Speeches by Lamont.

“Anyone who has met businesses in Aberdeen will know that they rely on the oil and gas sector. This Labour Government’s “net zero at all costs” policy is a disaster for high-quality skills and jobs in the north-east and across Scotland. What urgent action will the Government take to restore confidence and stability in t…”

“Many of my constituents in Berwickshire would prefer to use NHS services in Northumberland, which are much closer to them—indeed, Northumbria healthcare NHS foundation trust has said it would welcome those patients—but the SNP Government do everything to stop them, meaning that elderly and sick patients have to travel …”

“To follow up on the point you made about the SNP and the Lib Dems, is that not them just circumventing the rules of the House? My understanding is that they have their own internal contest and pick the person they want. They are not getting the judgment of the rest of the Members of Parliament as to who we want as Chai…”

“My understanding of what happened with the SNP in the last Parliament, certainly with a couple of candidates who would have gone forward to a full election of the House, is that there was sufficient pressure and the internal contest happened to ensure that only one candidate was put forward for ratification, which is o…”

“Just to be clear, my understanding is that there is a contest happening, certainly with the SNP, but they do it behind closed doors among their MPs, as opposed to all MPs getting to choose.”

“It is not in the spirit of the rules, and that is basically what they are doing.”

“I was not making the point about the weakest link. I was making the point that Committee Chair becomes one of the appointments that the Whips control and that can be offered to colleagues as—”

“May I expand on a point that Gavin made? As you may know, I was a Member of the Scottish Parliament for 10 years, and in the Scottish Parliament, Committee Chairs are appointed by the party Whips. As Chief Whip for the Scottish Conservatives, one of my jobs was to appoint Committee Chairs. You are probably aware of the…”

“Whoever feels best able to answer.”

“Do you think the voting system that you described so well, Professor Russell, is clear to the general public and to MPs participating in the election?”

“I think the recollection that the hon. Lady and I will have of our time in the Scottish Parliament was of voting physically, albeit electronically, together in the Scottish Parliament Chamber. The difference now, of course, is that some Members of the Scottish Parliament are voting in the Chamber, while others are voti…”

“The hon. Member is making a very good speech. As a fellow Member of the Scottish Parliament for 10 years, I concur completely with his comments regarding the Committee structure. There are many faults about the other place, but it is significantly better at scrutinising Government, holding Government to account and imp…”

“My hon. Friend is demonstrating what a doughty campaigner she is for her constituents in the north-east of Scotland. I agree with everything she has said, and I will develop some of those points.”

“My right hon. Friend is right. She has consistently raised this issue in the Commons, and I know how passionately she feels about it on behalf of her constituents. I will come on to battery storage shortly. It is important that alternatives are considered. For example, rather than overhead cables, why is underground ca…”

“The Borders already has a significant number of electricity infrastructure projects, including wind farms and battery storage plants that have already been developed. Some are community owned—Berwickshire Housing Association co-owns a wind farm—but it has gone too far. Many people who previously supported those types o…”

“The hon. Member makes a key point, which I will come to later, that often these projects generate many jobs while the developments are being constructed, but the jobs disappear as soon as they are finished. That is unlike nuclear power, which the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) menti…”

“The hon. Member makes an excellent point about taking communities with us. We all accept, I believe, the need to invest in our electricity infrastructure, but it must be done in a coherent way that takes local communities with us.”

“The hon. Member makes a key point about the need to invest in the electricity network, but it needs to be done in a coherent and organised way with buy-in from the local communities. That is what is lacking dreadfully with some of the proposals. I will make some progress. The issues are clear. First, the proximity of p…”

“I share the hon. Member’s concerns, and I will come on to nuclear a little later.”

“I will take interventions, but I will make a little more progress. Patience, colleagues! It means giant mega-pylons running through communities and landscapes across the Scottish Borders. We all understand the need for a modern, resilient electricity network, but there must be a balance. It must be done in a coherent a…”