Edinburgh MP Scott Arthur makes maiden speech in House of Commons

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New Edinburgh Labour MP Scott Arthur has made his House of Commons debut with a maiden speech urging the Scottish Government to increase funding for affordable housing.

He also paid tribute to the SNP's Joanna Cherry and the late Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling, his two predecessors as MP for Edinburgh South West.

New Edinburgh South West MP Scott Arthur makes his maiden speech in the CommonsNew Edinburgh South West MP Scott Arthur makes his maiden speech in the Commons
New Edinburgh South West MP Scott Arthur makes his maiden speech in the Commons | parliament

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And, as is traditional in maiden speeches, he highlighted the attractions of his constituency - " the best part of the greatest city in the world".

Dr Arthur said in Oxgangs, in the constituency, many people struggled in temporary and overcrowded accommodation and he welcomed Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s ambition to build affordable homes. 

He continued: "In Edinburgh, we have worked with the whole city and set aside land for 37,000 new homes. The land is there and the planning is there, but the barrier to building those new homes is the lack of funding from the Scottish Government. I hope that they can now follow what we are doing here, and show more ambition on affordable housing in Scotland."

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Dr Arthur won the seat at the general election with a 6,217 majority, ousting Ms Cherry who had been the MP since 2015. 

He said: "I am deeply grateful to my constituents for placing their trust in me and also to my church for praying for me, although I know that they prayed more after I won the election than before it. I am committed to serving them all with dedication and integrity."

He paid tribute to Ms Cherry for her role in standing up to the Government over its handling of Brexit.  "During the Brexit crisis, she worked hard to ensure that Government decision making remained transparent and subject to parliamentary scrutiny.  We all owe her a huge debt for that.

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“I must also say that, although I disagree with her on many issues, I am happy to stand in complete solidarity with her in the face of the threats that she has faced."

And he also praised Alistair Darling as "one of the greatest public servants of my lifetime".  "He sat here from 1987 to 2015. Like me, he was a councillor in Edinburgh, and convener of the city’s transport committee before he went on to serve as MP for Edinburgh South West. The similarities may end there. 

"I know that Alistair is still much missed and I am proud to follow in his footsteps - indeed, without his help I doubt that I would have been elected as a councillor in 2017."

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Dr Arthur said he was proud to represent the constituency. “It stretches from the west end of Princes Street to the East Cairn hill, some 18 km to the south-west. Along its length, the constituency moves from dense urban communities—places such as Gorgie, the home of Hearts football club, Dalry, Parkhead, Wester Hailes, Sighthill and Oxgangs—to suburban settlements such as Colinton, Craiglockhart, Swanston and Baberton Mains, and to the semi-rural Water of Leith villages of Currie, Juniper Green and Balerno.”

He also mentioned the Pentland hills, the Water of Leith and the Colinton tunnel; Heriot-Watt University, where he was a lecturer until being elected as MP; Redford and Dreghorn barracks; Lothian Buses; and Tiphereth, a charity providing residential and day services for people with learning difficulties.

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