Labour Party MP for Glasgow West since (elected). An MP continuously since .
Parliament recordVoting recordWritten questionsEarly day motions
Entries on this tracker
255
Each filed under the party they sat for that day
Register entries
2
As currently published
Declared while sitting for Labour
£2,397.50
2 of 2 entries state an amount
| Party | Office | Area | Period | Began | Ended | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | MP | Glasgow West | – present | elected | — | Party history |
Parliament's party history for this member: Labour ( – present).
Every entry the member has in the Register of Members' Financial Interests, as Parliament currently publishes it. The wording and values are the member's own declarations; nothing here has been assessed by this site.
Totals add only the entries that declare an amount received: payments for work, donations, gifts, and funded visits (register categories 1.1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). Ongoing employment is listed but not added, because its figure is a rate rather than a sum received. Each entry is dated by when the benefit happened, not when it was registered, and placed under the party the member sat for on that date. A member who changed party therefore has a separate total for each.
| Date | Category | Entry | Declared value | Sitting for | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4. Visits outside the UK | International visit to Palestine between 24 May 2026 and 28 May 2026Yachad | £2,169 | Labour | Register record | |
| 4. Visits outside the UK | International visit to Italy between 05 October 2025 and 08 October 2025Italian IPU Group; APPG Italy | £228.50 | Labour | Register record |
<Question HRSContentId="{9CE9F8A1-3270-46A4-87F9-59ABC2F0D1AC}">5. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{0EE4F009-47FA-468A-BFD3-0D37A6390D19}">What fiscal steps he has taken to support public services in Scotland.</QuestionText></Question>
I thank the Minister for that answer. I very much welcome the extra investment coming to my home city of Glasgow, and I am sure Glasgow will make good use of it. Overall, I welcome the record funding that this Labour Government have delivered for Scotland. Does the Minister agree that the SNP Government should now drop the gimmicks, end the excuses and prioritise making Scotland’s public services fit for the future?
I thank my right hon. Friend for her statement. Could she consider the disparity that sometimes arises across the UK in salaries? I point her to information published by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland just last month, which indicated that those in Scotland were likely to be earning up to 9% less than their counterparts in the rest of the UK. We clearly would not want people in the immigration system to be caught out by that anomaly, too.
If I may, I will speak on behalf of the Scottish Affairs Committee, but I wish to make one point from the perspective of my constituency. Glasgow West, which I am proud to represent, has a relatively high level of youth unemployment, a lower than average level of educational qualifications, and a fairly high number of unemployment-related benefit claimants. We also do not have access to a youth hub. There are three in the city of Glasgow, but none anywhere near my constituency. My plea to the Government is this: can we please have a youth hub? Today’s debate is about good growth in every postcode, and I want to consider an issue that the Scottish Affairs Committee spent some time on, namely Scotland’s space launch sector. Last year we visited the SaxaVord spaceport on the island of Unst in Shetland, and saw for ourselves the potential of the UK’s first fully licensed vertical spaceport. What we heard reinforced our view that Scotland is uniquely placed to further the UK’s <span id="642" class="column-number" data-column-number="642"></span>space ambitions, while delivering economic growth. Unst’s northerly location allows for launch routes over the north Atlantic ocean, making it particularly well suited to putting satellites into polar orbits. That is combined with our expertise in satellite manufacturing—hon. Members might be surprised to hear that the city of Glasgow produces more satellites than anywhere else in Europe, and Edinburgh’s expertise in data in space makes us uniquely placed to benefit from that. SaxaVord also provides a strong foundation for end-to-end space services. For Shetland, the economic opportunity is hugely significant. The Budget talks about the importance of creating jobs across every nation and region of the UK. SaxaVord could help to sustain an island community by creating skilled jobs and giving young people more opportunities to establish careers locally. In a remote community where unreliable connectivity makes economic development, and life in general, more difficult, that new industry could deliver growth in Shetland’s postcodes. However, the economic growth potential of a space launch capability in Shetland would extend beyond Scotland. A successful spaceport could attract international investment and create opportunities for suppliers across the whole UK. There is also a national security interest here. Developing a sovereign launch capability would reduce our reliance on overseas providers. However, we cannot afford to be complacent, and SaxaVord has yet to achieve a successful orbital launch. In September this year, Norway’s spaceport at Andøya successfully launched satellites into orbit. We should welcome that because it is progress for the European sector, but it raises important questions about whether Scotland has lost its first-mover advantage, and what more the Government can do to support innovative businesses such as SaxaVord to realise their economic potential. During our inquiry, we heard that there is sufficient demand to sustain more than one European spaceport. A successful launch from Scotland will be important, but the real test will be whether it can be scaled up into a commercial launch service. That is why I welcome the Government’s space strategy and their £30 million investment in SaxaVord. It is a significant public investment, but it must be spent wisely. The Committee also looked at fixed links. Despite the island having such great ambitions, there are two ferry journeys before anyone gets to SaxaVord. Given that those ferries are not always reliable and the weather is often against us, the islands in Shetland have been looking at whether fixed links would work for them. Working in conjunction with the Scottish Government and the Shetland Islands council, we think that that is absolutely the kind of thing the Government should be looking at to meet their ambition.
It is estimated that decisions by the Scottish Government cost my city of Glasgow some £347 million last year. Does the Secretary of State agree that devolution should not just stop at Holyrood but should be pushed down to local government, cities and towns across Scotland, that it should be accompanied by money from the record settlement given by this Government to the Scottish Government, and that until that happens devolution in Scotland will not be complete?
I have no doubt that Members across the Chamber have an extremely regrettable constituency postbag on this issue, as I do. I thank the Minister for her statement. I do not plan to rehearse the cases that I have seen, but, needless to say, they are all marked by the fact that timescales seem to be ignored, while people are being left in financial hardship. People are finding it very hard to understand why this is the case with a Government body—or, at least, with a body that they think is a Government body. How long will Capita have to deliver on the latest rectification plan, and how will the Minister judge it on that plan? Does she have a timeframe for all that work?
I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for granting time for a statement on the publication of the Scottish Affairs Committee’s report, “Securing Scotland’s Future: Defence Skills and Jobs”. As the House will know, significant increases in defence spending are anticipated as the UK works towards our commitment to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035. Our inquiry therefore examined a simple but important question: how can we maximise the positive impact of this spending in Scotland? Scotland already has a world-leading defence sector, from shipbuilding on the Clyde and in Rosyth to aerospace, advanced manufacturing and cyber-capability. Growth in the sector has the potential to create more highly skilled jobs and support economic growth across Scotland—including, importantly, in rural and island communities. The strategic defence review, the defence industrial strategy and the defence investment plan provide the framework for delivering these ambitions and for ensuring that Scotland is well placed to benefit from increased investment. However, our inquiry has shown that it is not a given that increased defence spending will benefit Scotland. We cannot afford to be complacent: ensuring that Scotland benefits will require long-term planning and co-operation between the UK and Scottish Governments to support jobs, skills development, innovation and growth. The clearest message we heard throughout our inquiry was about skills. Employers, colleges, universities and trade bodies across Scotland repeatedly told us that the defence industry faces skills shortages, including in engineering, fabrication, welding, software, cyber and advanced manufacturing. This is despite major defence programmes such as for the Type 26 and Type 31 frigates and the Dreadnought-class submarines, which will require a sustained pipeline of highly skilled Scottish workers for years to come. This will be all the more important as the UK Government continue to win and sign deals for the export of Scottish-made defence products such as frigates. We have heard similar messages about skills shortages in our inquiries into other sectors, including offshore wind, civilian shipbuilding and space launch, to name but a few. Many of those sectors, which are key to our economic prosperity and to the UK’s strategic interests, are competing for the same pool of skilled workers. Without investment in training and apprenticeships, there is a real risk of one sector solving its skills shortage by poaching workers from another sector.<span id="76" class="column-number" data-column-number="76"></span> That is why apprenticeships are such an important focus of our report. During our Committee’s visit to BAE Systems—part of which I am proud to say is located in my constituency—we met young people whose expertise and enthusiasm demonstrated the enormous potential of apprenticeships and early career routes in the industry. However, demand for apprenticeship places far exceeds supply, with engineering programmes often attracting many thousands of applicants for a very limited number of places. Our report highlights the importance of that talent pipeline keeping pace with future demand. This will require the UK and Scottish Governments to work together effectively, as policies impacting the sector span both reserved and devolved responsibilities; defence policy, as we know, is reserved, while education, skills and apprenticeships are devolved. Our report calls on both Governments to work together to increase defence-related apprenticeships in Scotland. Our report also welcomes direct investment through the defence industrial strategy skills package, through which Scotland will receive a share of the £20 million allocated to the devolved nations. While this funding is absolutely welcome, £20 million is a small fraction of the full £180 million UK-wide package, and it must be shared across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, meaning that Scotland will receive a disproportionately small share of the total UK fund. Our Committee questions whether such a limited share of funding can really shift the dial on skills shortages and calls on the Government to explain how the funding is commensurate with the size, importance and potential of Scotland’s defence sector. We look forward to the Government’s response on that point. Moving on from apprenticeships, our report also looks at the defence technical excellence colleges, or DTECs, which are specialist colleges designed to provide advanced technical training for defence careers. These colleges will help to develop the skills that employers tell us they need. The Committee heard overwhelming support for DTECs, and we believe they could have the potential to address persistent skills shortages. The UK Government have proposed two DTECs in Scotland—one in the east and one in the west—and have provided funding for one of them. The establishment of both DTECs is subject to match funding from the Scottish Government. The Committee strongly supports the establishment of both colleges, and stated in our report, which was published last month, that we hoped to see the Scottish Government provide the funding required. We are very pleased that since the publication of our report, the Scottish Government have confirmed that they will provide the necessary funding, with both DTECs now going ahead. This is a positive outcome for Scotland, and reflects the joined-up approach that we need to see. However, progress establishing DTECs in Scotland has fallen a little behind counterparts south of the border, and we are concerned that further delay risks Scotland being left at a disadvantage. We therefore urge both Governments to work with greater urgency to deliver those colleges, because the skills challenges facing the sector are too pressing for Scotland to miss this opportunity. Our inquiry also examined the experiences of small and medium-sized enterprises. SMEs form the backbone of Scotland’s economy and play a critical role in the <span id="77" class="column-number" data-column-number="77"></span>defence supply chain, too. The Committee heard from numerous SMEs, many of which told us that participating in defence procurement remains difficult and that complex bidding requirements, high compliance costs and financial risk are all burdensome barriers to growth. Our report therefore welcomes the creation of the MOD’s Defence Office for Small Business Growth, which is designed to help SMEs and start-ups to access the defence supply chain and to scale up. It is too early to know whether the office will deliver meaningful change. To help to track its effectiveness, our report calls on the Ministry of Defence to publish clear metrics for success. We also call for the MOD to favour prime contractors that are committed to support supporting SMEs in their supply chain. During our inquiry, we also heard about the particularly concerning issue of debanking. We heard first-hand accounts of SMEs struggling to access banking and financial services, despite providing products and services that directly support our national security. That is clearly unacceptable. These firms are helping to strengthen our nation’s security. They are creating skilled jobs and driving economic growth, yet some are still being denied access to basic banking services at a time when the Government are scaling up defence capability. Our report calls on the Government to engage directly with the financial services sector to put an end to this problem. The report highlights wider challenges around public perceptions of defence. We heard concerns that misunderstandings about the sector negatively impact recruitment and discourage talented people from considering careers in defence. Too often, discussion focuses narrowly on weapons and overlooks the engineers, researchers, software specialists, manufacturers and innovators whose work contributes both to security and technological advancement. The Committee therefore supports efforts to foster a broader national conversation about the defence sector, its role in protecting the country and the opportunities it creates for communities across Scotland. Ultimately, our report reaches a straightforward conclusion: Scotland is exceptionally well placed to benefit from increased defence spending, but unlocking that opportunity will require investment in our young people through apprenticeships, technical education and initiatives such as the DTECs. It will also require the Government to provide certainty for the industry and support SMEs, which are so critical to us. I thank everyone who contributed to our inquiry and my fellow Committee members for their thoughtful and constructive work throughout. With that, I commend the report to the House.
I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady. We are very grateful that the DTECs are going to happen—all credit to both Governments for working <span id="78" class="column-number" data-column-number="78"></span>together on that—but apprenticeships will also come through our further education colleges, and it is important that they are given the resources to benefit from jobs not only in the defence sector but, for example, in clean energy, which our Committee has heard so much about.
My hon. Friend is right to highlight that point, because it was raised with us by those in the defence sector. The right to peaceful protest is something that we all recognise the need to respect and uphold, but she is right to highlight the problems that there have been on some occasions in the sector. However, I draw heart from my experience of speaking to apprentices at BAE Systems in my constituency, who to my mind are the best advocates for the work that they are doing and the purpose to which that work will be put. They were able to tell me in very straightforward terms—just like they do with their mates down the pub at the weekend, as a couple of them told me—about the importance of their work, why they were doing it and how proud they were of it.
I thank the hon. Lady for that question. She is right; there is a great deal of misunderstanding around the defence sector. It is very difficult for people to understand its importance not just globally and nationally but locally. If that importance were better recognised and understood, it would be much better for the firms involved, so I very much hope that the Government take our point that they need to engage with the financial services sector to address that.
Held . Recorded result: Lab Gain. Majority 6,446. 39,902 votes cast from an electorate of 69,028. Parties are as each candidate stood at the time.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patricia Ferguson | Labour | 18,621 | 46.7% |
| Carol Monaghan | Scottish National Party | 12,175 | 30.5% |
| Nick Quail | Scottish Green Party | 3,662 | 9.2% |
| Dionne Moore | Reform UK | 2,098 | 5.3% |
| Faten Hameed | Conservative | 1,720 | 4.3% |
| James Calder | Liberal Democrat | 1,316 | 3.3% |
| John Cormack | Christian Party, Proclaiming Christ's Lordship | 310 | 0.8% |
| Seat | Dates |
|---|---|
| Glasgow WestElected 1 time | – present |
| Committee | Dates |
|---|---|
| Liaison Sub-Committee on Core Tasks of Select Committees | – present |
| Liaison Committee (Commons) | – present |
| Ecclesiastical Committee | – |
| Scottish Affairs CommitteeChair | – present |
| Constituency | Date |
|---|---|
| Glasgow North West |
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