Speeches by Lamont.

“The Scottish National party’s deposit return scheme was a complete shambles, which the last Conservative Government stopped, preventing it from hurting Scottish businesses with more regulation and higher costs. The SNP Government are now facing legal action over the scheme, with businesses seeking hundreds of millions …”

“My hon. Friend is speaking very well about the usefulness and benefit of having a good rail system. He will be aware of the new timetable that the national rail operators are proposing. For my constituency, Berwick-upon-Tweed is the most important station, although it is in England. It will be losing services to London…”

“5. Whether she has had meetings with her counterparts in the devolved Administrations since taking office.”

“Applications for battery storage facilities are flooding into the Scottish Borders. There are also plans for a massive 50-mile route of pylons across our unspoilt landscape. Local residents are concerned about the impact on their communities and on the natural environment. They feel that the Labour and SNP Governments …”

“As ever, my hon. Friend is doing an excellent job of standing up for his constituents in Keighley and Ilkley, and exposing the failures of Labour-controlled Bradford council. In Scotland, this finance settlement will not affect my council, but my council is having to deal with a £265 million hit, along with all the oth…”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Please indulge me. Could you give some guidance, on how, under Standing Orders, we can encourage Ministers to debate? This is, after all, a debating chamber. The Minister is either unable or unwilling to debate with right hon. and hon. Members.”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important and timely debate. Does he agree that, despite the best efforts of the Labour Government, there is a long-standing and enduring relationship between the USA, Scotland and the rest of the UK? More importantly from our perspective as Scottish MPs, Tartan Week in Ne…”

“The Scottish Borders has some of the most beautiful countryside in the whole of the United Kingdom, but it is going to be destroyed by the massive pylons being built by ScottishPower Energy Networks in pursuit of Scottish Government and UK Government policy. Does the Secretary of State think it is right to charge ahead…”

“T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.”

“My hon. Friend is speaking very well about the challenges and issues. It was great to meet Christina and Skye before the debate started. Does my hon. Friend recognise that many employers follow good practice, paying parents during a time of care and keeping jobs open, but the petitioner and I are concerned about those …”

“The hon. Lady is speaking remarkably well about the challenges that this Government policy will create for farmers in Wales, in Scotland and across the UK. Research by Scottish Land and Estates shows that the average UK farm size is 217 acres and the average agricultural land value in Great Britain is £8,200 per acre, …”

“The Labour Government’s family farm tax will be catastrophic to farmers in my constituency in the Borders. I will join many of them and their tractors in Kelso on Saturday, when the farming community comes together to show its displeasure and disapproval of this policy. Farmers will struggle to pay this tax, so what as…”

“Will the Leader of the House allow time for a debate on the importance of volunteering, to celebrate community spirit? Coldstream community council recently hosted a senior citizens’ Christmas party in the town’s community centre. Over 100 local residents enjoyed a belated Christmas meal and entertainment, but it would…”

“An observation I would make—it is not a question—is that it is harder for us as candidates and agents to spot those mistakes when returning officers use mini-counts as a method to count the votes as opposed to having one big count where you can see the votes piling up if it is a very close result. If you have four or f…”

“A very quick question: given that stranded American astronauts could still vote in the American election, do you not think there is an argument for making overseas voting online?”

“Can I start by echoing your comments about your posties? My constituency covers nine sorting offices, and they did a tremendous job getting all the stuff that we were asking them to deliver through the doors, but there were delays in Scotland. Your evidence highlighted some issues with the printers. Can you expand on t…”

“But the results in that area have been close in the past, so it could have done. I was wondering what additional training you are providing to your team across the country to ensure that whatever mistakes were made in Wandsworth are not made elsewhere.”

“The result did not change and would not have changed—”

“I want to continue the discussion about the counts. The Electoral Commission confirmed that the election was well run, but it identified a few issues with postal votes in Scotland and a couple of problems at counts, one being in Wandsworth, I believe. In Putney, several thousand votes went missing, which resulted in a …”

“I do not want to have any more questions on this, but I have been fighting elections since 2005 and I have never known a campaign that has been so difficult in terms of ensuring that Royal Mail was delivering communications in the window that we expected, both as a candidate and as a political party. This was by far th…”