Douglas McAllister MP: speeches

Speeches

• 28 Oct 2024 · Remembrance and Veterans · Hansard source

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  As a newly elected Member of this House, it was my great privilege and honour to attend the opening of the House of Commons garden of remembrance today, and to place my cross of remembrance there on behalf of my constituents. Across West Dunbartonshire, just as we do across the nation, we will gather to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedoms and protect our way of life. One of the memorials that I will attend on Remembrance Sunday is at Clydebank town hall in my home town. Our town hall memorial contains the names of those fallen in all wars, and includes the names of five brothers, Andrew, Walter, James, John and Daniel Munn, who all perished in the first world war—five brothers, all lost. It is symbolic of the scale of suffering and the sacrifice of our nation. Clydebank also suffered dreadfully during the second world war across the nights of 13 and 14 March 1941, the blitz. It suffered the worst destruction and civilian loss of life in all of Scotland. At least 1,200 people lost their lives, and of the 12,000 homes in Clydebank, only eight remained undamaged. In West Dunbartonshire, we are deeply proud of our armed forces personnel, veterans and the families who support them. Theirs is the ultimate public service. As a Government, therefore, we must ensure that our veterans have access to the support they need. We must commit to supporting those who serve and have served us. The Royal British Legion and Poppyscotland’s manifesto includes recommendations that the Government can take to improve the lives of our armed forces community, such as “Ask the question”, which seeks to ensure that all public bodies ask individuals whether they or an immediate family member have served in the armed forces. That would be recorded and published to understand needs and to provide appropriate support. On both sides of the House, hon. Members can truly remember by ensuring that a better deal for our armed forces community remains high on our parliamentary agenda.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Almost 29,000 families in Scotland benefited from maternity pay last year, worth over £200 million. Does the Minister share my concern about suggestions from a Conservative party leadership candidate that it should be reduced?

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Data released by the National Records of Scotland this week shows that male life expectancy in my constituency is the second lowest in the country, and Scotland continues to have lower life expectancy than England and Wales. Low life expectancy is strongly linked to deprivation and 17 years of SNP failure. Will the Leader of the House arrange an urgent debate on how this Government can work constructively with the Scottish Government to tackle the causes of deprivation and enhance the life chances of my constituents?

• 21 Oct 2024 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Speaker, for allowing me the privilege of speaking in this debate on the Government’s historic legislation. This really is the moment that all Labour Members fought so hard for. This is what I promised my community, the people of West Dunbartonshire, that my Labour Government and our Prime Minister would deliver. Some whom I spoke to on the doorstep had given up hope that anyone could change their life for the better. We promised them that we would deliver change—that we would make work pay, and make work fair. This Bill will bring an end to years of low-paid, insecure employment, which not only failed our people but failed the economy. As a solicitor in private practice, I grew tired and demoralised from regularly having to advise my clients that there was nothing they could do to save their job or improve their working conditions because they had not worked for their employer for two years or more. We will establish day one rights, but please let us also take on board the Law Society’s advice. We must properly resource employment tribunals and fully fund legal aid to allow access to this justice that we seek to introduce. I received a thank-you card from my constituent Sharon from Clydebank. She said to me: “I wanted to tell you how the New Deal for Working People will make a difference to me. I am employed in social work. My wages have not increased in line with inflation, meaning a loss of income. I do a difficult, stressful job in public service and all staff are at breaking point. From banning exploitative zero hour contracts to ensuring we have access to workers’ rights from day one—thank you for supporting a New Deal for Working People.” That is the change we promised. This Bill signals the largest rights upgrade for workers in my constituency of West Dunbartonshire in a generation by ending exploitative zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire, and by establishing day one rights. Some 7% of the overall workforce in West Dunbartonshire is paid at or below national minimum wage rates. This Labour Government will make work pay for the lowest-paid in West Dunbartonshire, and assist employers in my constituency by helping them to retain their hard-working staff. In Scotland, we had two bad Governments, and our job in Scotland is only half complete, because it has taken the SNP 15 years just to attach conditions to the Scottish Government’s grants on living wages—

• 17 Oct 2024 · Restoration Funding · Hansard source

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  There are many places of worship in perilous condition, not just in England, but in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including in my constituency of West Dunbartonshire. The listed places of worship grant scheme, introduced by former Chancellor Gordon Brown in 2004, is UK-wide. What efforts have the Church Commissioners made to ensure that the scheme is extended beyond March 2025?

• 17 Oct 2024 · Restoration Funding · Hansard source

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  8. What estimate the Church Commissioners have made of levels of funding required to restore parish churches and cathedrals.

• 15 Oct 2024 · Scotland’s Economy · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that the recently released Scottish Government industry statistics reveal worrying trends in Scotland’s food and drink sector, with output in the food and drink sector falling, employment falling and businesses failing? Those figures are absolutely scandalous. Both the SNP and the Tory Government failed to support Scotland’s world-class food and drink industry adequately. In my constituency of West Dunbartonshire, the whisky industry is a significant employer, so will food and drink be a key growth industry identified in our Government’s blueprint for growth, thereby maximising Brand Scotland and job opportunities in West Dunbartonshire?

• 10 Oct 2024 · Universities: Freedom of Speech · Hansard source

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  Previous Conservative Education Ministers are on the record stating that this flawed legislation could allow those spreading hate and extremism to seek compensation under its measures. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is right that we look again at this issue in order to avoid those dangerous consequences?

• 11 Sept 2024 · Building Safety and Resilience · Hansard source

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  The UK Government have pledged to speed up the process of removing dangerous cladding from English buildings following the publication of the damning Grenfell inquiry report, which set out a series of significant failures. Does the Minister agree that the Scottish Government must start treating the issue with the urgency it deserves? The SNP has already re-profiled hundreds of thousands of pounds from this vital programme to plug the black hole it created in its own budget. This cannot happen again. Building safety cannot be sacrificed to SNP incompetence and financial mismanagement.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Criminal Justice System: Progress of Cases · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that a properly funded legal aid scheme both here and in Scotland is essential for access to justice, and that the decline in this vital public service that both the Tories and the SNP have presided over is nothing short of disgraceful?

• 9 Sept 2024 · Teacher Recruitment · Hansard source

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  11. What steps she is taking to recruit more teachers.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Teacher Recruitment · Hansard source

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  This Government have promised change in education, and made a commitment to raising school standards and increasing teacher numbers after 14 years of Tory neglect. The Scottish National party’s 17 years in power have led to falling standards, under-resourced schools and a growing attainment gap between the richest and the rest. Does the Minister agree that it is time for change, given the Scottish National party’s dismal record on education in Scotland?

• 26 Jul 2024 · Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make my maiden speech to the House in this debate on making Britain a clean energy superpower. I congratulate you on your elevation. It is a privilege to follow the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan), who always speaks with great eloquence and passion. It is also a privilege to speak in a debate led by the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks). I offer him my warmest congratulations as he takes up his position, and I wish him well, as I am sure we all do. I recognise the great honour that has been bestowed on all of us to be in this House, and I am so proud and fortunate to represent my constituency of West Dunbartonshire. It contains three very distinct communities, the Vale of Leven and the towns of Dumbarton and Clydebank, the latter of which is my home town. I have lived in Clydebank with my family all my life, and I pledge to work tirelessly in this place for all my fellow residents. My constituency can best be described as stretching from the banks of the River Clyde to the shores of Loch Lomond, from industrial Clydeside to the gateway to the highlands. I therefore can boast of the unrivalled natural beauty of Loch Lomond and Dumbarton castle, one of Scotland’s royal castles. The town of Dumbarton is the ancient capital of Strathclyde, granted royal burgh status by Alexander II in 1222, and it was home to Denny’s shipyard, which built the Cutty Sark. The Vale of Leven is renowned for its Turkey red dyed and printed cottons, exported across the globe. Singer’s factory in my home town, where my late father worked, made the famous sewing machines, and there was a time last century when virtually every home in the land possessed a Singer sewing machine. Clydebank is synonymous with John Brown’s shipyard, where the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mary, the QEII and the Royal Yacht Britannia were built—a history we are rightly proud of. However, in doing that, we gained an unwanted legacy as the European hotspot for asbestos-related industrial illness and death. It is on that cause, among countless others, that I wish to pay tribute to my predecessor, Martin Docherty-Hughes. Martin was a powerful advocate in this place in the pursuit of truth and justice for the victims of asbestos-related industrial death and for their families in the fight for fair compensation. I know how closely he worked with the Clydebank Asbestos Group, and it is now incumbent on me to pick up the baton. Martin Docherty-Hughes conducted himself with great dignity before and after the general election, and I wish to thank him for his nine years of service and the generosity and courtesy he extended to me throughout. I wish him the very best in his future endeavours. The great honour of representing West Dunbartonshire is emphasised yet further when I reflect on my other predecessors who served with great distinction in this House, including Gemma Doyle and my great friend Tony Worthington, who represented the former constituency of Clydebank and Milngavie. It is truly humbling to follow them and, of course, the Lord Speaker, Lord McFall of Alcluith, who is also renowned for his chairmanship of the Treasury Committee in this place. Many of the great industries of the Clyde are sadly gone, consigned to history, and while as a Bankie I am rightly proud of our history, it is to our future that I look. I was elected by my constituents to deliver change, and I am determined to do that and to play my part in ensuring that all communities across West Dunbartonshire can look forward to a dynamic and prosperous future. The work of the regeneration of Clydeside and the town centres of Clydebank, Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven will be my priority. The Government have the ambition to grow the economy, make work pay, and create jobs and new employment opportunities for our young people, and I have great confidence in the abilities of the youth of West Dunbartonshire to match those ambitions. Providing them with the same life opportunities as children in any other constituency across this great nation of ours will be my driving mission. I pledged during the election campaign to fight to ensure that everyone in my constituency has access to that very basic of rights: a safe, warm and affordable home. My local authority of West Dunbartonshire declared a housing emergency in May, amid unprecedented pressures on the ability to meet the needs of those in social housing or seeking a council property. I welcome my Government’s ambition to unlock the barriers to building more homes, but it is essential that they are affordable so as to tackle that injustice and insecurity. That is why we campaigned for a publicly owned GB Energy company headquartered in Scotland. It is therefore particularly satisfying to make my maiden speech during this debate. GB Energy will cut bills in West Dunbartonshire, deliver energy security and put Scotland at the forefront of the clean energy revolution. It will be publicly owned and will utilise our extraordinary natural resources. That brings me back to the natural resources of the River Clyde. The yards may have gone, but the future is with clean energy. On the site of the former John Brown’s shipyard, to which I referred earlier, is now the West Dunbartonshire energy centre, a groundbreaking project featuring Scotland’s largest water source heat pump installation, which takes water from the River Clyde and uses it to generate heat. This publicly owned district heating system is truly groundbreaking, helping West Dunbartonshire to transition towards a net zero future. Crucially, it also allows us to address the fuel poverty of my fellow residents. I will be delighted to welcome the Minister to visit the centre in the very near future. In taking my place in this House, I stepped away from 25 years of appearing daily in courts throughout Scotland. As a solicitor, I represented some of the most vulnerable members of our society. As I step away from the profession to take my seat in this House, I do so with a heavy heart. I leave behind a demoralised profession ignored by successive Governments, who failed to recognise that a properly funded legal aid scheme is the bedrock of a fair society. My experience is with the Scottish courts, but I understand that south of the border the system is in similar peril. I am sure the House will recognise that upholding, respecting and promoting the rule of law requires us to ensure access to justice, fair representation and a widening of the scope of legal aid eligibility, and also to recognise that the courts are as vital a public asset and as much of a foundation stone of society as schools, social services and hospitals. I also leave 21 years of unbroken service to local government as a councillor at West Dunbartonshire. Local government is on its knees, starved of vital funding, the last of the low-hanging fruit long since picked. Frontline services are under serious threat, and I wish for this House to recognise those across all political parties and in all public offices at local government level, and all the highly dedicated staff who share the same desire as we all do across this House to advance the wellbeing of our local communities. They deserve greater support from us. My constituency is supported in this endeavour by a wealth of local charities and community organisations. As provost of West Dunbartonshire, I gained unique insight into this vital support chain, which includes groups such as Mentor Scotland that provide mental health support, as well as the Men’s Shed, local not-for-profit trusts such as Flourishing Faifley, Bags full of Love, Duntocher village hall, Antonine Sports and the Skylark IX Recovery Trust. These and the countless faith groups across my constituency providing food banks and shelter truly are the best of our society. I cannot finish my maiden speech without recognising the NHS and all its staff. The NHS is in my DNA. My mother was a nurse and a midwife. In particular, I wish to thank the staff at the Beatson hospital in Glasgow. The NHS saved my life back in 2007 when I battled leukaemia. I appreciate that I am fortunate to be in this House, and I will not waste this opportunity to help save our NHS and to ensure that this Government improve our national health service—a service for all, providing care on the basis of need, regardless of ability to pay. This son of a factory worker and NHS nurse, husband to Alison, father to Tom and Peter, gives this House a solemn undertaking that no matter how long or short my time in this place may be, my defining mission will be to fight for a fairer society for my constituents of West Dunbartonshire and be relentless in my duty to serve their interests.