I recently visited St Pauls Primary School and watched them perform this song off the record they have made and gave me a copy of. I was really impressed and would like to share it on my website. As a proud Glaswegian I think this is a great song for our great city; and I am even prouder that it was pupils in Glasgow North West who sing it so perfectly!
Enjoy!
I am on the Energy and Climate Change (ECC) Select Committee and we are currently looking into the ‘Impact of potential Scottish independence on energy and climate change’. Today we discussed the topic of the value of future oil and gas revenues, whether these could accrue to the Scottish government if Scotland became independent, and the workability of creating an ‘oil fund’ or ’sovereign wealth fund’:
Please feel free to watch below:
I secured an Adjournment Debate on the Future of Shipbuilding, following recent announcement by the Coalition Government and fears of the local trade unions. It took place just before 10pm and expect not many people were tuned in to watch it, however, I’ve published the transcript of the debate below and for those who could not watch at the time here it is below:
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Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—(Mr Dunne.)
John Robertson (Glasgow North West) (Lab): My speech tonight might be about shipbuilding, but it is fundamentally about commitment—to a tradition, to an industry and to the people who rely on it. I am glad to have secured this debate and hope to catch the Chancellor’s ear when he makes his future plans. I hope it is not too late, but I doubt it.
I must begin by mentioning how disappointed I was at last month’s decision to award a £452 million contract for support tankers to the South Korean ship company, Daewoo, at the expense of the UK sector. Not only was this sneaked out in a written statement, but a Westminster journalist reported that the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter Luff) said, “It’s okay, we’ve got away with it. It’s only on the BBC website”. I hope that the Minister will put the record straight today about these reported comments and about why the decision was made.
The four military afloat reach and sustainability—MARS—tankers, from which military helicopters will be able operate, are due to enter service from 2016. Owing to the timing and nature of the contract, it is especially tough on the UK sector. For example, there will be gaps in order books after the carriers and Type 45 destroyers are finished. Placing orders for those four ships in UK yards was essential to retaining those skills and capabilities in the UK. I remind the Minister that retaining that capability is also a strategic issue, so the Ministry of Defence is risking UK defence capability by placing this order in South Korea, as well as undermining the UK shipbuilding industry.
There have been suggestions in the past that South Korea has won orders at prices below production cost, and the EU has reported South Korea to the World Trade Organisation for its behaviour.
Speaking as a local MP, I would say that given that there are at least three years before the steel work on the carriers being built in the shipyards in my constituency and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Mr Davidson)is finished, these contracts mean that there would have been enough time to find work to keep other highly skilled workers busy until the Type 26 frigates came along at these shipyards. Instead, however, as a result of losing out on this contract, the shortfall will lead to the loss of 1,000 jobs. Given that unemployment in my constituency is up 66% since February 2008 and in Glasgow city by 80% since summer 2007, we can see that this is of major concern not only to me but to the people of the city of Glasgow. That will be mirrored in other areas of the country.
What really annoys me, however, is that these four MARS tankers for the Royal Navy were deemed to be “warlike” ships. As a result, under the previous Government’s procurement rules, they would have been built in the UK. I secured that commitment from the previous Government in 2003 at a meeting of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee, when they guaranteed that all “grey ships” or “warlike ships” would be built in the UK.
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My local GMB shipbuilders’ trade union certainly considers these tankers for the Royal Navy to be “warlike”, so like the Type 45 destroyers, the aircraft carriers and the future surface combatant ships, the Type 26 frigates, they should be built in the UK too. The reason is that they could be put into a war zone to refuel warships and to provide support for amphibious and land forces close to the shore. They need to be equipped with proper defences to protect the Royal Navy personnel on board, the helicopters that operate from them and, of course, the ships themselves—let us not forget them and the men in them. For that reason alone they should be built in the UK.
I fear, however, that the commitment that I secured from the previous Government is being broken and that the current Government are sending out signals that they will continue to break it. In fact, I believe that it is the Government’s policy to break it. This fear is supported by the equipment, support and technology Green Paper published on December 2010. It stated that the Government intended to buy more defence equipment off the shelf. As defence companies in the UK cannot afford the costs or accept the risks of developing major pieces of defence equipment without Government support, the clear implication of the Green Paper is that the Government mean to buy more equipment from foreign suppliers. Moreover, there is no mention of arrangements for licensed production, suggesting that the Ministry of Defence envisages buying more from the company’s own production line—another potential blow for UK manufacturing.
At the end of August 2011, the Government announced an order of 14 Chinook helicopters from Boeing, at a cost of £1 billion, which was fully in line with the approach I have outlined. At the beginning of October, AgustaWestland announced that it would make 375 staff redundant, owing to a shortage of work. That means that the Government are setting a dangerous precedent, which may have changed the commitment that I received from the previous Government on “grey ships”. With fewer than 10,000 highly skilled workers in the shipbuilding industry, any further loss of commitment to support the yards will result in the total collapse of UK shipbuilding and the loss of a highly skilled and motivated work force. Investment over the last few years has created a fantastic opportunity for UK shipbuilding to be recognised as it was a number of years ago—highly respected for quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Many navies in the world are looking at our Type 45 destroyers with envy. They are without doubt the best ships of their class and type anywhere in the world.
The Government say that no UK yard made a bid for the MARS ships. However, I am the chair of the all-party shipbuilding and ship repair group, and a meeting was held last week. I have approached companies that should have bid, but did not do so, for which there were two good reasons. First, they were discouraged from doing so; and secondly, the decision had already been made on cost. Will the Minister comment on that, verify whether those are the facts, and if so, say what he will do to rectify the situation?
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway) (Lab): In view of my hon. Friend’s discussions with the all-party group, will he tell the House why those companies appear to have been discouraged?
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John Robertson: My hon. Friend will appreciate that the companies do not want to be named, for obvious reasons—their orders might be looked at in future—but the fact of the matter is that they seem to have been pretty well warned off, being told that it would be a waste of time, energy and money for them to tender for the ships. I find that despicable to say the least, and it is also a slight on our great work force, who work in the shipyards in my constituency and many others.
The previous Labour Government deserve to be congratulated on saving shipbuilding on the Clyde, as the Conservative Government from whom they took over did their best to ensure that those yards closed. The present carrier project, initiated by the last Government, is not only boosting the shipbuilding sector’s profile, but having a knock-on effect in the manufacturing sector as a whole. At a time of high unemployment, we should remember that the industry cannot afford to lose skilled workers, because as we have seen, once gone, they do not return to the industry. The industry needs skilled workers over the next 10 years. The young people entering the industry need to be trained, but it is not easy with people leaving the industry owing to lack of work or retirement. The shipbuilding work force are ageing and need new blood now. With youth unemployment at an all-time high—I might add that it is above the national average in my constituency—what better time than this to employ more young people? I congratulate BAE Systems in my constituency on its apprenticeship policy and on doing a great job to keep apprenticeships going in the last 10 years, but let us face it: the industry on the Clyde can ill afford any redundancies.
All this raises the question of where the ships should be built. We could, of course, build them abroad, as the Government appear to want to do. After all, it might work out cheaper to do so. However, we are not talking about a simple commercial ship that can be built more cheaply in a low-wage economy; in this case, we are talking about complex, highly integrated systems that happen to be housed in ships. We have the necessary skills here in the UK, and we cannot run the risk of losing crucial shipbuilding skills to other countries, let alone the cost of unemployment. Ultimately, the Government could find that they have nowhere at home to turn to for their systems requirements, if they continue to act as they currently are: penny wise but pound foolish.
The Minister will be aware of a recent report by the Royal United Services Institute which looked into defence procurement. The report found that the tax revenue implications of a given choice are frequently overlooked. Given that the Government, including the Ministry of Defence, are committed to reducing the budget deficit—a function of spending and revenue—this issue is highly pertinent. Using an actual contract and an explicit accounting method, the RUSI report found that the tax revenues are significant; they can yield to the Exchequer over a third of the value of the contract.
The same study found that the Government could get back more than 28% in income tax and national insurance payments alone by buying British in defence procurement. That figure is of obvious procurement policy significance at a time when there is such concern over the Government’s budget deficit, and this is something that the Chancellor should consider this week. The thousands of people in the shipbuilding industry could not care less about the
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50p tax rate; they just want a job that allows them to be able to pay tax. The report also suggested that if the UK were to spend a third of its defence budget on off-the-shelf foreign systems, as outlined in the Green Paper on equipment, support and technology, the Treasury would lose about £1 billion in revenue. That could have a negative effect on Government revenues and thus on the public sector deficit. Will the Minister tell us whether the Government have considered the RUSI report?
There is also a human aspect to all this that we miss in the faceless statistics and figures that are quoted. How can families in my constituency, and constituencies like it, plan for their own future when they could see their jobs go? How can we expect them to cope with such insecurity, especially when they are working in an industry of national importance? We are talking about generations of families who have worked in the industry, and about the traditions that go along with that. If the Government cut first and think later, it is those people and many others like them who will ultimately pick up the tab. So I call on the Minister and the Government to honour the commitment of the previous Government to the proud people in the shipbuilding industry of this country, and to ensure that all “grey ships” continue to be made in Britain.
Recently, I attended the official opening of Whiteinch Scotstoun Housing Association New Housing Fore Street by Anita Manning, Auctioneer & BBC Antiques Expert, and who is based in the area.
This development provides eight new homes on the site of a former bakery in Fore Street. This is the sort of investment in new homes we need and I strongly welcome it.
I will be working with my colleagues in other administrations to make sure that this is not just a one off but the start of more to come to Glasgow North West.
Early this month, I attended the re-opening of the Phoenix Centre in Drumchapel.
The Centre was closed for a time after the previous committee running it collapsed.
It is now run by Drumchapel Life, and has been fully refurbished. It is a lovely community centre open to use by the public and if you would be interested in using it call: 0141 944 0110.
Recently, I attended the official opening of Whiteinch Scotstoun Housing Association New Housing Fore Street by Anita Manning, Auctioneer & BBC Antiques Expert, and who is based in the area.
This development provides eight new homes on the site of a former bakery in Fore Street. This is the sort of investment in new homes we need and I strongly welcome it.
I will be working with my colleagues in other administrations to make sure that this is not just a one off but the start of more to come to Glasgow North West.
Early this month, I attended the re-opening of the Phoenix Centre in Drumchapel. The Centre was closed for a time after the previous committee running it collapsed.
Last month, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), working in partnership with the Tennis Foundation and Glasgow Life, visited Scotstoun Tennis Centre in Scotstoun Leisure, Drumchapel Park.
I showed representatives of the LTA around Drumchapel Tennis Club, to highlight what investment has been made within Glasgow North West; and also to highlight the recently announced investment in both Drumchapel and Knightswood Park.
I am a big tennis fan and I welcome such investment by the LTA into 
our local area.
Last month you may have seen me in the papers calling on the new Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to stop this year’s bonuses being paid to Senior Civil Servants (SCS) at DECC. And for there not to be a repeat of last year’s scenes when large sums of public money were paid to already highly paid senior civil servants.
A weekly round up of news from Westminster…
My fellow Labour MPs are gearing up to demand a budget for jobs and growth in March, as the Government continues to fail to offer any help to struggling families feeling the squeeze from its reckless economic policies.
Two surveys stuck in my mind this week. Firstly, a YouGov survey showing that more than a
quarter of the smallest businesses expect to fold within the next two years. It pains me to think that we’re
letting all that enterprise, talent and hard work fall by the wayside.
Businesses like these are our ticket out of hard times – and the Government should be nurturing them, not
turning their backs. Then Asda’s “Mumdex” survey, showing one in four mums putting food back at the checkout as they struggle with higher prices and falling wages.
The thought of hardworking parents, already feeling the squeeze, struggling and juggling to make ends meet is a clear sign that Government’s got its priorities wrong.
The Government’s economic policies are hurting but not working. What we need is a Budget for jobs and growth with support for families at its heart to ease the squeeze and get the economy moving again.
That’s why the Chancellor should announce a temporary reversal of his disastrous VAT rise, which is costing the average family with two kids £450 each year. This is part of Labour’s five point plan for jobs which also includes tax breaks for small businesses taking on extra workers and a tax on bank bonuses to fund 100,000 jobs for young people.
Cutting VAT now would boost confidence, help families feeling the squeeze and get our economy moving again.
But if George Osborne can’t bring himself to reverse his VAT mistake, he has other options. He could cut the basic rate of income tax by 3p, increasing the personal allowance to over £10,000 or increase tax credits for almost 6 million working people by around £2,000. But cutting VAT is the fairest and quickest option he has – and it would help people like pensioners who don’t pay other taxes like income tax.
The Chancellor has got options. But doing nothing is not one of them. So join me now in calling for a Budget for jobs and growth this March.
In a dramatic week in Parliament, Labour voted for the risk register on the Tory-led Government’s Health and Social Care Bill to be published so that everyone has the freedom to decide for themselves exactly what the risks are of embarking on the biggest top-down reorganisation in the history of the NHS.
Following a Freedom of Information request from my college John Healey MP which was denied, the Information
Commissioner ruled that the Department of Health should release the ‘transition risk register’ associated with reorganisation of the NHS.
But David Cameron and his Health Secretary Andrew Lansley are refusing to publish it, denying the British people the opportunity to see exactly what the Tory-led Government believe to be the biggest risks associated with this Bill.
My Labour colleague and Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham said:
“Whether people support the Bill or not, there is surely an overriding public interest in properly informing the debate with all relevant information.
“People care passionately about the NHS and they have a right to know the full implications of the Government’s proposed reorganisation.
“It is time the Lib Dems worked out where they stand; with the millions of NHS staff, patients and members of the public who oppose this Bill or with the Conservative Party, who have no mandate for this top-down reorganisation of our NHS.”
I took part in the Energy Prices Debate that the Labour party called for today, sadly it was quite a popular debate and
I couldn’t give all my speech by this is a section of what I planned to say. It took place just after 4pm. I hope anyone tuning in was able to see some of the debate. I’ve published the transcript of the debate below for those who could not watch:
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John Robertson (Glasgow North West) (Lab): I shall try to talk to the subject that we are here to discuss, unlike the hon. Member for Elmet and Rothwell (Alec Shelbrooke).
Last year, the average household saw energy costs rise by about £300 and Ofgem announced last October that the profit for energy companies had risen to £125 per customer per year, from £15 in June. My contention is not that the cost of energy is rising, but that the big six do not have a great track record of passing on wholesale decreases as quickly as increases.
Today’s wholesale energy prices are lower than they were a few years ago—and lower than they were only a few months ago. According to Bloomberg, the wholesale price for gas in autumn 2008 hit over 70p a therm. If we compare that with 59p per therm last October, we see that wholesale gas prices have actually dropped 15% since then. Similarly, prices in the wholesale electricity market reached £120 per megawatt-hour in autumn 2008. Today, they are just over £50 per megawatt-hour—less than half the price back then. But gas prices have dropped by only 15% and electricity prices by only 11% since last May’s peak. According to Bloomberg, in December natural gas futures declined by 30% compared with 2011. Today, energy companies can buy their gas for 53p per therm, some 9% cheaper than even last October.
The reason for this is sadly apparent. European demand is going down as the continent is moving towards a downturn and productivity is declining. This may be why EDF announced today a 5% cut, but—as my right hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) pointed out—the company raised its gas prices last year by 15.4% while future gas derivative prices were falling, and while current market prices are down on previous years.
As a result, there is great suspicion among many, including Ofgem, that the big six have not been passing on wholesale market price reductions, not only last year but this year. These are clear acts of anti-competiveness in themselves, especially towards smaller energy companies, let alone customers and small businesses. For example, section 2 of the Competition Act 1998 prohibits the abuse of a dominant position in a market by one or more undertakings which may affect trade within the UK. I will quote competition law guidelines again as it seems that the Secretary of State did not hear me the last time I did so. They state:
“Conduct may be abusive when, through the effects of conduct on the competitive process, it adversely affects consumers directly (for example, through the prices charged) or indirectly (for example, conduct which reduces the intensity of existing competition or potential competition). A dominant undertaking is under a special responsibility not to allow its conduct to impair undistorted competition.”
I strongly suspect that one reason behind the price rises is probably that the companies have grossly failed to stockpile their energy reserves to hedge adequately against future prices. That could explain why, when future prices have fallen by almost a third, the companies are not passing on the reduction. There may be numerous reasons for that—one reason is probably ineptitude—but I feel that the main answer lies more in the lack of any incentive to pass on substantial price rises.
David Mowat: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
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John Robertson: I will not give way. There are a lot of people wanting to speak.
My constituents are grossly disadvantaged. The Secretary of State talked about going on the internet, but the low internet uptake in Glasgow—we have one of the lowest uptakes—will not allow that to happen for my constituents. However, I was pleased to hear that he has taken on board the point about severe housing, which is what we have. Efficiency savings cannot be made in concrete housing blocks. In fact, all my constituents seem to do is pay to heat up the concrete blocks in the winter and cool them down in the summer. I therefore look forward to hearing more from the Minister. I hope he will look at the prices, go back to the companies, give Ofgem the teeth that it needs and ensure that the fines that should be imposed on the companies in question are indeed imposed.
I and Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls launched Labour’s Plan for Growth today.
This is a really worrying time for families; struggling with higher food prices and gas bills and worried about their jobs and their children’s futures.
That’s why Labour has set out a clear five-point plan for jobs, to help struggling families and support small businesses.
But the Tory-led Government refuses to listen to people’s concerns. Help us make them understand how tough things are for families, pensioners and businesses. Join our campaign at Labour.org.uk/plan and take action now.
Labour’s five-point plan for jobs and growth:
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