A Week in Parliament

Cummings

If ever there was any doubts that the Tories do not care for you, and it is one rule for them and one rule for another then all you need to do is consider the Dominic Cummings fiasco. His story doesn’t stack up – first it was him and his wife being ill, then it was only the wife. Next it was for his parents to help with childcare (dangerous given their age and risk of catching Covid-19) and then it was his sister who offered to help. Ultimately, they made a 250-mile trip when they were sure at least one of them had the disease. They risked spreading it to their immediate family and who knows where else. Did he have to stop for petrol for example?

When Scotland’s chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood was found to have broken the rules on non-essential travel, in my column I called for her to resign (I had to edit at the last minute, as she resigned before going to print), so I know I am not political point scoring. How can someone who advises the Prime Minister, was aware of the Government slogan “Stay at Home” remain in position when he flouted such guidance in a completely reckless manner? I previously wondered if the power of Cummings over the UK Government is exaggerated but he now seems untouchable - we should all be alarmed at this lack of democracy and accountability. Strangely, the Scottish Tories have nothing to say on the matter. Why?

Health Surcharge

Maybe a wee bit of good news within the Cummings fiasco is the fact that the UK Government look like they will cave in on their plans to keep charging non-UK healthcare workers a surcharge if they have to go into hospital. Clearly, they cannot handle more bad news at this moment in time. But again, for sheer lack of empathy, imagine the Prime Minster was defending proposals that mean those healthcare workers from outside the UK, treating patients with Covid-19 would need to pay for the privilege of treatment themselves if they get ill. I was only too happy to support a cross-party effort to drop this proposal. Thankfully common sense of a sort seems to have prevailed.

Ian Murray

Ian Murray, Labour’s shadow Scottish Secretary, used his first question at the dispatch box not to challenge the UK Government, but to try to attack the Scottish Government. He was arguing that Scotland should have shut down two-weeks earlier. Yet he doesn’t want Scotland to have the powers that allows a full scale to shut down and implementation of aspects like the furlough scheme to support workers. He always seems to forget that, which is rather convenient.

Westminster Modernisation

During the debate about the continued use of the hybrid Parliament, a Labour MP declared that “it has taken centuries” to get TVs installed in the chamber. Now I am no defender of Westminster and its dated traditions, but I think getting TVs installed centuries earlier might have proved a bit difficult!

A Week in Parliament

Brexit

Many people will be glad not to have heard much about Brexit the past few months. However, it will again be a key issue soon. With many discussions put on hold initially due to Covid-19, then it is clear the clock is ticking. It makes sense to extend the transition period but yet the Tory Government is determined the UK will leave the EU on the 31st December 2020 no matter what. Realistically this means the agreement being in place at the end of October/early November to allow it to be ratified. This headstrong attitude seems particularly reckless given the Covid-19 recession that needs to be addressed. Indeed, it has been confirmed that civil servants have been diverted from working on Covid-19 measures to do further “No-Deal” planning. This highlights a number of issues – firstly it proves that the so called “deal” that has been agreed, is not a deal at all. It is as an agreement of heads of terms for discussion. Secondly, it shows that they are prioritising Brexit over Covid-19 which is reckless in the extreme. Lastly, it shows they do not care about the effect of a “No-Deal Brexit” on the UK economy. In fact, for someone like Dominic Cummings who is advising the UK Government, his attitude will be that the economy is already ‘gubbed’ so who cares about further damage?! Still, we know who will suffer worst in the long term if this happens - it will be the poorest and most vulnerable in our society.

Hybrid Parliament

The UK Government unilaterally decided that the hybrid arrangements for Westminster will not continue beyond the Whitsun recess. This means that unless new standing orders are agreed by Parliament on remote electronic voting any votes need to take place at Westminster. MPs who are in the categories of either full shielding or recommended self-isolation will lose their voting rights if they obey medical guidance. How can this be deemed democratic? Presently, the governments of the three devolved nations still say that everyone should work from home if possible and only undertake travel if essential. Where does MPs travelling back and forwards to London fall within this? Incredibly, the UK Transport Secretary says it is our “civic duty” to avoid using public transport. It is physically impossible for MPs from Northern Ireland and Scottish MPs from the islands to travel without using public transport so what consideration is given to allow them to comply with this request and still perform their parliamentary duties – clearly none. Am I expected to drive to London and back rather than use the train? It shows another example of Government Ministers making utterances and having stances that make no sense.

I appreciate many constituents have had to go to their places of work during the pandemic, so may expect parliamentarians to do so. If I’m needed at Westminster, I will be there. However, it seems to me, that rather than parliament “leading by example” as the Tories are saying, it is showing an unwillingness to change how it operates. No change there either.

A Week in Parliament

Lockdown Considerations

It looks like we are now at the point where Boris Johnson is struggling to control his cabinet split between those who are desperate for the lockdown to be lifted and those who think it needs to stay in place longer. Johnson has now expanded on his own experiences and how he was close to being put on a ventilator. He more than anyone should understand how the health risks need to be managed.

I want to get to the stage where we do see some partial lifting – maybe the starting of the construction industry and some manufacturing. And a phased in approach to retail as well. However, it is quite clear that these matters need to be handled really carefully to avoid spikes in travel and mixing which would give a second peak of the virus. This has happened in Germany, which is a country that has been deemed to have coped best in Europe with the virus to date. So, whatever happens going forward in the short term, it is clear we need to adhere to the hygiene and social distancing rules and accept the lockdown will effectively stay in place.

Business Operations

As we talk of return to work, some people will be pointing out they haven’t stopped working. Some manufacturing, online retail [Officeshoes] and telephone response companies have remained open. This has led to many enquiries to my office. The Scottish Government guidance is clear – non-essential work shouldn’t continue. So why aren’t these companies simply told to close? Well quite simply they cannot be made to close as the Scottish Government guidance is not enforceable by law. What is enforceable is that companies must put in place social distancing measures.

The reality is that employment law lies at Westminster. It is only Westminster that can order the full-scale shutdown of a sector. Under the new laws, it is unlawful for pubs and restaurants to open. It is not against the law for a manufacturing company to be operational. It is against the law for them not to have social distancing measures in place. I appreciate these nuances cause confusion. However, it comes with having two Governments and Scotland not always able to make its own decisions. Scottish Labour politicians should understand this and remember that when they demand the Scottish Government steps in to close a non-essential business in operation. Ironically, it is Labour who ensured that employment law remained reserved to Westminster. They also refused to back an SNP amendment to the Scotland Bill that would devolve employment law to Scotland. This is even more ironic given the STUC agree it should be devolved to Scotland.

Trade Talks

Despite the covid-19 crisis, the UK Government is determined the UK will still leave the EU at the end of December of this year, with or without a deal. This seems completely reckless. They are also now starting trade talks with the US. This at a time when Trump seems more unstable than ever – who seriously thinks this is a good strategy just now?

A Week in Parliament

Donald Trump

It’s often said Donald Trump is the most dangerous man in the world due to the fact he controls the trigger to the United States’ nuclear weapons. It turns out he is the most dangerous man in the world because he says ridiculously stupid things that carry weight and media attention because he is the President of the US. This has become more evident during the Coronavirus pandemic – recently he was encouraging people to take part in demonstrations to lift the lockdown. The states he encouraged these protests were controlled by Democrat Governors proves how sinister that is. But the other daft aspect is he was encouraging his own supporters to gather together and risk catching Covid-19.

Then to top matters off, he suggested an injection of disinfectant into humans was a good way to consider getting of the virus “within a minute or so”. You know things are bad, when bleach companies then felt obliged to warn people not to try injection or drinking of their products. Trump’s follow ups were no better – wash your hands in bleach and then the classic backtracking of stating he was only joking/using sarcasm. Here in the UK, Boris Johnson has clearly had a forced absence due to his own contraction of Covid-19 and his need to recover. However, it would be hard to argue against the premise that Nicola Sturgeon has shown real leadership in Scotland and been a true statesperson in the daily briefings. When you look across the Atlantic, you really do know we are lucky in that aspect.

 That Homeworking Fund

The Standard’s online headline was “Alan Brown MP opts to use £10,000 coronavirus grant for home working”. I think it’s fair to say the headline suggests I used £10,000 which I haven’t (The Standard did ask for confirmation of how much I had used but I didn’t think it was necessary to disclose figures at that time). Also, it is titled a grant which isn’t true either. It’s a contingency fund to support measures deemed necessary to facilitate homeworking and therefore any unused money remains with the authorities. The official UK and Scottish Government advice is all companies are to take the necessary steps to facilitate homeworking where possible. It would be bizarre if I couldn’t do likewise for my office. One other aspect is by not travelling to London, the savings for this will offset expenditure to date. I can also guarantee any purchase will still be a valuable office asset for the remainder of my term.

I have always said journalistic integrity and newspaper income should be detached, and this was something ably demonstrated by The Standard – while the story was running, I was offered a special deal on how to advertise my office contact details in the paper. Incidentally I chose to do so to remind people we are here to help, although with the number of enquiries we have had, people do recognise this. Separately Covid-19 has clearly been a difficult time for newspapers and there’s no doubt local newspapers are vital so hopefully they will all come through.

A Week in Parliament

Virtual Parliament

Despite hopes that we have now reached the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak and cases, it is only right the lockdown has been extended a further three-weeks to ensure the virus outbreak really is on the wane. This means that despite Westminster resuming after the Easter recess I will not be travelling to London while these restrictions are still in place.

With this progress we are hoping to further advance political matters with the prospect of a ‘Virtual Parliament’ taking place this week. from being one of the most old-fashioned institutions in the world (and many MPs determined to keep Westminster that way) then this really is groundbreaking stuff! The Scottish Parliament participated in this last week with a virtual question time for MSPs to hold the Scottish Government to account on matters relating to Covid-19. It is fair to say it worked well and allowed members to be transparent with the public and keep everyone up to date with current affairs. It was great to see the Scottish Government leading the way once again with this initiative.

On a personal basis I have to admit to being a technophobe, but the lockdown has already forced me to participate in online meetings using Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. So it has forced me to up my game technology wise which is no bad thing. I will also be taking part in Select Committee meetings online. This approach is the right approach while we try to beat the pandemic but I still prefer face to face contact and so like many other people I am also looking to get back a period of normality.

SPFL Votes

Given the massive impact of Covid-19 on peoples’ lives, it is hard to move away from this topic in my column. A side issue however is how severely it has affected sport and in particular, football. On the whole, it has been great to see the world of football come together in times like these. However, the SPFL has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. There is a civil war unfolding within Scottish football as clubs have now ultimately voted to end the 2019/20 campaign in the current league standings. This comes as Dundee made a voting U-turn with the club now supporting the proposal to conclude the season in its current form. There has definitely been bullying tactics over allocation of money clubs need to survive. The SPFL state only ending the season allows money to be paid out. However, in the past they have given the money out as advances or loans so the reality is they could do so again. The return of football would be a welcome sign of normality. Why deprive fans the excitement of the end of season run-in? We might even end up trialling summer football as a bonus. Mind you, as a Killie fan, the end of season might be too fraught depending on how some games close out! Only Scottish football can stunningly ignore the wishes of fans yet again. 

A Week in Parliament

We have now finished Week 2 of lockdown and it already seems much longer! However, needs must, and we need to do our best to keep ourselves and our families safe. It was certainly disappointing to see reports that the chief medical officer had travelled with her family to their second home in Fife at the weekend. No-one should think they are exempt from the guidelines. Her embarrassment was complete when the chief constable of Police Scotland confirmed police officers visited her to give her a police warning. She has now realised this and stepped down from her role.

Similarly, on the day that Andrew Bowie MP was telling all and sundry on social media not to travel to his Aberdeenshire constituency, Prince Charles racked up at Balmoral and then was confirmed to have Covid-19!

My son, Kyle is in Edinburgh. I would like to take him home cooked food to get by on – in theory I could do this and manage to stay within social distance guidelines. However, I haven’t as a round trip to Edinburgh would be non-essential travel. If I can abide by the rules, then surely the more high-profile people can lead by example?

One bizarre aspect of the lockdown is it seems to give some people more chance to research conspiracy theories – one being that 5G is spreading the virus. Yet, we know it is spread mainly from droplets and a combination of people with infected hands infecting surfaces that other people touch. And if was down to 5G, why is coronavirus all over the world, in countries that don’t have 5G?

Another one is about biochemical warfare from China. If so, why would they infect their own people first? I know China has had some awful human rights abuses and they continue to persecute the Uighur Muslims. However, you do not infect the wider populace with a virus and don’t unleash such a weapon unless you have your own vaccine. So, logic says none of these theories can be remotely true. Although matters are never helped when you have the President of the United States initially dismissing Covid-19 as just the flu and then also calling it the “Chinese virus”! The gauge of serious the situation is that even he is now taking this as a real serious health risk.

Home Working

Now I am homeworking, all the days blend into one – a mass of email enquiries to juggle. My office while working remotely are dealing with hundreds of cases. Hard ones too – businesses struggling; people with no income; people stranded abroad. Unfortunately, all these matters have now confirmed that the UK Government’s financial support packages are inadequate – too many people and businesses are missing out. And it is clear the UK is doing a lot less than other countries to help stranded citizens return. I have brought up many of these matters directly with the Paymaster General of the Treasury in daily phone call sessions and will continue to do so. I promise to work as hard as I can to get the support people deserve.

A Week in Parliament

Thanks

I would like to record my thanks to the NHS staff who are working incredibly hard during this Coronavirus epidemic. They cannot social distance at their work. Many nurses and doctors have to interact and directly look after those who have been infected with Coronavirus. It must be extremely concerning at times, no matter what precautions and PPE are put in place.

Similarly, our carers who go door to door and are the lifeline service for our elderly and most vulnerable citizens. It is fair to say their services have never been more needed or appreciated.

In times of adversity it is always heart-warming to see how communities can come together and look out for each other. There has been a tremendous amount of volunteers offering to do shopping and just look out for those in need. Well done all and to the companies offering to assist with deliveries and help the NHS. It is this type of co-operation that will get us all through this crisis.

Wabtec

In amongst the Covid-19 crisis it was particularly dispiriting that Wabtec announced an intent to close the Kilmarnock site, effectively re-directing the work to Doncaster. Any possible closure and job losses are hard to take – especially skilled engineering jobs. However, the timing of this is awful. I have submitted a number of questions to the company and have contacted the Scottish Government – as has my colleague, Willie Coffey MSP. We will certainly do all we can to hopefully make the company see that the Kilmarnock site has a future.

Social Distancing

The Scottish Government advice and guidelines are clear about the need for as many of us as possible to stay at home and only venture out on a limited basis – once per day. It has been obvious from media coverage that too many people are not adhering to these principles. However, it is for the safety of ourselves and our families so it should not be a difficult decision to adhere to.

Where I appreciate people having difficulties is workplaces staying open – it feels some businesses are finding whatever loophole they can to justify why they should remain operational. Now, I appreciate that it is a difficult decision to close a business even temporarily. Even with wage support for employees, companies can have large overheads to pay out while having no income. However, the safety of their workers should always be the number one priority. My office has had a lot of contact from concerned constituents – indeed I have now written to 20 companies asking them to consider if they really should still be operational and if so, as a fallback what protection measures are in place for their staff?

Social distancing does provide an opportunity for outstanding domestic jobs. On a lighter note, I know at least from my perspective my garden should end up in a better condition than it’s been for a few years. Travelling up and down to London and squeezing in weekend MP activities has saw parts of my garden overlooked. I have no more excuses now!

A Week in Parliament

Energy Policy

After nearly 5 years the Tory Government have now intimated they will allow onshore wind to bid in future auctions. I have long argued for this – it is the cheapest form of electricity generation and if the UK and Scotland are to meet climate change targets then we need to almost treble the amount of onshore wind capacity. So while welcome, this is another illustration of how Westminster makes decisions on behalf of Scotland that is not in our best interests when they blocked onshore wind. I have been challenging the UK Government to incentivise bids for offshore and onshore wind to use UK based companies for the manufacturing and fabrication of the turbines. Most are made abroad and shipped in, so we have not benefited from the jobs bonanza there could have been. This is also a Westminster failing as the UK could genuinely have been world leaders in this field, but they did not invest in the industry. As a result, Denmark is one of the world leaders as their government invested at the correct time.

Carbon Capture and Storage is another energy generation technology that is integral to the UK being able to meet its climate change targets. Companies and organisations I have met confirm that they are on the cusp of delivering this within a few years. They confirm that proper Government backing at this point will make the UK a world leader in this field. This allows companies to refine the technology and export it around the world. There is a pilot project in the Peterhead area which as well as looking at the carbon capture element of a gas power station is also looking at hydrogen production. Hydrogen is a carbon-free fuel and will be required in the future for our gas boilers and also as a fuel for buses, heavy goods vehicles and possibly cars too. So it is critical this project is fully backed by the UK Government. The Scottish Government is supporting this as best they can do, but again, while we operate in the Westminster framework, we are completely reliant on the UK Government making what might or not be the correct decision.

Heathrow

The High Court confirmed that the UK Government’s National Policy on Airport Expansion is illegal because it does not take account of the Paris Agreement the UK Government signed up to on climate change. This is incredible, but even worse, the UK Government now appear to be saying that as Heathrow Airport’s third runway proposals are a private venture it is nothing to do with them! That is completely at odds with the judgement. The Scottish Government are including air emissions in their climate change net zero targets. It is obvious the UK Government should also do so. Additionally, at present, there is no international agreement on how to measure and assign aviation emissions to different countries – it is vital this is also tackled or else we are ignoring a massive elephant in the room.

A Week in Parliament

Committee Appointment

I have now been appointed as the SNP representative on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [BEIS] Select Committee. This aligns with my Energy and Climate Change Spokesperson role so I am looking forward to working on this committee. It is a committee with a very wide remit. However, with COP 26 taking place in Glasgow in November I am hopeful the committee will have a focus on the climate change issues. I will certainly hope to steer some reviews in that direction.

Cash Retentions

I secured a debate about eliminating the use of cash retentions in the construction industry. Retention is effectively a cash bond that a subcontractor pays to a contractor as part of their tender award. There have been historical issues with this system though with contractors holding onto the money, sometimes for years casing cashflow issues for the subcontractor. If the main contractor goes bust, then the subcontractor then loses their money altogether. Over the past 4 years, there has been over £1bn of cash retentions lost due to insolvency. Yet the UK Government has done nothing for decades despite being advised to eliminate this system.

They did have a consultation closed in January 2018. By some amazing coincidence, they decided to publish the consultation results the day before my debate! They fooled no-one with this burst of “activity”. The ministerial response to me was also woeful - apparently, we don’t realise how complex the situation is and he wouldn’t even give a timescale for change. Cash retentions have been eliminated in most other countries and the Scottish Government are consulting on their preferred option. It looks like this is another matter the Scottish Government will show the UK Government how to take action.

Drug Summit

I know people can get frustrated with what they see as the UK Government and Scottish Governments not working together. Many like to blame the SNP Scottish Government. Yet when it comes to tackling the drug and addiction crisis we have, the UK Government opted to have their own summit in Glasgow, the day after a Scottish Government one. They also deliberately excluded the Scottish Government and opposition MPs. Also, the UK Government summit was headed up by Kit Malthouse, a Minister of State for Crime, Policing and the Fire Service. This is illogical as most of Malthouse’s remit doesn’t even extend to Scotland. It confirmed the Tory UK Government is not willing to look at ways to resolve the problem and debate alternative solution such as drug consumption rules. In a radio interview, all Malthouse spoke about was finding new ways to clamp down on supplies. Everyone can agree we need to clamp down on drug dealers. However, it is clear that the “war on drugs” hasn’t worked to date, so other solutions need to be considered. It seems this is yet another example of Westminster coming to Scotland to “tell us what to do”. It is time they worked with the Scottish Government on this as a public health matter.

A Week in Parliament

Who runs what?

So Boris Johnson’s top advisor, fixer Dominic Cummings hired another special advisor who turned out to be a racist. Who would have thought it? After the backlash forced the resignation of Andrew Sabisky, he blamed the media rather than admitting any culpability. That says just as much about him. Still, when Cummings wrote a recent blog about wanting “cranks” and “weirdos” it is of little surprise. This is the calibre of people that the Tories are trying to bring in to advise Ministers on the best policies for the UK Government to follow. However, given Boris Johnson has made enough racist comments in the past and enough anti-Scottish comments, then it really is of no surprise. What is worrying is where Cummings is going. Many of the stories are not good, but he is someone who thrives on bad publicity and loves being an alternative thinker. I fear it will lead to further destructive ideas and policies.

Immigration

Right on cue, the Tories then announce their new immigration policy. One with salary thresholds based on pay levels in the South of England. One that does not account for the needs of Scotland. It stands to follow that as a country, given Scotland has long exported its people then we also need immigration to maintain a working population. It is so frustrating that we know a central tenant of the Vote Leave campaign was racism and stopping immigration. No, no, they said. Yet, now we have a Home Secretary, Patel, who is bringing in new rules that would have prevented her own parents coming to the UK. Can you get any more sadly ironic than that?

On the back of this, we now hear Tory MSPs at Holyrood “are livid”. Well, what power do they have? The care sector say they will be devasted with this policy. This is serious. How will shortages in care homes be filled? The Scottish Seafood Association, led by a former Tory parliamentary candidate say it will devastate their industry. [I have long argued there is no point in extra fish-catching if it cannot be processed for sale]. The fruit and vegetable growing sector are worried. A major hotel chain owner says the hospitality industry will be crippled. The problem is that if businesses are hit, they pay less tax. This affects public services. It means less tax towards the NHS and our pensions. If businesses start suffering, they may have to pay off UK workers or go out of business altogether if their overheads are too high without enough workers and customers.

Some people might expect long term wages bonanza if there are fewer workers under the supply and demand theory. However, if prices go up too much, then many of us then cannot afford to pay for home improvements. If construction costs go up too much then the government can afford less road and housebuilding projects. There is no long term upside to Scotland not having its own immigration policy and being forced to comply with blinkered UK ones.