John Grady

Thank you, Mr Dowd, and I thank every Member for their wonderful contributions to the discussion. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) mentioned the interconnector between Scotland and Northern Ireland; I worked on the first interconnector between Scotland and Northern Ireland as a baby lawyer. It was a great passion of Mo Mowlam. The Labour party has always backed great infrastructure projects that deliver growth for all in our family of nations. The interconnector delivered a secure supply of energy to Northern Ireland and a great outlet for Northern Irish renewables. This time around, the Labour party is absolutely committed to resolving the blockers on electricity transmission development, so that we can get energy projects up and running quicker. We need clean energy supplying British people and businesses with lower-cost energy. Inflation is the enemy of small businesses. The hon. Member for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Murray) was quite right to focus on small businesses, which are a real motor for growth for a modern economy. We all recall the terrible 40 or 50 days of a Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng Government, which brought immense damage not just to small businesses in Scotland, but to social landlords trying to plan their investments, facing unpredictable interest rates and out-of-control inflation. My hon. Friend the Member for East Kilbride and Strathaven (Joani Reid) focused rightly on the implications of poor economic policy and fiscal management for our wonderful towns and cities in Scotland. The mismanagement of the economy has terrible implications for people trying to educate their children and get treated, with more than 40% of certain operations—such as hip operations—in Scotland carried out privately because the NHS does not have capacity. Economic growth is critical. My hon. Friend the Member for Livingston (Gregor Poynton) mentioned the importance of Governments working together when we face industrial challenges. I applaud the Secretary of State’s work in trying to create a productive, closer working relationship with the Scottish Government. We will always put country above party. My hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Tracy Gilbert), representing a wonderful part of the world, mentioned employment rights. We are focused on giving people a fair employment. The hon. Member for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman) mentioned how wonderful Aberdeen is. It is a wonderful city, as my mother used to tell me every day of the week. We take the energy transition very seriously, which is one of the reasons why we are so disappointed that the SNP are spending the one-off ScotWind receipt not on energy transition, but on plugging a black hole created by their economic mismanagement. I close my remarks by thanking you, Mr Dowd, for your wonderful chairing of the debate. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered Scotland’s economy.