28th February 2022: A Week in Parliamenet

Ukraine

My hopes that Putin would step away from the brink has sadly passed. We now have a war on European soil. The courage of the Ukrainian population and armed forces has been incredible. It seems the invasion hasn’t gone as smoothly as Putin expected. He now knows Ukraine will not bow down. If the Russian aspiration is long term occupation of Ukraine, then it will also seem there will be ongoing resistance from the Ukrainian population. This means a war of attrition, similar to the Russian occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and it will be damaging for the Russian economy as well as the suffering caused by continued casualties.

Sanctions

It is quite clear the West, and the UK in particular were too slow to impose sanctions. Embarrassingly, when the UK initially announced “record sanctions”, it was only on three people who have already been sanctioned for years by the US. For seven years the SNP has been demanding action on the Russian “laundromat” schemes in the UK. I raised the Russian money at PMQs, and the fact that Boris Johnson and David Cameron had agreed to play tennis with a Russian connected to Putin, based on a £160k bid at a Tory fundraising evening. Ruth Davidson also had a lunch appointment won by the wife of a Russian banker for £20k.

We have Lebedev, son of a KGB agent, made a Lord by Johnson. We know the Tories have taken millions from Russian nationals, so their words are somewhat hollow on these matters.

No-Fly Zones

There has been talk of a no-fly zone. However, the reason NATO has not moved to this yet, is that the reality of introducing a no-fly zone, means you are committing to shooting down Russian aeroplanes. Russia would also be targeting, say, UK planes operating in that airspace which would inevitably mean UK planes having to take out anti-aircraft machinery on Russian soil. In short, a no-fly zone immediately becomes a wider war with Russia. This worst possible consequence may come to pass, but no one wants a full-scale war to be opened up right away.

Visas

Many constituents have contacted me to lobby for visas to be waived for Ukrainian Nationals. I fully support this. It was outrageous that a UK Government Minister advised that Ukrainians can apply to work here via the seasonal worker scheme. Ukrainians don’t need a visa to travel to the EU. Ireland has waived the visa requirements into Ireland, it is time for the UK to also act. I have submitted a question on this and written to Priti Patel.

Covid

Eventually, covid came to me – I suspect I caught it travelling back from Norway. I was not too unwell but did suffer headaches, tiredness and cold/flu symptoms. It seems crazy that in England I would be free to go about my daily business while positive and possibly pass it onto many others, who may suffer worse symptoms. I was really frustrated to have to miss the Stewarton torch parade so hopefully, I can participate in their next one. The online footage looked fantastic – well done to all involved.