28th December 2023: A Week in Parliament

Happy New Year 

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas Day celebrations and spent some much-needed time with their loved ones. It is important that we take time to reflect around this time of year and be thankful for what we have. It is with this in mind that I also wish you all a happy new year and hope that 2024 brings you prosperity and happiness. I look forward to returning to Parliament and continuing to represent my constituents to the best of my ability. I also look forward to continuing my work in the Scottish Affairs Committee by holding the Scotland Office to account for their actions. I will continue to be active in the constituency with business visits as well as carrying on my street surgery engagement. Here’s to the New Year!

Gaza

One thing I am sure we all hope for in the New Year is peace in the Middle East as the war between Israel and Hamas continues. It has dominated our current affairs, and I am proud of the steps I, and the SNP, have taken to try and deliver peace and end the killing of innocent civilians on both sides of the conflict. In recent days we have seen the horrifying news of the IDF mistakenly killing hostages they were supposed to protect. My SNP colleagues and I will continue to press the UK Government in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Carbon Monoxide Alarms

A few weeks ago, I was pleased to hand over 10 carbon monoxide alarms to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. As part of Gas Safety Week, a few months ago, Centrica kindly offered up the alarms for me to distribute in the constituency. Thankfully, SFRS agreed to take them and pass them on to a local organisation and talk them through safety measures and installations. A massive thanks to Watch Commander Craig Donnelly for popping into the office to collect them.

On a separate note, I would like to praise the work of the fire brigade, especially at this time of year, as well as the rest of our emergency services who work so hard all year round.

Kilmarnock FC

At the time of writing, Thursday 28th December 2023, Killie are off the back of a fine 1-0 win in Paisley. The win and the four clean sheets in a row from our last four away days surely puts this away hoodoo to bed. The fact we have accumulated the same number of points as we did pre-split last year shows remarkable progress. Well done to Derek and the players – they deserve all the plaudits they are getting at the moment.