…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Women’s Changed State Pension Age: CompensationThe words “liberal bourgeoisie” made me think. I represent the mainland constituency that is furthest away from Westminster, and I will just point out that this issue affects…15 Jan 2025HANSARDEconomic GrowthAgriculture is really important to the economy of Northern Ireland. In Scotland, we breed excellent bulls, but it is very hard to sell them and get them into Northern Ireland…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Women’s Changed State Pension Age: Compensationrose —15 Jan 2025HANSARD Coastguard Helicopter ServicesWill my right hon. Friend give way?14 Jan 2025HANSARD Coastguard Helicopter ServicesI am sure that my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) will remember an incident in 1999 when a chemical-laden vessel called the Ascania broke free…14 Jan 2025