Pamela Nash

I will not give way just now. There is a wage rise for 200,000 Scots, with the increase in the minimum wage and the steps taken to remove the discrimination against young people, who deserve the same wage for the same work; the largest increase ever for carer’s allowance; and an additional £3.4 billion for Scotland, bringing our block grant to a record level. It is now the responsibility of the SNP Scottish Government to put that money to good use. Madam Deputy Speaker, you and I know that those of us in this House are a bit unusual. Political animals are not the norm. When I speak with my constituents, they do not care if it is Labour, Tory or SNP politicians who put more money in their pockets and fix public services—they just want it done. So we need no more vanity projects, and no more money wasted on research papers for an independence debate that people are sick of hearing about. This is real money that can alleviate real problems now. I do not want my constituents to have to wait until the Scottish elections in 2026 for an improvement in our schools and our hospitals. This money has to get to the frontline immediately, and the Scottish Government will be judged at the ballot box if it does not. I will finish by saying that my welcome back here has been heartfelt and warm, from colleagues across the House to the Doorkeepers and staff across the estate who look after us in this place every day, but the one question I am asked over and over again is, “What has changed since the last time you were here?” The truth is that not much has changed. We still work very much the same way. There are, perhaps, a couple of changes for me. Last time I was here I was the baby of the House and now I am old enough to be the current holder of that title’s mum. But the one enormous change from the last time I was here is that I am in government with this Labour party—a Labour Government. There could be no bigger change, and we are just at the start of seeing the great waves of investment, progress and growth that this new Government will achieve.