Speeches by Arthur.

“The right hon. Member is being generous with his time, but I feel that he is giving a glass-half-empty speech. He will know that overall recruitment to the armed forces has increased substantially. The latest figures, published in December, are 13% up, and the number of people leaving the forces is dropping. We heard f…”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“I apologise for interrupting. I fully understand that the shadow Secretary of State wants the Government to spend more on defence, and I think we all share that aspiration, but he must welcome the increase in spending that we have committed to—the biggest increase since the cold war ended.”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way, because I know this subject is very important to him. He has carefully explained why he does not think the Government have to act, but he has not explained why his Government were negotiating a deal if they did not have to act, at great cost and with a great consumption …”

“Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?”

“Will the right hon. Gentleman give way, on that point?”

“Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?”

“It is not that the Government are not giving way. The Government are showing leadership by negotiating with other parties to find consensus in this Chamber, and that is something we should celebrate. I am ashamed that, 81 years after the end of the second world war, we still do not have a national memorial. The Father …”

“Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?”

“A change in this domain is inevitable. The Government can choose to be proactive, or they will end up reacting to events—perhaps when someone is killed. It is really important to remember that. When we had this debate last year, I spoke about the lawlessness we saw in my constituency and in Edinburgh more widely in 202…”

“Thank you, Mr Pritchard; surely you are irreplaceable.”

“Absolutely. The planning and resourcing that goes into enforcing these zones in Edinburgh is absolutely incredible, and I thank the police for the work they do—they often face real risks. We have to tackle the import and sale of fireworks. Last year, in response to the events of 2024, my office undertook a local campai…”

“The safe distance for a category F3 firework is 25 metres, but at the point of sale no questions are asked about where these things will be ignited. Very few people in Edinburgh South West have 25 metres of space to let off a firework in their garden.”

“It would be good to see an evaluation of the campaign that the Minister launched, which I thank her for running. It seems that the Government accept that there are impacts on pets and veterans, and they thank the emergency services for all they do and the risks they take on that evening, but all those people—the pet ow…”

“Given that we are all employers, I am slightly surprised that some people think that all you need to do to employ someone is know their national insurance number; that seems a little bit odd. I have been there, checking people’s passports to onboard them, and as a relatively new Member of Parliament, I do not really kn…”

“Scotland’s universities have been facing a funding crisis that has been many years in the making. Funding for students in Scottish universities is currently over £2,000 less than it is in England. Universities Scotland yesterday, in response to the SNP Budget, made it clear that it will have little impact on this probl…”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that, if anybody has any doubt about Putin’s motives or morality, they should look at who his partners are in this war? Iran is a country that is killing its own people on the streets and is now executing them. Is it not the case that Putin is an absolute disgrace, and anybody who shows any sy…”

“4. What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on funding for tertiary education.”

“When I was in Balerno on Saturday, a constituent politely reminded me that I had a moral obligation to be optimistic—not always easy when you are Scottish, I am afraid. But I do hope that what has happened in Iran will bring the international community together to take action and bring this horrible regime to an end. I…”

“I have come to this place from the university sector, so I understand the points that my hon. Friend is making. I pay tribute to staff across the sector who are supporting students right now. My hon. Friend will know that the sector is under huge financial pressure, so does he agree that a statutory duty should come wi…”