Before reflecting on 2022, I’d like to thank the many front-line workers who have been working hard in the past couple of weeks trying to keep our communities safe.
We’ve seen significant snowfall and unusually cold temperatures. That made it challenging indeed and I’m grateful for their efforts, whether that’s the snowplough teams, utility workers, health and social care providers, and the...
While it’s a sobering thought that we’re already heading into mid-November, it’s a good time to be thinking of our personal resilience over the winter.
I received a briefing last week issued by Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership – Gordon constituency includes a substantial part of Aberdeen City – on their winter vaccination campaign. Work has already been...
We’re all familiar with the old saying, usually attributed to Harold Wilson during the 1964 sterling crisis, that a week is a long time in politics. In the space of seven days, we had yet another new Chancellor, the resignation of the Home Secretary and then, inevitably, the realisation on the part of the Prime Minister Liz Truss that there really...
Read More The Party Conference season has just ended and it’s probable that we have never seen or heard such a diverse set of conferences across the three main parties represented at Westminster, leaving aside the obvious political differences which separate them.
First up was the Labour Party Conference. By all accounts, Labour seems to have enjoyed a good conference, mainly due...
On Friday, we had the long-awaited “fiscal event” which looked for all the world like a budget and sounded like a budget. It must therefore be concluded that it was intended to be a budget in all but name.
This was the new Prime Minister’s opportunity to put her mark on Government and to set out her stall ahead of...
The passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral Castle last Thursday will have come as a shock to us all. Just two days previously she had looked frail but otherwise well in the photos of her audience with the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss.
The news has been met with genuine sorrow around the world, but not least...
With the Westminster Parliament still in Summer recess, it has been a good opportunity to get out and about over the past few weeks visiting various organisations and groups within the constituency and attending a number of community events. The recent weather has certainly made that an even more enjoyable undertaking than working away from Westminster normally is.
I say...
At the end of next week, Government regulator for electricity and gas markets Ofgem, will announce a new price cap for consumers effective from 1 October. This follows the previous price cap increase on 1 April.
The April increase has placed huge pressure on household budgets at a time when Brexit-related issues and supply problems due to the awful events...
Having been elected to serve the people of Gordon back in December 2019, it seems very strange to think that this week saw the first opportunity I – or indeed any of us - have had since then to attend the North-east’s premier agricultural event, Turriff Show.
I was pleased to be able to attend and all the indications are...
By the time this article goes to print, we should know which two candidates will be placed before the ‘selectorate’ of the Conservative Party who get to decide who our next Prime Minister will be.
It’s a race that has become so toxic that the two leading candidates have pulled out of Sky TV’s live debate because they felt the...
Last week saw the first stage of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill passing through Westminster. An innocuous enough sounding bill, perhaps, but one which beneath the bonnet represents nothing less than the UK Government trying to unpick their own Brexit deal which they signed up to a few short months ago.
The Protocol keeps Northern Ireland within the European Single...
Summer is upon us and while people’s thoughts might tentatively be turning to the prospect of holidays somewhere perhaps warmer than home, a timely debate took place last week in the House of Commons on the problems with the Home Office’s mismanagement of the passport service.
I led in the debate for my group, after having received an increasing number...
Since my last column, the State Opening of Parliament has taken place. The main purpose of the occasion, amidst all the pomp and ceremony, is to give a first formal indication of what the UK Government’s priorities will be for the coming year, before a week of themed debates on the content take place.
It presented a further opportunity...
It has been extremely heartening to see the large numbers of people from the North East who have offered to open their homes to welcome families fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.
Back in March, I spoke in a Westminster opposition day debate which had been called by the SNP specifically to discuss the growing Ukrainian refugee crisis. In what was...
Westminster has just returned from Easter recess which has allowed time to get out and about in the constituency.
I want to highlight three such public visits I made to very different locations but each one in its own way very important to the constituency and vital to our day-to-day lives.
The first of these was to meet with Scottish and...
There are a great many pressures impacting on people’s day-to-day lives right now. So I want to focus this week on two matters: a recent report on the shortage of labour in the food and agriculture industries; and the UK Government’s announcement of its new energy policy.
In themselves, the two issues might seem a few steps removed from...
With a backdrop of the worst cost-of-living crisis in living memory, the Chancellor, delivered his Spring Statement last week.
Storm clouds have been gathering for a while. Inflation is rising and forecast to hit 8.7% later this year. Some of that is common to most industrialised economies but let’s be perfectly frank: other elements of it are entirely self-inflicted...
It will not surprise those reading this column that the most pressing issue at Westminster just now is the horrific and unwarranted invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is a ruthless dictator who by his actions is now a war criminal – there can be no doubt of the lengths he will go to get what...
A couple of columns ago, I reflected on the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and the effect that is having - and will continue to have for some time by the looks of recent events – on families and individuals, highlighted some measures taken by the Scottish Government to try to mitigate the impacts, and suggested some actions the UK Government...
Read More Despite the Scottish Parliament, many important aspects of our lives are still decided in whole or influenced by Westminster. Part of the job of a Scottish MP therefore remains to scrutinise the policy and spending decisions that affect us.
Two of the most common ways of doing this are through questioning Ministers in Parliament or through investigations by Parliamentary...
Food writer and journalist Jack Monroe - known for campaigning on poverty issues and especially on hunger relief - has written in a blog and an excellent newspaper article recently about how the rise in food costs falls hardest on the least well off in our society.
Monroe – who produces recipes that use the most cost-effective of supermarket ingredients...
At the time of writing, Boris Johnson remains in post as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party. For how long though, no-one knows. Judging by some of the glum faces around the precincts of Westminster right now, his ignominious departure from both offices seems now to be more a matter of ‘when’, rather than ‘if'.
The list of...
A Happy New Year to everyone!
One of the things I most like about New Year is the way it brings folk together, with complete strangers greeting one another - albeit with greater care this year - with hope for the coming year.
Scotland is partially responsible for imparting that to the world. One of our great traditions on Hogmanay...
In thinking what to write about for this, my final column of 2021, I would under normal circumstances have reflected on the past year’s events.
However, these are not normal circumstances and we again face Christmas with a threat from Covid-19 looming. So let me begin with the pandemic and also a few words about COP26.
This time last...
Last week, the North-east suffered one of the worst and most widespread instances of storm damage in generations with Storm Arwen.
While we were without power ourselves for over 24 hours, that pales into insignificance when compared with the impact on those who went up to a week without being connected to the grid. The fortitude and community spiritedness shown...
Two weeks ago when I penned my last column, I referenced the outrage over the case of an MP – a Conservative – who had been adjudged guilty by the Standards Commissioner of wrongdoing by lobbying Government Ministers on behalf of companies which, according to some reports, paid him around £100,000 per year to do so.
In case we...
At Westminster, the antiquated buildings and even more antiquated procedures can make it feel a lot of the time that, in the best traditions of HG Wells, your time machine has taken you back to Victorian times. If that sounds harsh, bear in mind this is a workplace which until 1998 still had a requirement that MPs should wear...
Read More There are times when the normal business of parliamentary politics comes to a halt as we find ourselves jolted by a sudden, tragic reminder of what is truly important in life. The heinous killing of David Amess has been one such occasion.
That anyone should be attacked in this way while doing their job is horrifying. That it should...
The House of Commons is in recess to allow the two big UK political parties to hold their annual conferences. Meanwhile, a collision of multiple issues and crises requiring Parliamentary scrutiny and urgent action from the UK Government is currently playing out, with none of the Parliamentary scrutiny taking place and very little evidence of any Government action.
Firstly,...
Sometimes, there are periods which define the essential character of a Government and how it is seen.
The two and a half weeks which have elapsed since the Summer Recess and the current ‘Conference Recess’ deserve to fall firmly into that category for the Prime Minister and his administration, and definitely not for the better; for the combined assault by...
Since my last column, Westminster has resumed after the summer recess.
The option to attend Parliament ‘virtually’ has ended and so everyone wanting to ask questions of Ministers, contribute to debates, or vote on Parliamentary business must do so in person. So back to normal then? In some respects, yes, but that overlooks the fact that we are very much...
Now the dust has settled on the annual publication of Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland (GERS), I thought it might be useful to take a closer look at what the report tells us and, importantly, what it does not.
The report itself is designed to estimate how much taxation is collected within Scotland and to provide a breakdown of...
Energy regulator Ofgem has announced that new increased price cap levels on gas and electricity bills will come into effect in October.
Ofgem is the successor to the agencies which had to be put in place to protect consumers from profiteering price rises by the newly-formed energy companies when gas and electricity were privatised. The regulator gradually removed price controls...
Some very interesting – and very concerning – research emerged from the House of Commons Library last week regarding poverty in the UK.
The analysis has revealed the UK has the highest poverty rate of any country in North-west Europe, with 11.7% of people living in relative poverty under the OECD definition.
This puts the UK in a worse position...
Last week, the UK Government brought a vote to the House of Commons to ratify its plans to cut international aid to some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.
The cut in aid – which will see the UK Government going back on its commitment to spending 0.7% of Gross National Income on overseas aid - breaks a...
While 4 July is celebrated as American Independence Day, the closest Saturday to that date has also for the past few years been designated as “Independent’s Day” – a day in which to celebrate the independent shops on our high streets and the contribution they make to our community.
There’s no doubt that times have been tough for our...
Of all the topics raised by Gordon constituents with me since my election, few have been sent to me with the sustained volume as those concerned with post-Brexit trade deals and the potential dilution of food and animal welfare standards.
That’s perfectly understandable. The quality of the food we eat is fundamental to us all. For somewhere like Aberdeenshire where...
With the recent relaxation of restrictions and Westminster’s week-long ‘Whitsun’ recess, I had the opportunity to make a number of visits across the constituency last week.
While virtual working has in many ways allowed elected representatives like myself to cover much more ‘ground’ than we could ever hope to physically, there’s still no substitute for being able to get...
This week saw the completion of the passage of the Finance Bill at Westminster. Although bills that have failed to complete their passage prior to ‘prorogation’ and the State Opening quite often fall, the Finance Bill is one of those bills which was, for obvious reasons, brought swiftly back to life.
A UK Government has the opportunity to bring forward...
This week saw the State Opening of Parliament take place in Westminster, with the UK Government announcing its plans for the Parliamentary term ahead through the Queen’s Speech. Even in a reduced form due to Covid the occasion made for an impressive spectacle, even if the content of the speech was not as might have been hoped.
Several days...
With just over a week at the time of writing to go before the Holyrood election, Westminster is itself in a flux as it seeks to get its own outstanding legislation across the line ahead of ‘prorogation’ and the upcoming state opening of Parliament.
Last week was a particularly busy one for me in the Chamber, where I was...
In recent weeks, I’ve made the point about the importance of supporting families on low incomes. I’ve also highlighted inside and outside Westminster the importance of ‘digital equality’, so that people can not only connect to fast, reliable broadband but also have the devices necessary to access it too.
For that reason, I was very pleased to see a...
Last week, I achieved a Parliamentary milestone when I presented my first bill to the House of Commons.
The Electrical Safety (Online Sales) Bill seeks to apply electrical safety regulations to goods advertised for sale on online marketplaces, as well as requiring online marketplaces to remove electrical products from their websites within 24 hours of them being reported as unsafe.
Increasingly,...
This week sees us mark International Women’s Day on 8 March – a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
Although first observed in 1911, International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations in 1975. The campaign theme for this year is 'Choose To Challenge'.
The virtual nature of many...
The NHS Grampian area and Scotland as a whole have made excellent progress in recent days with vaccination rates, at one point vaccinating a higher proportion of the public in seven days than any other European country.
Having spent the early weeks of the year taking the time to ensure that those most vulnerable and hard to reach in...
Last week saw the Environment Bill continue its passage through Westminster. Although it is a bill predominantly for England, it still contained aspects of relevance to Scotland which received legislative consent from the Scottish Parliament.
That principle of Westminster securing the consent of Holyrood before legislating in devolved areas is, or at least used to be, seen an important...
We had some good news at the start of the week with the confirmation that all care home residents in NHS Grampian region who were fit, able and willing to receive a Covid-19 vaccine have now done so.
This represents a significant step forward in protecting some of the most vulnerable members of our community and plans obviously continue...
A Happy New Year to all - I hope that after a tough year, the festive period still gave a chance to recharge and to have time with those closest to us, even if circumstances meant that had to happen virtually rather than physically.
We learned in the last week that the Oxford University-AstroZeneca vaccine has been approved for...