Monday

Storms caused severe disruption to travel across the U.K. today which resulted in me not arriving at Westminster until 7pm. I was on time for the votes on the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill.

Tuesday

My select committee took evidence from Lord Maude regarding civil service reform. He has been vocal on this subject for a number of years and it was thought many of his recommendations would be accepted by Tony Blair but he hesitated and since then the government has shown a lack of appetite for change. The Prime Minister made a statement in the house on the Action Against Houthi Maritime Attacks. He was keen to position it as nothing to do with the conflict in Palestine but that would have been more believable if he had not then gone on during his statement to attempt to justify the actions being taken in Palestine. Saudi Arabia has been bombarding the Houthis for eight years. It hard to see what this latest intervention is designed to do. The U.K. government need to explain what outcome they are seeking from the U.K. intervention and how this action will achieve that. APPG for Catalonia met and Carla Ponsati, economist and politician, and Francesc Claret, representative of the Catalan parliament to the United Kingdom, gave presentations. It was fantastic to hear from them both.

Wednesday

Scottish Questions was hosted by John Lamont who worked very hard and succeeded in avoiding answering any questions. It’s a shame that ministers take that approach, there are opportunities on shared issues to work together and yet they prefer to belittle and ridicule members that have raised perfectly valid questions. Prime Ministers Questions was a continuation of the theme. Stephen Flynn put the Prime Minister on the spot saying “I do not think it is unreasonable to expect the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to rise to that Dispatch Box and tell the people of these isles and elsewhere that shooting an unarmed man walking under a white flag is a war crime. “ Sunak did not confirm this. Interestingly when the media asked Keir Starmer the same question, he also would not confirm it. I met with the Minister for long term planning for towns to discuss the £20 million that Greenock will receive over a ten-year period and pushed him for deadlines for the publishing of relevant information so as we can have the right ‘town board’ in place by the start of April. It’s an opportunity to build on other projects that are happening in Greenock and there will be a public consultation soon.

Thursday

I spent the morning in my office reviewing casework and in the afternoon I met with representatives of Electrical Safety First. I was dismayed to learn how easily faulty electrical goods can be manufactured and sold. There is a need for rapid action at Westminster to close loopholes and guarantee customer safety.

Friday

I met with Chief Superintendent Gordon McCreadie to discuss the future of policing in Inverclyde. I was glad that he explained the possibilities and the consideration that was being put into keeping everyone safe, creating a good working environment and providing the custodial facilities required. Contrary to much speculation these things are being considered in a mature rational fashion. I made a short video for Time to Talk Day. Time to Talk Day is the UKs biggest mental health conversation which takes place annually. It is a day for friends, families and communities and workplaces to come together to talk, listen and change lives.

This year it will take place on Thursday, February 1. I was pleased to be invited by the Greenock Telegraph to contribute.

Monday

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Related Harm met and took evidence from Dr David Zendle who is a behavioural data scientist, a Lecturer in Computer Science at the University of York and as well as a member of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling (ABSG) and Dr Leon Xiao is a PHD Fellow at the IT University of Copenhagen. He researches video game law, particularly the regulation of loot boxes, and has previously been invited to provide advice on the technical working group for loot boxes and the Video Games Research Framework by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The evidence around loot boxes leading to the normalisation of gambling in children is overwhelming. The practice of the industry grooming children as the next generation of gamblers is appalling.

Tuesday

My select committee met to consider the Devolution Capability of Whitehall. We had two fantastic witnesses, Rt Hon. David Lidington, former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Lord Dunlop. Currently the main person with the responsibility for engaging with the devolved parliaments is Michael Gove. It is a role that has been allocated to a number of departments over the years and now washes up in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. This is after it failed to work well in the Office of the Department of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Ministry of Justice or the Cabinet Office. Michael Gove is seen as a good fit for the job but my impression is that it should be assigned to a department and allowed to mature under civil service guidance. I managed to sit in on the Post Office Horizon enquiry. The Fujitsu representative managed the committee better by being full of contrition, accepting responsibility and promising recompense. The Post Office representative was less forty coming and because of that the committee turned on him. The most important thing is that those that have been wronged are cleared of any criminal record and financially recompensed as soon as possible. There was a Ten Minute Rule Bill on Scotland’s self-determination. Alba’s Neale Hanvey, the proposed a Scotland (Self-Determination) Bill, which would amend the Scotland Act 1998 and would transfer the power to hold an independence to the Scottish Parliament. Not surprisingly it was opposed and so the house divided for a vote. I was happy to back the bill along with my SNP colleagues but 57 Tory MPs, 147 Labour and 13 Liberal Democrat’s were among those to oppose it. In the end it was heavily defeated. So much for Labour standing up for Scotland. Safety of Rwanda asylum and immigration bill was debated and voted on. It’s a well-rehearsed bill which is ugly and mean but popular amongst the Conservative and Unionists. At the APPG on medical cannabis we had a presentation from Dr Helen Beckett Wilson and Dr Lindsey Metcalf McGrath from Liverpool John Moores University on their sociological study on patients who have been prescribed cannabis since the law change. And a presentation from Ananda Developments PLC on their recent UK trial updates.

Wednesday

At Prime Minister’s Questions Keir Starmer was ruthless in his cross examination of the Prime Minister with his forensic questioning. I am joking it was the usual childish name calling. I met up with representative of Tenacious Labs to discuss the supply chain issues around hemp in the U.K. While I fully understand the emotional argument for access to hemp and cannabis products, the fact is that most people would require an industry with all the supply chain routes to produce products that have been ethically tested and have a guaranteed quality. I understand why people are wary but that’s how mainstream access works. We voted much later than originally planned on the Rwanda Bill so I stayed over another night.

Thursday

I caught the first tube from Westminster at 5:30am and was in Inverclyde at 8:40am.

The morning was consumed by constituency engagement and late afternoon I sat in on the Council’s environment and regeneration committee. In the evening I spoke with a green energy supplier about the domestic market and the current offerings.

Friday

I had a meeting with Vodafone regarding their Connecting the Countryside report and in the afternoon, I held cost of living surgeries in the Oak Mall.

Monday

Planes, trains and automobiles, that was the start of my week. A diversion to Gatwick meant a train to Victoria and a few of us bundled into a taxi to get to Westminster. Not the ideal start but I got there. During questions to the Ministry of Defence, my colleague Martin Docherty-Hughes sought clarification around the rumoured safety issues and suitability of the infrastructure at Coulport. No answers were forth coming. There was an urgent question on Israel and Palestine. It’s always sad to hear apologists for the actions of Israel conflate Palestinians and Hamas. Even after graphic details of the bombing of innocent children has been presented to them. The acts of Hamas were horrific but that doesn’t excuse the genocide being pursued. There were three statements and that resulted in the scheduled debate on oil being dropped from the order paper.

Tuesday

My select committee took evidence about the size and make-up of the House of Lords. Two precious speakers were included and all witnesses agreed that it was far too big, there is no place for hereditary peers and that twenty six lords from the Church of England was not appropriate. There was even a suggestion that some form of proportional representation would be better. Imagine that the House of Lords being more progressive than the House of Commons. The House of Commons will never use PR because it would bring to and end the Conservative and Labour parties have shots each at being the government. In the evening, as often happens, I had a choice to make regarding best use of my time. I could attend the adjournment debate on the closure of Grangemouth, or I could attend a zoom meeting with constituents and stakeholders regarding a matter that will impact upon Inverclyde. I chose the inverclyde issue as there was never going to be a vote on the adjournment debate and then I received a briefing on the Grangemouth debate from my good friend and colleague Douglas Chapman MP who was in attendance.

Wednesday

Today started once again with a decision over my time. I have previously spoken in the debate around musculoskeletal conditions. this clashed with a briefing from Amnesty, Unison, Quakers and Palestine Solidarity Campaign regarding the Anti-boycott bill. I attended the briefing as it was being voted on later today. Not surprisingly the bill got voted through, but I expect the Lords will rip it apart. It is shameful and it threatens to erode local democracy, restrict freedom of expression, and undermine campaigns for social justice. Before all that we had the usual Punch and Judy show at Prime Minister’s Questions. In one of his questions the leader of the opposition manger to call the Prime Minister three different childish names. Honestly, it’s like kindergarten. Leader of the SNP at Westminster, Stephen Flynn, tore into the establishment that has been responsible for the post office Horizon scandal. And he correctly pointed out that the same establishment mentality was responsible for delay in compensation and reimbursement in the blood born virus, legal and general, and Waspi scandals. Stuart C McDonald raised child poverty, Hannah Bardell highlighted a widow with young kids and the lack of support for her and Marion Fellows raised the social energy tariff. It was a day to be proud of my SNP colleagues in amongst the show boating of the Conservative and Labour front benches.

I was in the Chamber for Joanna Cherry’s ten minute rule bill which seeks to devolve the power to the Scottish Parliament that would allow it to split the role of the Lord Advocate into two, one political and the other legal. I was happy to have my name on this bill.

Thursday

I was feeling under the weather so took the day to recover, while checking in with my office.

Friday

I had a security briefing from the Westminster services as the level of abuse aimed at elected members has been increasing and as we enter a General Election year tension will rise. Let me make it absolutely clear that any aggression, physical or verbal, aimed at me or my staff will result in it being reported to the police. Keyboard Warriors take note. However, if anyone wants to talk to me then I am happy to accommodate them in my office.