Euan Stainbank MP: speeches

Speeches

• 25 Jun 2026 · Civil Service Pension Scheme: Insourcing · Hansard source

  More

  Capita has been fined millions for a multitude of past failures and has now failed to handle civil service pensions on a contract that the Tories signed off in November 2023, replacing MyCSP, which faced similar challenges. That has been to the significant detriment of many of my constituents, who are still waiting for payment—one is retired after receiving lifesaving surgery last year, and another is still waiting for payment 11 months on from being bereaved after the death of his wife. Will the Minister—I hope that the Government can answer this closer to the end of June—directly address Capita’s failure, end the contract and insource the civil service pension scheme?

• 25 Jun 2026 · Civil Service Pension Scheme: Insourcing · Hansard source

  More

  6. What recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of insourcing the civil service pension scheme.

• 25 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  Following the Government’s welcome designation of four sectors as critical to national security, we have continued to see an exponential rise in under-investigation Chinese buses on our streets. In my constituency, 125 jobs were put at risk back in March following an SNP grant scheme that sent the lion’s share of the public money to Chinese manufacturers. I will repeat the question I asked the Prime Minister a few weeks ago: will the Minister designate bus manufacturing as a sector critical to national security?

• 25 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I welcome the Government’s announcement of a review into the zero emission vehicle mandate, with the objective of slowing the phase-in of ZEV targets. However, I do not believe that this changes the direction of travel for bus manufacturing, which supports 50,000 jobs across the United Kingdom, and is similarly struggling with the rise in imported Chinese electric buses. Will the Leader of the House arrange for a statement from Department for Business and Trade and/or Department for Transport Ministers to update the House on the scope of this reported review?

• 24 Jun 2026 · Elections: First Past the Post · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I thank the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) and congratulate the Richmond Liberal Democrats on their universal victory in last month’s Richmond upon Thames council elections. I declare an interest as a member of the all-party parliamentary group for fair elections. Increasing political participation in a democracy is not just a nice thing to have; it is an imperative that all of us must focus on in the service of our constituents. In the years to come, I genuinely believe that it will be the difference between a politics that serves and engages all and one that continues to obscure decision making from communities, fuels rather than addresses discontent, and pushes reasonable people in the United Kingdom to lose faith in democracy and seek increasingly radical solutions. Progress has been made to increase structural participation, with the Government bringing forward votes at 16 in the Representation of the People Bill, finally aligning the voter age in general elections to that of Scottish local and devolved elections. Among other measures, the Government are taking steps in the Bill to strengthen our democracy. However, I believe that there is an omission in it: an acknowledgement that serious questions are now being asked about how we elect people to this place. Look at the general election results: turnout is decreasing. I may have won my mandate to this place by trebling my vote share in Falkirk, but that was possible only because my second-place opponent halved their vote share. The diminishing threshold for electing MPs and Governments demands a more pluralistic politics, or at least one that gives a greater number of people something to vote for instead of against. First past the post structurally embeds negative political campaigning into how we participate in democracy; it enables parties, the media and the public to crystallise in our subconscious pretty early on that only two people have the chance to be the victor in a majority of seats in the country.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Elections: First Past the Post · Hansard source

  More

  Does the hon. Member that if we are to move to an alternative system in Westminster, parties should agree not to game the system, as the Scottish Greens do when they fail to stand in constituencies such as Strathkelvin and Bearsden or Falkirk West and focus their campaigning on the regional seats, which leads to the iniquitous outcome of the 2026 Scottish parliamentary elections that I think she is suggesting?

• 24 Jun 2026 · Elections: First Past the Post · Hansard source

  More

  I completely agree that there is a wider point about the culture of politics, especially in how we should drive everybody in this place and local government to work together collaboratively, rather than pursuing the most populist option or blaming every problem on previous Governments. That has to be broader than simply reforming how we elect people to places, but I believe—I will bear this out later in my speech—that that is an essential first step. In preparing this speech, I recalled bemused family members handing me SNP leaflet after SNP leaflet, desperately shoved through their letterbox, that warned them to vote SNP to avoid electing a Tory MP. I believe that even the most optimistic Scottish Conservative in Falkirk would have found that a pretty remote possibility in 2024, or at any other time. But when normal people who do not spend all their time obsessing about politics read that, it tends to turn them off a wee bit. If we spend our entire time campaigning in general elections against a proposition and defining ourselves against a particular political party or perspective, we fail to lead our campaigns with our solutions to the problems the public face and want us to address. We diminish the opportunity for genuine scrutiny of our propositions, out of fear that the party or person we are running against will use it against us. It tends to encourage us to hide from debate, to reduce the utility and quality of public discussion and to disengage those people do not vote in our elections from that discussion. It is irrelevant how those of us with the privilege of sitting here as Members of Parliament may personally view the politics of certain political parties; when they are voted for by millions of people and they see only a sliver of representation in Parliament, it closes people off from this place, and it feeds into toxic populist narratives that can be weaponised by those parties against those of us who sit as MPs. They are able to pit us as for the system and pit those excluded from it as outside of the system. It also allows them to avoid a proportionate level of scrutiny that reflects the amount of support they have in the country. A system that enables voters to see their views, and the views of those with similar political allegiances, proportionately reflected in this place will go a long way to addressing many of those issues. My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South (Gordon McKee) touched on the more pluralistic electoral system used in local elections in Scotland and how it works to reflect views more broadly. Councillors of different political parties are often elected to serve the same people. Although that should culturally compel people to work together more effectively in communities, that is still a political challenge that we must address in tandem while we seek to replace the first-past-the-post system. Populist opposition for opposition’s sake is still rife. The relentless assignation of a problem’s cause to a sole person or political party in a particular office at a particular time creates a reductive and inadequate political debate that would be better spent evaluating multiple proposed solutions to the problems that people rely on democratic structures to resolve—especially because, out there in the real world, there is a substantially greater consensus on what problems we face as a country than would be suggested by the tone of conversation in this place, in council chambers and in devolved assemblies when they are evaluating the solutions. Whether the debate is on immigration, taxation or the defence of the realm in the House of Commons, or schools, bins or housing in Falkirk council chamber, a proportional system gives us a better chance to compel political parties to use their privileged elected positions to put forward competing solutions consistently. Our desire to strengthen democracy should lead us to create a crucible that enables multiple proposals to compete and for us to come to the best resolution. Our constituents would be better served by a voting system that empowers us all to do better than lazily harass from the sidelines those who happen to be in a particular office at any particular time. A cultural change is clearly needed, which cannot be achieved by simply replacing the electoral system, but replacing first past the post is an essential step. However, and this could be a point of contention, if we are to replace first past the post, we have to acknowledge that there is not currently an elected mandate to do so. There is also no consensus on which system should replace it, but we can see in the country that the current system is no longer commanding adequate participation to sustain a healthy democracy. That is why I and the members of the all-party parliamentary group support a national commission on electoral reform to be set up by the Government. I encourage the Minister to put that in the Representation of the People Bill when it returns to the House.

• 23 Jun 2026 · Cost of Living: Falkirk · Hansard source

  More

  The cut to VAT for family days out this summer starts along with the summer holidays later this week. This is a Labour Government acting to bring down the cost for families visiting Falkirk’s fantastic tourism, leisure and hospitality attractions. Many families are anxiously looking at the other side of the summer, with energy bills rising as a direct consequence of the illegal Iran war. Does the Chancellor agree that any forthcoming targeted energy bill support must similarly extend to working families?

• 23 Jun 2026 · Cost of Living: Falkirk · Hansard source

  More

  3. What steps she has taken to help support people with the cost of living in Falkirk.

• 23 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  T4. The loss of Grangemouth’s refinery was a loss to Scotland’s economy. The Chancellor rightly consulted on including refined products in the carbon border adjustment mechanism to level the playing field for domestic refining—a level playing field the Tories did not pursue before the closure of Grangemouth was announced in 2023. Will the Chancellor meet me and other colleagues to discuss the merits of accelerating the inclusion of refined products in the CBAM?

• 11 Jun 2026 · Buses: Tariff Harmonisation · Hansard source

  More

  8. What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on harmonising import tariffs for diesel and electric buses.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Buses: Tariff Harmonisation · Hansard source

  More

  Imported diesel buses have a 16% base rate tariff, yet electric buses have a tariff rate of 10%. As we seek to transition fully to electric after 2030, and considering the existential risk that the under-investigation Chinese competition currently presents to the 50,000 jobs that depend on UK bus manufacturing, will Ministers consider raising this matter urgently with Business and Trade Ministers to encourage them to harmonise those rates at 16% at least?

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  Powering Futures is a fantastic social enterprise based in Falkirk. Every year its Challenge programme invites pupils to tackle real-life workplace challenges and matches them with workplace mentors from local businesses. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Braes high school and St Mungo’s high school pupils James, Josh and Gabriella, who won Ken Muir awards for exceptional displays of problem solving, communication and teamwork skills through the programme, and can we schedule a debate in Government time on the role that social enterprises such as Powering Futures can play in tackling youth unemployment, especially in Scotland?

• 10 Jun 2026 · Oil and Gas Sector: Employment · Hansard source

  More

  Jobs were lost at Grangemouth following Jim Ratcliffe’s decision to close the refinery. The then Tory Ministers, half of whom are now members of Reform, treated it as a commercial decision, and did and delivered nothing. In contrast, the UK Labour Government invested £120 million in December to save Grangemouth’s ethylene plant, but given the closure of the refinery, we must move far more quickly. What efforts is the Secretary of State making to deliver a new industry in Grangemouth with the £200 million allocated to the site by the Labour Government?

• 8 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  The Government have cut the asylum backlog, reduced the number of people arriving illegally and shut more than half the hotels opened by Tory Ministers. Places in Scotland like Falkirk, Perth and Dundee must see further progress this year. When will we see the next phase of the hotel exit plan? How will Ministers ensure that it is equitable across the nations and regions of the United Kingdom?

• 3 Jun 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  The 10-year bus pipeline published by the Department for Transport shows that demand for zero emission buses will double by the end of the decade. In Scotland, however, jobs are being lost in our bus manufacturing sector because overseas manufacturers are winning a greater number of orders and now constitute the majority of new registration buses on our roads, despite an investigation into the cyber-security of Chinese buses. Will the Prime Minister designate bus manufacturing as a sector critical to our national security?

• 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  T3. My constituents Gillian and Ross worked at INEOS Olefins & Polymers, and started retraining in 2024, following the announcement in 2023 that the Grangemouth refinery would close. However, they were recently denied support, due to limits on the Grangemouth workers training guarantee. Will the Government, alongside the Scottish Government, review the Grangemouth workers training guarantee, so that support can be extended to workers like Gillian and Ross?

• 1 Jun 2026 · Armed Forces Day · Hansard source

  More

  This year’s Armed Forces Day is as important as ever, and I look forward to attending Falkirk’s event on 4 July in Callander Park. It is important that Falkirk’s veterans are heard there and every day. I met Veterans Together Forth Valley last week, and I heard from many brave men and women who served our country who feel that politicians have not been listening for a long time. We must take that perception seriously and seek to reverse it. What will Ministers do to support veterans’ voices being heard before, during and after Armed Forces Day?

• 1 Jun 2026 · Armed Forces Day · Hansard source

  More

  13. What plans his Department has to mark Armed Forces Day.

• 21 May 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  Fifteen months on from the £200 million pledged for Grangemouth, and five months on from the Minister’s confirmation that prospective projects were being examined and shortlisted, what progress is being made to deliver new industry and jobs for Grangemouth?

• 19 May 2026 · Jury Trial Proposals · Hansard source

  More

  Hon. Members fairly hold strong views on these reforms. It is notable that, in Scotland, the right to elect between solemn and summary procedure for certain offences does not sit with the accused but with the procurator fiscal, but the people of Scotland are listening to this salient debate. Does the Secretary of State agree that we must conduct the debate on the Government’s reforms without feeding the increasingly malignant narratives of certain groups who are seeking to undermine public confidence in prosecutions and convictions in every corner of the United Kingdom?

• 21 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  March was one of the deadliest months on record for settler violence in the occupied west bank. For communities such as Jayyous, life is becoming intolerable. Will the Government go further than the diplomatic pressure currently being exerted and expand sanctions on the many Israeli officials explicitly and brazenly empowering settler violence against Palestinians in the west bank?

• 16 Apr 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  Following a decision last year to outsource care provision at Tygetshaugh Court in Dunipace, the community, residents and families have campaigned to highlight the significant stress and uncertainty it has caused. Following their persistent efforts, the ombudsman found serious operational failures in the consultation process, options appraisal and information given to decision makers, and compelled health and social care partnership officers to apologise to Tygetshaugh Court residents last week. Will the Leader of the House join me in commending the Denny and Dunipace community for their tireless campaigning alongside the residents?

• 15 Apr 2026 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

  More

  6. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Scotland.

• 15 Apr 2026 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

  More

  Given the state of our economy, taxpayer money must be used far more strategically. Phase 3 of the SNP’s Scottish zero emission bus challenge fund granted the majority of a taxpayer-funded subsidy to Chinese bus manufacturers, which directly contributed six days later to 115 jobs being put at risk in Falkirk. With demand for ZEBs rising but domestic market share reducing, Scottish manufacturing jobs are being lost with the assistance of taxpayer money, and something must change. What discussions has the Secretary of State had with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that future taxpayer-funded orders are met by manufacturers and workers in Scotland and across the UK?