8th May 2023: A Week in Parliament

PMQ

Last week I had a question for the Prime Minister where I raised the issue of one of my constituents. The constituent purchased a brand-new Tesla and the auto-pilot mode installed, deemed fit to drive on UK roads, has a life of its own. Rapid braking and swerving are what you would expect from a drunk driver and not, alleged, state-of-the-art technology worth tens of thousands of pounds! I thought this would be of interest to Sunak, given he knows better than most the importance of wearing a seatbelt in a moving car…I now have a meeting with Mark Harper MP, the Secretary of State for Transport, to discuss the matter further.

Starmer’s Labour

I was shocked that Keir Starmer has done a U-turn on the scrapping of tuition fees. There is no denying he is now Tory-lite, nothing more. If he manages to make government, then this policy U-turn will cost Scotland money as we would have got Barnett from the increased English education spend and therefore the Scottish Government could do more as well. Then for good measure, he announced he was scrapping plans to increase taxes on the most wealthy. So, what does Labour really stand for?

Meanwhile, Labour is campaigning to use the extra revenues from North Sea oil and gas to freeze council tax in England. Not only is that typical short-termism but why should oil and gas revenues from Scotland be used to reduce council tax in England? It is bonkers and extra monies should be invested in a just transition away from fossil fuels.

Constituent Recognition

Last week I presented Elsie Cook with the Early Day Motion I raised for her in Parliament. The motion pays tribute to her outstanding contribution to women's football, not only in Scotland but across the globe – a true pioneer of the women’s game!

I also nominated both Ross and James Gilmour of Thistle Cabs for this year's Parliamentary Taxi & Private Hire Awards. This is off the back of their recent success at the Scottish Passenger Transport Awards, where they won the 'Best Customer Service' category. The awards reception is being held on Tuesday 6th June, at Westminster and I look forward to meeting Ross and James there. Fingers crossed they are victorious and can add another award to the collection!

Kilmarnock FC

It was yet another lacklustre display from Kilmarnock away from home, slumping to a 2-0 defeat at Fir Park. After St Mirren away there was a real hope that we’d turned a corner, in regards to our away form, but conceding early yet again was disappointing. There wasn’t much for the near-2,000 Killie fans to get excited about on Saturday and they were understandably frustrated with the performance. However, it is important we continue to get behind the lads, starting Saturday at home to Livi. Our form was always gonna be massive going into these post-split fixtures so let’s hope we can get a huge three points on Saturday!