18th December 2023: A Week in Parliament

Michelle Mone

In no real shock, Michelle Mone has admitted she is a liar. But in her mind, a justified lie to the media. So, she advocated on behalf of a company directly to Government Ministers to win a contract for MedPro PPE, run by her husband and she gets a share of the profits. She also threatened to sue people who said she was connected to the company, but she ignores that detail while saying she was only protecting her family, who are all adults. The reality is, they saw chance to make money out of the covid pandemic, set up a new company and then lobbied for direct contracts. Out of a £207m contract, the Barrowmans made £67m profit and supplied £122m of unsuitable PPE. So, the taxpayer got £18m of overpriced equipment out of £207m and the Barrowmans feel hard done by with their £67m profit? What kind of warped entitled world do they live in?

It should also be remembered that Mone was handpicked by David Cameron to be placed in the House of Lords as a reward for campaigning for Better Together in 2014. This is not democracy in action, that is for sure.

Scottish Budget

We are facing real pressures on the budget allocated to the Scottish Government. A very generous one says the Tories and Labour have not spoken out against it either. However, the reality, as I exposed at the Scottish Affairs Committee is that the budget is being cut yet again in real terms ie when compared to the cost of inflation. The budget has increased by just 1.4% next year against current inflation levels of around 5% but obviously much higher. Indeed, analysis provided to the committee shows that the budget has been cut by 17% in real terms compared to 2010 when the Tories took over. So, when the Tories and Labour demand greater spending from the Scottish Government or complain about squeezed budgets elsewhere the reality is that the budget has been slashed by nearly a fifth since 2010.

Labour to Save the NHS?

At a UK wide level, Labour are supposed to be the alternative to the Tories. Supposed to save services. Yet, we have had Labour’s Health Spokesperson saying he would “hold the door open to private companies” to work in the NHS. He has now warned against “complacent spending” within the NHS and argued that spending money on the NHS means less money can be spent on tackling child poverty as if it is a binary choice. Can Labour really be trusted?

Rwanda Bill

The Tories eventually got the Rwanda Bill through parliament. It is awful legislation and if they think that will deter the criminal gangs they claim exploits people then they are kidding themselves on. Illegal migration across the channel is a concern for people’s safety and it is indicative of wider problems. However, to pretend that these thousands of people are somehow the cause of the ills in the UK is beyond parody and it is clearly a deflection tactic. And on that cheery note, here is hoping for a Merry Christmas for all and a peaceful 2024.