29th November 2021: A Week in Parliament

PMQ Success!

In parliament, I have raised the need for a special pot of money purely for tidal stream electricity generation. It will allow Scotland to continue being a world leader in this technology. The Treasury had blocked this concept and there was limited time to change the auction conditions. I have raised the matter more than any other MP, and have signed cross-party letters looking for this targeted support. I was delighted then when I raised it at PMQs that Johnson confirmed a U-turn and that some funding would be made available specifically for tidal stream generation. While not enough for the industry to scale up the way it should be able to, but it was satisfying to be part of a campaign that brought about change in Government policy.

Covid Variant

It is a concern to hear of a new covid variant that is now even more deadly in terms of how infectious it is. This also shows that while we want to make sure all our citizens are vaccinated and protected, there is no point in doing this in isolation. We need to make sure the rest of the world gets vaccinated or these mutations will continue and continue. A worst-case scenario is a mutation that the current vaccinations do not protect us from. As a country, Israel was initially the one with the best vaccination rollout, except they were not treating the Palestinians in Gazza, the same. I called this out and a Twitter troll suggested I should concentrate on here first. However, these further mutations show how ludicrous it is for the western world to be holding vaccines about to go out of date when by helping other countries, we would also be adding to our own protection.

Asylum Seekers

Yet again, we witnessed desperate asylum seekers drowning in the English Channel. Why do they risk their lives to come to the UK? Because we are a soft touch and give them too much money? That’s what some people would have you believe. The reality is that France gives a more generous allowance. The UK gives a pittance. Why not stay in France then? This is where it is more complicated. Many of the asylum seekers trying to get to the UK already have relatives here. Also, English is their second language, so for them, it makes sense to claim asylum in the UK. Additionally, many come from countries that once were a part of the British Empire. As a result, they wrongly assume that they will get a better reception in the UK. Instead, the Tories are bringing in legislation that breaks international law – they want to make it a criminal offence to rescue people and bring them ashore to the UK. This means agencies like the RNLI, could be prosecuted if they save people from drowning and take them back to their lifeboat station. Just when you think they cannot be any more uncaring they prove you wrong.