14:30 John Lamont (Conservative)

At a time when we desperately need to raise levels of economic growth, investing in infrastructure is an ideal way to do that. Better transport routes would also help to protect our environment by helping us to reach net zero faster by encouraging more people to use public transport and by reducing emissions. There are a whole host of benefits that could be achieved by improving transport links across our United Kingdom. That is what we should aspire to: a more connected country where people can travel freely between Scotland and the rest of the UK for work, to visit family, or to spend time with friends, wherever they are on these islands.

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14:43 John Grady (Labour)

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Lewell-Buck, as you are from South Shields—I have some family there too and it is a wonderful place. I thank the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) for securing today’s important debate; he spoke eloquently about transport in his constituency. I gently remind him, as he mentioned net zero, that it was the Conservative Government who had an offshore wind allocation round that secured no bids when we desperately need clean, cheap and fixed-price electricity. I also gently remind him that, last time I checked, many of these transport links were under the supervision of the Conservative Government from 2010 to 2019, with some art and part assistance from another party in the early years.

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14:54 Kirsteen Sullivan (Labour)

This is all set against the backdrop of the climate crisis, where we aim for people to make a shift from their cars to public transport. That cannot happen if the infrastructure and services are not there for them to make that choice in the first place. We must look at other parts of the UK where things are working well, like the Bee Network in Manchester. Let us work together and use best practice to ensure that the whole UK can remain connected in an affordable and flexible way.

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15:02 Gregor Poynton (Labour)

At last month’s Budget in Holyrood, the SNP committed to reducing spending on rail services by £80 million, a profoundly regressive move. Also last month, it confirmed that it is delaying the target date to decarbonise rail from 2035 to 2045, confirming that Scotland’s long-suffering rail passengers will have to wait an extra decade for the modern rail services that they were promised. An affordable, reliable rail service can unlock huge environmental and economic benefits, but Scots are again paying the price for the SNP’s financial and transport mismanagement.

Of course, there are understandable and justifiable concerns about the impact of aviation on climate change. The answer, however, is not to neglect our aviation sector but to engage enthusiastically with it to improve technology, to invest in sustainable aviation and to help the modernisation of airspace. Sustainable aviation has huge possible economic and environmental benefits, not least to Grangemouth and the wider economy of Scotland. I am delighted to see that the UK Labour Government have at least recognised the potential of sustainable aviation fuel as a source of clean energy and green jobs in Scotland, as well as across the UK, and have pledged to promote it—if only the Scottish Government had the same foresight, energy and ambition. As we have heard today, on rail, on buses, on roads and in the air, the SNP Scottish Government continue to let down the Livingston constituency and Scotland as well.

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15:25 Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat)

The Union connectivity review showed that there is a desire to travel more within the United Kingdom. Good transport links are a vital part of people’s ability to maintain connections with family and friends and to get to work without being incredibly frustrated. By delivering infrastructure that works, we can deliver for so many the opportunity of a better quality of life. Infrastructure underpins almost everything about our day-to-day lives, but when talking about investing in cross-border infrastructure specifically, we need to remember that while it benefits the economy and contributes to reducing the impact of climate change, it also represents something more for all of us: the development and the cementing of our Union.

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15:45 Kirsty McNeill (Labour)

I absolutely recognise the importance of air travel to more rural parts of the country, but it is a fact that a journey between Edinburgh and London by electric train, such as those operated by Lumo, produces 95% less carbon emissions than the equivalent flight. Other countries take decisions to disincentivise domestic air travel where rail routes are available. Does the Minister recognise the imperative of the climate emergency, which we must bring to bear when we are talking about whether the Government should incentivise rail travel over flights?

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