24th October 2022: A Week in Parliament

Where to start?

Harold Wilson famously said “A week is a long time in politics” – you’re not kidding. Once again, the Tories have had a complete and utter catastrophe. We had the bizarre situation whereby Liz Truss did not turn up for the urgent business on the economy, and Penny Mordaunt stepped in to defend the Government’s position. Only for Liz Truss to turn up just in time for her new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to dismantle essentially every part of Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget – oh except the cap on bankers’ bonuses!

This chaos then continued into Thursday when Liz Truss resigned as PM after a disastrous 44-days in post – the same amount of time Brian Clough lasted at Leeds United! The lettuce outlived her and it has been one disaster after another in her “premiership”. It comes as no surprise to myself, as well as the public, that she could not cut it in office. This was glaringly obvious from the outset. Every Tory MP and MSP who backed her should hang their head in shame and apologise for this shambles.

The madness does not end there with over 40 MPs publicly backing Johnson, who thankfully has decided not to run. A general election must be called to sort out this complete and utter mess. Scotland deserves better – the so-called stability of the UK has been shattered for all to see.

Energy Cost Crisis Support

However, the most frustrating U-turn is the £2,500 energy price cap guarantee being reviewed in April and not their initial two-year pledge. As Energy Spokesperson, I was able to table what is called a manuscript amendment to the Energy Prices Bill due to the Chancellor’s U-turn. It is very difficult to get such “on the day” motions accepted by the Chair of Ways and Means to be voted on. This was to force the Government to come back to Parliament and confirm future support, protect the most vulnerable as well as report on fuel poverty. However, incredibly, Labour abstained from this. With Labour being so far ahead in the polls, this gives them a chance to offer a more radical alternative Government. Not supporting an amendment to provide energy support for the most vulnerable is so timid and pathetic. Especially when the Government majority would carry it, it is the same on Brexit – instead of copying the Tories with “Make Brexit Work”, they could at least admit Brexit is a disaster and suggest re-joining the Single Market for example.

East Ayrshire Recovery Hub

On Friday I was delighted to visit the Recovery Hub on John Finnie Street. It was harrowing to hear of the excellent work that goes on at the premise which opened just over eight weeks ago. They have 16 students enrolled in their Recovery College where they will be given employability skills and the end game is for the students to gain employment. It was staggering to hear that 80% of people coming out of rehab relapse within the first month. Therefore, the Hub aims to bridge that gap between people coming out of rehab and continuing their recovery. A massive thanks to Steph McCutcheon and Geoff Brown for their time.