Happy New Year. In the words of D:Ream – things can only get better. As if to ice the foul cake that was 2020 the government rammed through its Brexit deal on Wednesday. So, you’re now ‘liberated’ from the chains of Brussels. Feeling the freedom? I suspect not. This sordid last-minute deal is an ignominious … Read more Boris Johnson’s trade deal was backed by hard-right Tories, and Labour MPs
My office is closed from Friday 18th December and will reopen at 10am on Tuesday 5th January. My email and voicemails will be checked once a day apart from on bank holidays and weekends with only very urgent cases responded to. All other enquiries will be responded to when the office reopens. You can find … Read more Useful Helplines – Christmas 2020
I had my final attempt of the year at getting Jacob Rees-Mogg to answer a question at today’s Business Questions. You can probably guess how it went. Watch the exchange below:
Christmas Appeals 2020 Usually my office collects toys to donate to various charities. While we’re not able to do this due to Covid-19, there are various charities and organisations you can support if you’re in a position to do so. Below are a few examples – please do let me know of any I’ve missed. … Read more Christmas Giving
At this week’s business questions I asked about Brexit and about the right of the people to decide their own future. Answers were thin on the ground. You can watch the exchange here –
Parliamentary Business At the start of the month, the Chancellor finally decided to extend furlough until March. After months of pressure from opposition parties including the SNP, the governments of the devolved nations, and numerous campaign groups, the decision was only made when England faced tougher restrictions. The UK government showing that once again the needs of … Read more November News – Westminster
Constituency Business I hope this finds you safe and well as we look forward to a different festive season. I know that for many, the end of 2020 can’t come soon enough and with the positive news about a vaccine having been approved this morning, I’m hopeful that 2021 will be better for us all. Below … Read more November News – Edinburgh East
And so it begins. We knew this crisis had to be paid for, but you might think Boris Johnson’s government would wait until we had turned the corner before cutting back. Sadly not. Even before the vaccines roll out, cuts are being announced. And who’s going to pay? Remember “we’re all in this together”? That’s … Read more Scotland is facing a new age of Tory austerity
At today’s business questions I asked for a full debate and vote on the decisions announced by the UK government yesterday on public sector pay and overseas aid:
It’s SNP conference next weekend. And it seems there’s more competition than ever for positions on the party’s national executive committee. So, lots of choice for delegates then. But when it comes to debating policy the choice is pretty limited. Gone are individual resolutions from branches. Instead we have six themed policy positions composited from … Read more Why we need a full and open debate on independence