Speeches by Crichton.

“I thank the Chancellor for her statement and her nimble response to the energy shock, including support for heating oil consumers, who make up half the households in Na h-Eileanan an Iar. The future of energy security is not an either/or. We must pursue renewables with a community share in the wealth of wind, and we mu…”

“Like the hon. Member’s constituency, many businesses in my constituency, including distilleries, rely on kerosene heating oil for manufacturing processes. Would he urge the UK Government and the Scottish Government to devise a loan scheme to help these businesses to get over this Trump spike?”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you as Chair, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Steff Aquarone) for securing this timely debate, and I thank the Minister for visiting the Western Isles last month to hear directly from my constituents in Na h-Eileanan an Iar how the spike in prices has affected th…”

“If officials from Advice Direct Scotland can tell me, as a constituency MP, the number of applicants they have, and the estimated number they will have—16,000, with 5,000 applications already last week—surely they can provide that information to the UK Government as well.”

“Some 40% of flight diversions from Stornoway, Benbecula and Barra airports in my constituency could have been avoided if we were part of EGNOS, which was shamefully abandoned during Brexit by the Conservatives. As the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) pointed out, this has huge social and financ…”

“Can I just quickly ask, Elizabeth or Alan, for your thoughts on the electricity generator levy. Does that affect you?”

“What was unfair about it?”

“In that case, my questions are done.”

“Just very quickly, on little notice yesterday, when she was asked, the Chancellor thought that we might get a decision on Rosebank in the autumn. There are only two seasons in politics—spring and autumn. Would you want Rosebank decided in spring or in autumn?”

“Thanks for hanging in, Minister. We are at that stage where the Speaker would say, “Short questions, short answers”, so I will ask two quick topicals. Today, on the incredible convergence of national security, the energy transition and jobs, when you took that decision to block Ming Yang and the £1.5 billion investment…”

“Is China a competitor for our security of supply or a threat to our security of supply?”

“Just picking up on the carbon border adjustment mechanism, Elizabeth, that is about nitrogen as well, is it not? It is about fertiliser.”

“Thank you all for coming in. I am sorry I was late coming into the session after delaying you for an hour. Alex, you talked there about stable prices and markets. Earlier, you seemed to make quite a good argument for the energy profits levy, because it gives us politicians lots of money to decide what to do with. What …”

“This is pen-stroke policy. It is just changing the policy, is it not? That is all it needs.”

“Just picking up on the carbon border adjustment mechanism, Elizabeth, that is about nitrogen as well, is it not? It is about fertiliser.”

“This is a quick question, Dan, because you alluded to it. The Chinese company Ming Yang has been blocked from opening a big turbine factory in the highlands today on security grounds. Is that the right decision by the UK Government?”

“Do you have a sign that it is going to change its mind on it?”

“Your answer is spring.”

“What was the fear? Is it a technical fear of something that might be in the turbines, such as the circuitry?”

“Staying on turbines, lost yesterday in a blizzard of news was this idea that, rather than paying wind farms to switch off, constraint payments, you would take the money to provide cheaper or free electricity to areas that hosted wind farms. You want a pilot. We want to see it fast and we want to see it in Scotland, don…”