1st March 2021: A Week in Parliament
/The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
Next year, 2022, will be the Queen’s platinum jubilee. An amazing achievement. All MPs and Lords recently got a letter from the Speaker which confirmed that £175,000 will be spent on new monuments and sculptures at Westminster to celebrate this. Fortunately, it also confirms that no public funds will be used. Given the pandemic, that is only right. The letter then suggests that MPs can donate to pay for the sculptures. I think I will pass on that one – if I am donating money I would rather it goes to help people in need rather than a memorial to the Queen. It might be the Scottishness in me but I am also uneasy about celebrating an event that is a full year away. So, I hope the Queen does achieve what will be an unbelievably long period in her role.
Anas Sarwar
Congratulations to Anas Sarwar on becoming the new leader of the Labour Party in Scotland. He is the first BAME person and Muslim leader of any of the major parties so it really is a significant achievement. I wish him well in a personal capacity but of course, hope he is not too successful on the political front! I noted that just after Sir Kier Starmer has confirmed his support for nuclear weapons, Anas says Scottish Labour’s position of opposition to nuclear weapons will not change. This sums up Labour and Scotland’s position within the Union in one go – it doesn’t matter what we think, it is London that decides on these key issues
E10 Fuel
I have lobbied the UK Government for a few years to introduce mandatory E10 fuels. This means having petrol blended with 10% of biofuels instead of the 5% current mix. Engines are actually designed to run on this mix, and it is standard in Europe. I am pleased that at last, the UK Government is going to do this. The Transport Secretary has confirmed this and suggests the reduction in emissions is the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars a year off the roads. That aspect shows how significant this small step is but also why it should have been done much sooner
Elections
The next Scottish parliamentary election is just 10 or so weeks away. I would urge as many voters as possible to sign up for a postal vote so that to cast your vote as easily as possible. I was intrigued to see that Labour has agreed with the Tories at the local council level, that they believe the election should be postponed. I look forward to them also raising their concerns to Boris Johnson about the local elections going ahead in England and Wales. Similarly, Labour will be working with colleagues to call for the elections to the Welsh Senedd with a Labour Government to be postponed. Surely a “four-nation approach” is needed? Surely it cannot just be Scotland where it isn’t safe to hold an election? It certainly cannot be that the current opinion polls seem to suggest a good outcome for the SNP?
