14th March 2022: A Week in Parliament

Refugees Welcome

My office continues to be contacted by constituents wanting to help Ukrainian refugees or to vent their anger at the mismanagement by the UK Government. Every day, a Minister or Secretary of State has been called to the dispatch box and each day they make a small concession while saying they are “leading the world”. It is bonkers when we know each country in Europe is doing much better. It is wasting time, putting people at more risk and means resources are not being concentrated properly.

I made the point that there are people who have had to flee their homes who might be reliant on humanitarian aid but are entitled to be in the UK as they have relatives here. What a waste of resources and money and emotional distress for the people involved. This is why the UK Government needs to be more compassionate as well as more practical.

Roman Abramovich

If ever there was a symbol of how the UK has mismanaged the Russian Oligarchs, then Roman Abramovich is it. Why does it take a war for the UK to act? It is now 19 years since he bought Chelsea, channelling billions of pounds of what the UK Government now says is dodgy money into Chelsea. By taking action now, it is saying “we know he was involved in corruption, but it didn’t matter back then”. It is also further proof that football, particularly the English Premier League clubs really need to have a look at themselves at who they allow to run their football clubs and what credibility they then give these people.

Visas

We know how difficult it is to get visas for refugees coming here in contrast to the “investor visa” that rich Russians were able to utilise. Commit to invest £2m and you get a visa. Make it £10m and you could apply for permanent settled status after just two years. As the adage goes, money corrupts. This scheme was started by Gordon Brown – what was he thinking about? It has been utilised extensively under the Tories until it closed recently. We have to remember that when we are told how London subsidises the rest of the UK that London has benefited from these lax rules and Governments not tackling the Russian dirty money being laundered through the City of London. It is also this money that allows so much construction work to take place in London, the flats sold and often never inhabited but retained as an asset.

Top of the League

Well done to Kilmarnock F.C. for getting back to the top of the league. Doing so against our local rivals was certainly enjoyable. On a personal note, I would like to thank Ayr United who facilitated access to the section for disabled supporters. With a cast on my broken foot, I am not allowed any weight on it so have the use of a wheelchair on a temporary basis. I have had to suffer jokes about my instant recovery when Killie scored right at the start of the game!