Health and Social Care

Angela Crawley Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)]

It is both a great honour and a privilege to have the opportunity to serve my area of Lanark and Hamilton East, and to have served as a councillor in my hometown of Hamilton. I will seek to return the faith of all those who voted, with hard work, dedication and complete commitment to uphold this duty of public service.

May we take this opportunity to recognise the talent of Charles Kennedy, who dedicated his life to politics? As a former law student at Glasgow University, I recognise Charles’s work as its rector. May I extend my sincere condolences to his family at this time?

May I also take this opportunity to pay my respects to my predecessor, Jim Hood, who served in Westminster from 1987, which, incidentally, is the year I was born? His courage to stand against his party over the Gulf and Iraq wars set him apart and showed his character and principles.

However, I stand here today inspired by great political women, including the remarkable and influential Winnie Ewing, whose Westminster victory in 1967 promoted the possibility that Scotland could prosper and flourish with the Scottish National party. Hamilton is also the birthplace of the late and wonderful Margo MacDonald. Margo and Winnie completely reset the rulebook and taught us that gender is irrelevant in life: when you have the will and the skill to succeed, you can.

My constituency is not just home; it is a colourful and vibrant place. It is innovative and industrious. It is both rural and urban, with a strong agricultural sector and deep respect for our mining history. There is much to champion about Lanark and Hamilton East, and yet still much to improve.

Growing up, I witnessed the poverty and deprivation in my local community, damp council houses and parents working hard yet struggling to make ends meet. As a teenager, I lost my mother to mental ill health. As a young carer, I know only too well about the need to protect our NHS. Most of all, I believe that this kind of desire to see change can be realised through politics and it must be realised through making a positive change. I am sure that everyone across these Benches will join me in that determination.

We must continue to invest in our vital services, health and wellbeing and education. I was lucky to have strong role models and to access education based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay. I would like to ensure that all young people across these islands have that same opportunity.

Unfortunately, the story of poverty still echoes throughout many parts of my constituency today. Inequality and a lack of prospects for young people are crippling those who need support the most. We must ensure equality of opportunity, not only for young people but for everyone across all constituencies. Today, hard-working families up and down this country will be faced with a choice between putting food on their table and heating their homes. Let us just think about that: our reliance on food banks while committing billions of pounds on nuclear weapons is wholly unacceptable.

In my role as SNP spokesperson for equalities, women and children, I will continue to shine a light on our successes and highlight the areas that desperately need development. I am proud of our progress in recognising same-sex marriage across Scotland, England, Wales and now Ireland. When I marry my partner next year, I will celebrate the fact that marriage is truly equal, both in law and in life. I will continue to champion LGBT and black and minority ethnic rights, and to ensure that gender imbalance is addressed in our workplaces, in our boardrooms and in this Chamber.

Let us, this term, make history. Let us collaborate and work together to represent with compassion aspirational ideals and progressive politics. The people of Scotland voted loudly and clearly for an alternative to austerity. My team of 55 colleagues and I will work tirelessly with those on the Opposition Benches to ensure that we see an alternative to the damaging cuts to our public services.

I represent the Scottish National party. We are a party that will speak up for everyone with a shared interest in tackling inequality and poverty. Let us share in the spirited debate with respect and objectivity. Let us challenge constructively to achieve positive outcomes. Let us listen to the people and always act in their best interests, and in the interests of the many, not the few. Let us shape and strengthen the opportunities of future generations and our children. Let us promote potential over profit and invest in future generations, not nuclear weapons. Let us serve with honesty and transparency, but, most of all, let us serve.