Speeches by Ward.

“Many times I have raised with the Minister, as well as with Business and Treasury Ministers, the need for regeneration funding for Kirkcaldy High Street. The brilliant people of our town deserve a modern town centre that makes the most of our incredible seafront and all it has to offer. Ahead of the spending review thi…”

“7. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of UK Government regeneration funding on towns in Scotland.”

“Community ownership of assets can be incredibly valuable, and I congratulate the village of Auchtertool on its new community ownership of the Tiel pub. Meanwhile, in North Queensferry, the community are working hard to take ownership of the Albert hotel, but their efforts were blocked by SNP Government Ministers, who r…”

“Shameful!”

“I welcome today’s steps forward, particularly on trade. The fact that we are on the brink of the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians is such a collective global failure that it betrays words. Unlike the shadow Foreign Secretary, will the Foreign Secretary confirm the UK’s total opposition to Israeli plans to replace h…”

“The truth is that this deal with the EU is good for my constituents in Fife, good for Scotland, and good for the UK. Does the Prime Minister agree that the SNP is tying itself up in knots over this deal? While the right hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn) and the Scottish First Minister are desperate to talk…”

“My hon. Friend mentioned men’s sheds. I was delighted to visit the Kirkcaldy men’s shed in my constituency recently to see the amazing work that the people there do. Listening to this debate, I have been struck by the positive changes that this Bill will bring, and by the contrast with Scotland. The people I speak to f…”

“I thank the Minister for giving way. He is talking, rightly, about the importance of the implementation of legislation. He will be aware that new measures came into force two months ago under the Online Safety Act 2023, which introduced legal powers to remove online content that promotes suicide. Ahead of this, I wrote…”

“I wonder if the hon. Gentleman has the experience, as I and the relatives of many disabled people up and down this country have, of having to fight the medical profession to get the attention and the worth that a loved one deserves when the medical profession is not listening to us or to what that loved one needs. That…”

“Will the right hon. Member give way?”

“The Minister is doing important work on sanctions that are highly relevant to the situation in the middle east, where Israel’s aid blockade means that large numbers of children in Gaza will begin dying of starvation in the coming days. It plans to dismantle the humanitarian system and replace aid workers with mercenari…”

“I am privileged to speak in this debate today after so many powerful speeches from colleagues across the House. I am also glad to have the chance to draw particular attention to the people of Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, and the special role that my constituents and their forefathers played in securing victory for the al…”

“My hon. Friend is talking about the important work done by Lord Darzi, and the findings on crumbling hospitals in England. He may be interested to hear that recent figures show that the bill for the high-risk repairs needed to Scottish hospitals stands at £64 million. Those repairs have not been carried out under the S…”

“Following the welcome clarity from the Supreme Court that Labour’s Equality Act has always contained the right to single-sex spaces for women as well as protections for trans people, does the Minister agree that the SNP Scottish Health Secretary must urgently get a grip and ensure that the NHS is upholding the law, esp…”

“The detention and deportation of my hon. Friends the Members for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) and for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) by the state of Israel is disgraceful, and it smacks of racism—we cannot ignore the fact that they are women of colour. They were visiting not Israel, but the Occupied Palestinian …”

“I thank the Secretary of State and his team for the enormous amount of hard work they have put in on this issue. It feels apt to mention that I represent the town of Kirkcaldy, the birthplace of Adam Smith, who I am sure would have had something to say about last night’s events. My right hon. Friend is keenly aware of …”

“Will the Leader of the House please share when the Government will publish the impact assessment on the assisted dying Bill? Will she further update the House on current plans for Report stage and Third Reading of the Bill?”

“The Kirkcaldy community football partnership does an amazing job providing a home for 18 teams, and bringing young people into our national game, including from some of the most deprived parts of our town. Facilities at Denfield Park are too often unusable due to water logging on the grass pitch, and it badly needs a n…”

“10. What steps her Department is taking to support the development of grassroots football in Scotland.”

“I associate myself with the Minister’s remarks about the killings of the British World Central Kitchen workers by Israel in Gaza, and I extend this sentiment to Palestinian aid workers too. It is almost a year since I was last in Gaza, and not a day goes by when I do not think about what I saw. Does the Minister agree …”