What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Scotland.

What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Scotland.

The UK Government’s industrial strategy set out how we will grow our economy by doubling down on our national strengths, despite the global uncertainty we are living through. That includes investing in Scotland’s huge contribution to the UK economy. Our free trade agreements with India and the EU will have huge benefits for Scottish businesses, and of course Scotland will benefit hugely from the defence dividend created by our increased investment in our national security. This is a Government backing growth and jobs in Scotland.

Given the state of our economy, taxpayer money must be used far more strategically. Phase 3 of the SNP’s Scottish zero emission bus challenge fund granted the Majority of a taxpayer-funded subsidy to Chinese bus manufacturers, which directly contributed six days later to 115 jobs being put at risk in Falkirk. With demand for ZEBs rising but domestic market share reducing, Scottish manufacturing jobs are being lost with the assistance of taxpayer money, and something must change. What discussions has the Secretary of State had with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that future taxpayer-funded orders are met by manufacturers and workers in Scotland and across the UK?

This is an incredibly difficult time for the Alexander Dennis workers and their families, many of whom face an uncertain future through no fault of their own. It is, alas, yet another example of failure on the part of the Scottish Government, who sent the Majority of a £45 million funding pot for zero emission buses to China, blocking comparative bids to build and invest in Falkirk. While Labour mayors have shown what is possible across the rest of the UK, stepping forward with bus orders and backing British manufacturing when it mattered, that is an example not so much of being “stronger for Scotland”, as of being stronger for China.

Good transport is essential for economic growth, be it ferries to our wonderful islands, or their links from the west coast of Scotland to our airport, but after almost 20 years of the SNP, Glasgow is in gridlock. Workers worry about getting to work on time, which holds back business. Does my right hon. Friend agree that Glasgow needs change, and that only Anas Sarwar can get Glasgow moving?

Unsurprisingly, I find myself wholeheartedly in agreement with my hon. Friend. Glasgow is the city of my birth, and it has been badly neglected on any objective measure by the Scottish Government in recent years. Scottish local authorities have been starved of cash over decades by the SNP-led Scottish Government, who have hoarded powers and resources at the centre in Edinburgh, to the detriment of Scotland’s local authorities and cities. People make Glasgow, and Glasgow and its people deserve a whole lot better.

A strong job and business market is key for economic growth, but Labour’s huge rise in national insurance is a direct jobs tax, and the SNP’s huge increase in business rates is a direct tax on our businesses. Scottish Conservatives have a plan to revitalise our high streets, support jobs and get businesses investing. Does the Secretary of State agree that his Government’s decisions since coming to power have cost jobs, businesses and investment in Scotland?

Before we get to the Conservatives’ plan, perhaps we could start with their apology. What about the £22 billion black hole that was left in the public finances by the Conservatives? We are still waiting for the apology.

In a Westminster Hall debate on heating oil support this morning, Torcuil Crichton suggested that the Scottish Government should be supporting businesses with energy costs. I agree that powers over energy should be totally devolved to the Scottish Government—does the Secretary of State agree with that?

If SNP Members want guidance on how to deal with energy costs, they could look at the £100 million emergency package that was announced by Scottish Labour only a few days ago. I must express concern, however, because if they are serious about energy, perhaps they could tell the House what happened to the publicly owned energy company that was promised so long ago by Nicola Sturgeon, because the Scottish public are still waiting.

I call the Shadow Secretary of State.

In a long litany of failures, surely the most egregious of all that the Scottish National party has inflicted on Scotland is the lack of any discernible growth whatsoever. Indeed, had Scotland’s economy grown at the same rate as the rest of the UK’s from 2010, Scotland could be up to £10 billion a year richer. At the same time, its benefits bill is set to soar to £9 billion by 2030. Does the Secretary of State agree with me that Scotland needs change?

I certainly agree that Scotland needs change. There has been an industrial level of waste by the Scottish Government in relation to money. Half a billion pounds has been spent on ferries; the First Minister went to Stornoway last week, but this week the boat that he travelled on broke down. A third of the CalMac fleet was out of commission over Easter. Whether it is the Scottish Government’s waste of resources, their failure on public services or their abject failure on economic growth, Scotland needs and deserves change.

I could not agree more, but change will not come from a weak and feeble Labour party that over the last five years has nodded through and supported every single one of the SNP’s mad-cap schemes, including, though Labour Members will not admit it now, the dangerous gender recognition reforms stopped by us. The SNP has failed Scotland and Scotland now has the worst of both worlds: two economically illiterate socialist Governments engaged in a staggeringly depressing game of Top Trumps in a desperate race to the bottom. National insurance, the family farm tax, the North sea, business rates—Labour and the SNP are strangling economic growth in Scotland.

The last time I checked, it was actually Scottish Conservative votes in Holyrood that sustained Alex Salmond’s Government in power, so we are not going to take any lectures from the Conservatives about somehow being the SNP’s little helpers. The reality is that Reform is the SNP’s little helper in this election, and after the comments made last night, it is pretty clear that the SNP is Reform’s little helper too.

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

The SNP is willing to support the Chinese economy by buying buses from China that raise serious security concerns, but when it comes to supporting defence jobs at the British-owned Rolls-Royce site in Glasgow, it pulled the funding. Does the Secretary of State agree with me that the SNP is failing Scotland both on jobs and on security?

The hon. Lady’s question tells us everything we need to know about the base politics of the SNP, which suggest that those who are pro national security are somehow anti-Scottish. That helps to explain why the SNP Government were not willing to fund the welding centre on the Clyde, which would have delivered hundreds of apprenticeships and secure jobs for decades to come. It explains why they were are weak on our own defence, supporting unilateral nuclear disarmament notwithstanding the arrival of Vladimir Putin’s ambitions on the international stage. If Scotland wants to benefit from being part of a strong and secure United Kingdom, I hope that we will decisively reject the SNP on 7 May.