Alison Taylor

I completely disagree with the hon. Gentleman. In my view, low growth in Scotland has been related to the threat of a second independence referendum, and I would put the blame for the low growth firmly in the hon. Gentleman’s hands.[Official Report, 3 July 2025; Vol. 770, c. 6WC.] (Correction) I sincerely hope that the Scottish National party will wake up to that opportunity in its last year in government, but the last 18 years have offered little evidence that it will. A former Member of this House and a former First Minister, the right hon. Alex Salmond, was very fond of repeating these lines of Burns, although Members will excuse me if I do not deliver them as well as he did: “But facts are chiels that winna ding, An’ downa be disputed” These are the facts: 10,000 children live in temporary accommodation in Scotland; one in six Scots is on NHS waiting lists; Scottish GDP is trailing behind the rest of the UK by nearly £3,000 per person; and the SNP Scottish Government have overseen an unacceptable fall in educational attainment. In fact, their report card is a fail. The spending review puts an end to the excuses. With my apologies to John F Kennedy, the nationalists need to stop asking, “What can my country do for me?” and start asking, “What can I do for my country?” They need to stop asking, “How can we blame someone else?” and start asking, “How can we build a better life for the people of Scotland?” They need to stop calculating what they think will be best for the cause of separation, and start calculating how to use the opportunity of the spending review to get people the jobs they need and the future they deserve.