This morning I met with David Gebbie, the man responsible for attracting businesses to Maxim Office Park. Maxim is an impressive development which unfortunately came to completion just as the global recession began. This left it struggling to attract businesses to relocate within the development. However, I am pleased that things are beginning to turn [...]

On Saturday 18th of May I will be holding a public meeting to discuss the Government’s pension reform plans and the effect it will have on women nearing retirement age. Around 1,000 local women born between 6 April 1951 and 5 April 1953 will not be eligible for the proposed single tier pension since they [...]

On Sunday I joined colleagues attending the International Workers’ Day memorial service at Summerlee Heritage Centre in Coatbridge. The service was organised by the North Lanarkshire Trade Union Council and was held in memory of all the people who have been seriously injured or lost their lives whilst at work. Recent tragic events at Bangladesh have only [...]

The recent publication of the UK Govt’s report into currency and monetary policy makes  it clear that the rest of the UK would be ‘highly unlikely’ to enter into a new, Eurozone style currency union with Scotland if we vote to leave the UK. This report leaves the nationalists currency plans in tatters and leaves Scotland [...]

I recently joined the Secretary of State for Scotland, Micheal Moore MP and my colleague, Tom Greatrex MP on a visit to Teleperformance in my consitiuency. Teleperformance is one of Airdrie’s biggest employers, with 1517 staff and has worked in partnership with NLC and the Job Centre for a number of years to provide candidates [...]

In response to Parliamentary Questions I submitted, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has admitted paying out over £7m in pay offs over the last two years; while at the same time paying out £1m in bonuses in 2011/12 and half a million in compulsory redundancies. In 2011/12 exit packages for the DECC [...]

I joined Cllrs David Fagan, Alan Clinch and Michael Ross and the thousands of people who marched in Glasgow and throughout the UK today against the Bedroom Tax. This is a disgraceful, badly thought-out policy and the Tory-led Government should do the right thing, admit that they got it completely wrong and abandon it immediately. [...]

I recently visited the Soundsational Community Choir project, which is based in Coatbridge, the constituency of my colleague Tom Clarke MP. Quite a number of my constituents, including a group of adults and young people from Petersburn, attend the choir. The event was to celebrate the work done by Soundsational in the community, including raising [...]

Recently I visited the Basics Food Bank Lanarkshire project during one of its morning distribution services in Airdrie. The project is a Christian charity based in Lanarkshire. It runs from four distribution outlets in Motherwell, Wishaw, Shotts and Airdrie that are each equipped to reach out to those in crisis with the provision of a food [...]

I recently visited James Stuart, owner of ABS Auto Engineering Limited, which is based in the Brownsburn Industrial Estate in Airdrie.  James has worked hard to build up his business since he established the workshop in 2010. His business provides a range of commercial and private car mechanical services, including MOTs.  He currently employs 3 [...]