Speeches by Crichton.

“Who’s he?”

“Nobody can doubt the hon. Member’s Europhile credentials, but I do doubt his party’s commitment to unions of any kind. Why else would the SNP spend more fighting a by-election in Shetland than it did fighting the Brexit referendum? When he has finished answering that, perhaps he can tell us why his party spent more fig…”

“1. What steps he has taken to increase health and social care coverage in rural communities.”

“I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Caerfyrddin (Ann Davies) for securing this important debate. To echo the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for North West Leicestershire (Amanda Hack), I have come to Westminster Hall today following discussions with Lloyds Bank, which has decided to close the Benbecula branch…”

“rose—”

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“rose—”

“In places like Na h-Eileanan an Iar, going the extra mile to provide care is part of the job, and I pay tribute to the carers in my constituency who travel miles in darkness and bad weather to deliver support for the elderly. In some parts of the Western Isles, and indeed across rural Scotland, there simply is not the …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for the balanced way in which he introduced the debate. I will say at the outset that my constituents completely understand the need to consult on regulations. The fatal shooting involving…”

“It is a noble ambition, but it will require the Government to get into the wiring of community connections. Do you accept that, and will you apply civil service firepower to it?”

“Thanks. Now let me praise you for your local power plan, which you announced yesterday; it is great.”

“Yes, you do. You described it as the start of a journey to a different place. Some of us are already there—in the Western Isles, we have 23 MW of community energy, and thank you for recognising that in yesterday’s statement. I heard what you said, Clive, in response to Mike Reader’s question about warehouse solar and h…”

“In response to some of Melanie’s questions, you talked about the 20% premium for renewable jobs, but the truth is that a solar farm engineer will earn a third or a half less than a North sea engineer. Shouldn’t the clean energy jobs plan just come clean and say, “Yes, there will be jobs in renewables, but they won’t be…”

“You talked about us moving from community benefit to community share.”

“Thank you, Minister and Mr Maxwell, for coming in. I am a Scottish Labour MP, so we are bound to disagree on something. Let me first damn you and then praise you, Minister. I noted earlier that, in response to the Chair, you said that tax matters were for the Chancellor, but this 78% energy profits levy on North sea oi…”

“Offshore Energies UK says that this will cost us £50 billion in lost investment, and Louise Gilmour of GMB Scotland—I declare my membership of GMB—says that it is costing us thousands of jobs. It goes beyond trade union subscription for me, because the guys who have kept my village alive for the last two generations ar…”

“Send your civil servants to the Western Isles—we can teach you all about it.”

“It was good to see you walking in today, Mr Speaker. I welcome the publication of the local power plan, which will be keenly read in my constituency—the heart of the Atlantic—where communities are taking their share in the wealth of wind. To renew and expand community energy, we need to get connected to the grid. I wel…”

“4. What steps she is taking to ensure the Project Gigabit roll-out prioritises rural areas with poor levels of broadband connectivity.”

“The figures are impressive, but 10% of constituents in the Western Isles cannot get more than 10 megabits a second. While I welcome Project Gigabit, the islanders tell me that the areas first being considered for connection already have good fibre connection. They are getting a fibre upgrade, while people perhaps just …”