Contributions
407 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillYou are quite right, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I was keen to knock on the head some of the issues raised by the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central. Let me talk about Scottish…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillI will not take the hon. Lady’s intervention just now. I very much look forward to the contribution of the hon. Member for East Thanet (Ms Billington). I know Kent well, and I…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillI think I have already congratulated the Minister on his personal contribution to population growth—that is happy news we can all get behind—but I want him to answer the question…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillI have to say I am a bit struck by that, when the Government are bringing in their cuts to the disabled, which will push more children in Scotland into poverty. That is a…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillI am trying to answer the point raised by the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey. Kent is not Scotland and Scotland is not an island. We have some fine islands, as my hon.…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillI know the Isle of Sheppey. I know Kent very well: the kingdom of Kent is a fine county—the garden of England. I know some of the challenges that the hon. Gentleman rightly…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillI am not an economist, but any economist would say that the impact of that is growth—it is positive. In the aftermath of leaving the EU, we saw a surge in migration under Boris…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillThe hon. Member is a born-again Brexiteer, and he has taken on the nonsense of Brexiteers. He should have a look at the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019, passed by…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillI will finish with a conversation on migration, but I will take one more intervention, because I want to hear the perspective of another Member from elsewhere in the UK.25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillOn the point about symbolism over substance, does the hon. Member agree that we should have a vote on the Bill today and dig into it in Committee, as one would with any other…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillI am not that surprised that the Labour party wants to close down a debate on Brexit. The hon. Member is seeking to spare his party its blushes—in particular Scottish Labour—and I…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillI am glad the hon. Member is proud of the opportunities he will be denying young people by going ahead with Labour’s plans. I found that debate yesterday slightly frustrating. My…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillThe hon. Lady makes a good point—how can we provide opportunities for young people? She will also know that right now, we are providing fewer opportunities for young people.…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillWhat I find striking is that the Scottish Government have not only had to receive their block grant, rather than making these decisions for ourselves, which those of us on the SNP…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillWe will also have enjoyed berries from Perthshire—and even Aberdeenshire. All of that depends on migration. I know that, in order to improve their work here, Members will try,…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillI am glad to respond to that. I was deputy director of our Remain campaign, and I was delighted when not only did every part of Scotland vote overwhelmingly to remain in the EU,…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillOh, here we go! If you can tell me why on earth Labour is putting Michael Gove in the House of Lords, I will gladly give way.25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillI will maybe leave aside some of the hon. Lady’s sums—I am not sure whether she has been reading Labour briefings—but she does make a valuable point about rural areas, and I…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillI am glad if we can get back to the Bill. I am struck that Labour Members never seem to be that keen to talk about the areas for which they have responsibility. They talk about…25 Apr 2025HANSARDDevolution (Immigration) (Scotland) BillNo, I want to continue with this. Alison Evison, a former Labour councillor and former president of COSLA, says: “There is a strong unified voice across all sectors in Scotland in…25 Apr 2025