Speeches by Lamont.

“9. Whether the Commission is taking steps to comply with the Supreme Court judgment in the case of For Women Scotland v. the Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025.”

“I just want to make a few remarks, Mr Efford; I will not detain colleagues for long. I commend the Minister for his remarks, and I associate myself with the remarks from the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Gordon and Buchan. Just over a year ago that I was moving a similar draft order on behalf of the pr…”

“Hear, hear!”

“The Scottish fire and rescue service is facing damaging cuts thanks to underfunding by the SNP Government in Edinburgh. Last week, I visited Hawick fire station, where I heard about the proposed cuts, including changes to the retained service and a reduction in the 24/7 coverage to office hours. Such proposals could pu…”

“The Victims’ Commissioner has warned that freeing prisoners early who have been shown to pose a reoffending risk to the public will “place victims and the wider public at an unnecessary risk of harm.” The Domestic Abuse Commissioner has said that it is “simply unacceptable”. What discussions did the Government have wit…”

“I am grateful to the Minister, but what is he saying to my constituents who are genuinely terrified by these large-scale wind farms, pylons and solar farms coming to our area of Scotland, which I am sure he knows well? Just as importantly, what does he say to the hon. Members for Rother Valley (Jake Richards) and for S…”

“I pay tribute to the hon. Members for South West Norfolk (Terry Jermy) and for Rother Valley (Jake Richards) for taking a brave stance against their Government Whips and standing up for their constituents against these reckless solar farm proposals. Today’s debate is on solar energy, but the points I intend to make app…”

“Q11. People in the real world are disgusted by the Energy Secretary’s obsessive pursuit of net zero at any cost. The Scottish Borders are under attack, with solar farms the size of towns, massive wind farms and now mega-pylons scarring unspoilt landscapes. Nobody sensible supports his crazed, crank policies, which will…”

“But not President Trump?”

“The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. As the MP for the Scottish Borders, which is a vast area, I share her concerns. Many of my farmers and food producers face the challenges to which she has referred. I agree with her points about animal welfare and supporting the rural economy. Does she agree that local abatt…”

“Thank you, Mr Speaker, for dragging the Minister to the House tonight to explain the terms of the deal. After hammering farms with the family farm tax, it now looks like Labour is selling our farmers down the river, allowing cheap, low-quality imports from the United States. President Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture h…”

“The Minister is absolutely right to highlight the importance of supporting local food production and ensuring that consumers here in the UK buy local. I just wonder how that stacks up with what President Trump has just said, which is that this new UK-US trade deal “includes billions of dollars of increased market acces…”

“I want to talk a little about Scotland. You said it is quite hard to define what a public body is. A freedom of information request was put in to the Scottish Government that revealed there are 130 of these public bodies—or quangos, which is how they were described. Their number has increased by about 10% in the last 1…”

“Does it not just feed the voters’ frustration that that it does not matter who you vote for; decisions are being made by people who are ultimately unaccountable, not the MPs, Ministers or even the Prime Minister? Do you accept that it feeds that frustration that decisions are being made by people who are not directly e…”

“Just to dive back in on that, in the scenario where something went catastrophically wrong by that quango or public body that was undertaking those functions and it had been kept distant from the Minister’s private office, do you think the Minister should have to resign in that scenario, or is there such a distance betw…”

“It did not work though; it failed.”

“The Auditor General.”

“In relation to those public bodies that are out of direct ministerial control, do you think the public understand that and that it is not politicians and Ministers who ultimately make the decisions?”

“Just a few weeks ago, the Business and Trade Secretary said that he would “stand up for British workers”, so it is quite astonishing that the Minister has come to the House today to announce tax breaks for immigration. This will undercut workers in Scotland and across the UK, and it comes just weeks after Labour introd…”

“6. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the spring statement 2025 on family farms in Wales.”