Latest news with #HarrietCross
Press and Journal
11-06-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Scotbeef shuts historic Inverurie abattoir
Meat processor Scotbeef has shut its historic abattoir in Inverurie. The owners have cited 'sustained challenges' to the business. They said the closure was necessary to protect the long-term future of Scotbeef. Staff were reportedly told to go home today, with farmers being told their livestock was no longer required. Scotbeef is a subsidiary of East Kilbride-based JW Galloway. Its processing sites manufacture fresh beef, lamb and value-added products for leading UK and international retail markets. Scotbeef also has facilities at two other Scottish locations – East Kilbride and Annan – as well as operations south of the border in Sheffield, Heysham and Wolverhampton. Other sites in Bridge of Allan and Glasgow have been sold by the firm in recent years. It is not known yet how many staff are impacted by the closure in Inverurie, where there has been an abattoir on North Street for about 100 years. Neither Scotbeef nor JW Galloway have responded to our calls. The move follows a steep decline in processing activity at the Aberdeenshire site. In recent times just a few hundred cattle have been processed there some weeks, a fraction of the total capacity. Industry insiders have blamed a price war between processors for putting Scottish abattoirs under severe pressure. In accounts lodged at Companies House earlier this year, Scotbeef said it was facing labour shortages and industry pay rate challenges. Plans for a replacement abattoir in the area have been on hold for years. In 2023, Aberdeenshire councillors backed plans to demolish the existing abattoir to make way for 50 new homes. A previous proposal to build 77 homes on the site was given the go-ahead back in 2019. Now, closure for the existing site would appear to scupper any prospect of the abattoir being relocated to ANM Group's Thainstone Business Park, as was previously proposed. Gordon and Buchan Conservative MP Harriet Cross said: 'This closure is deeply concerning and is a blow to livestock farmers across the north-east. Abattoirs such as that in Inverurie are crucial to the food supply chain and the wider agricultural sector. 'But across the country, they are being driven out of business at an alarming rate by rising costs, regulatory pressures and a drop in livestock numbers. 'There is also an immediate human impact of all this, and my thoughts go out to the employees at Inverurie whose jobs are at risk.' The MP added: 'If both of Scotland's governments are serious about sustainability, rural jobs, and animal welfare, then more support needs to be given to abattoirs so they can survive these unprecedented challenges.'
The National
21-05-2025
- Business
- The National
SNP MPs team up with Tories in protest over oil and gas windfall tax
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn posed for a photo outside Parliament on Wednesday alongside Tory MP Harriet Cross, SNP MPs Kirsty Blackman and Seamus Logan, and Russell Borthwick, head of the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC). They have given their backing to an open letter organised by the AGCC, signed by more than 2500 energy industry workers and bosses as well as people whose jobs and businesses depend on the sector, demanding the Government drop its Energy Price Levy. READ MORE: Scottish travel firm closes 'out of the blue' after 20 years with all jobs lost The levy, due to end in 2030, means the effective rate of tax on oil and gas companies is 78%, according to the AGCC. This has already cost 10,000 jobs in the sector since the tax was introduced and its continuation will result in 'deindustrialisation and mass unemployment', signatories claimed. They highlighted the recent example of Aberdeen's Harbour Energy, which announced it would cut its workforce by 25%, some 250 jobs, because of tax pressures. The letter said: 'Regrettably, we find ourselves in the economically and environmentally incoherent position whereby government policy is bringing a premature end to the oil and gas sector whilst the UK simultaneously relies on increasing amounts of carbon heavy and costly imports from overseas to meet its energy needs. 'The situation is absurd, and we urge you to act now before it's too late. The Climate Change Committee highlights the UK needs up to 15 billion barrels of oil and gas up until 2050 and our world-class oil and gas sector can meet almost half of this, unlocking £150bn to the UK economy.' READ MORE: Co-op board votes to remove all Israeli products from shelves The letter demanded an 'immediate end' to the windfall tax, first brought in by the Tories, to 'protect jobs, generate economic growth and greater energy and national security for the UK'. It added: 'The alternative, added to by the regrettable demise of Grangemouth Refinery, is deindustrialisation and mass unemployment, something any responsible government must avoid at all costs.' Flynn said: "The Labour Government's fiscal regime puts energy security in jeopardy, it causes mass redundancies and importantly it runs the real risk of ending net-zero ambitions because if you don't retain the vast skills we have in our energy sector today, you lose the people who will deliver the green energy of tomorrow. 'We were promised that Westminster's tax policy would lower bills and see investment in net-zero, but that's clearly not been the case with bills soaring and key projects like Acorn are starved of investment in favour of English sites. The UK Government was approached for comment.
Scotsman
19-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
UK EU fishing deal: 12-year agreement branded 'biggest act of betrayal' to Scottish fishermen
EU leaders are in London to broker a new Brexit deal with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A new 12-year deal on fishing access to UK waters has been branded 'one of the biggest acts of betrayal'. EU leaders are meeting in London on Monday to announce a new Brexit deal, including improved trading rights for food, a security pact and a youth mobility scheme. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One of the first things to be announced is a 12-year deal on fishing access for EU boats in UK waters. Trawler men unload their catch at Peterhead fish market, Scotland; there have been reports of imports of Scottish fish being turned back at Belfast port The new deal will last until 2038, according to EU diplomats, and is expected to be a rollover of the existing terms. Harriet Cross, the Conservative MP for Gordon and Buchan, said: 'Starmer's surrender is one of the biggest acts of betrayal that our fishing industry has seen in Scotland. 'It's absolutely shameful that the Labour UK government has capitulated to Brussels by agreeing a 12-year deal to hand over fishing access to EU boats in UK waters. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Our fishermen have been used as a pawn by Keir Starmer, which will result in catastrophic consequences for our coastal communities. 'This is a complete abandonment of our fishing fleets, when the industry should be benefiting from the opportunities presented by leaving the EU and the common fisheries policy. 'I will now be looking to raise urgent questions with the Prime Minister and the Labour UK government on the matter.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scotland's External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson has also criticised the deal for not involving the Scottish Government in negotiations. Posting on social media, he said: 'UK government has agreed a fisheries [devolved] deal with [the] EU in principle, without any recourse, involvement or approval of devolved administrations. '[The] Scottish Government received no documentation or draft proposals in advance. I asked UK ministers last week for this. Nothing received. Reset?' Under the trade agreement struck with the EU by former prime minister Boris Johnson back in 2020, the EU's share of fish quotas in British waters was reduced by 25 per cent. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The deal is ending in June 2026, and annual negotiations were to take place on fishing rights beyond this date.
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
MPs Harriet Cross and Cat Smith limber up for London Marathon
When Conservative MP Harriet Cross runs the London Marathon on Sunday, she is hoping to hit the finish line well within four she can get there in under three hours 57 minutes, that would make her the fastest female MP, beating a record currently held by Jo Swinson, Liberal Democrat leader in 2019. Cross is aware of the record, but is not counting her chickens. "There is a 26.2 mile course between me and that at the moment, so I don't need to get ahead of myself," she says. "I'm hoping for something in the three hours mark, but we'll see how it goes on the day. Mid-three hours would be a happy result."The MP for Gordon and Buchan is an experienced runner - in 2023 she won a 50km (31 mile) ultra marathon - but still admits to a bit of nervousness about London. She has done plenty of mountain marathons, but this will be her first on a road surface. "This is different because it's flat... when you're going up a hill you get to walk, so this is a lot more daunting."And then there are the crowds. In Scotland, where she usually runs, she says there are normally a few hundred people gathering to in front of 50,000 people will be "daunting", she says. 'Maranoia' For Labour MP Cat Smith, Sunday will be her third London Marathon, yet she also has a few nerves. She says she is "fully diagnosing" herself with "maranoia" - the anxiety and fear that can hit a runner as marathon day approaches. "The last few days before you do the run you start thinking back to all the training runs and thinking 'maybe I should have done another one, or maybe I should've tried harder or worked harder, and maybe I need to go back to the gym and do a few more weights because are my knees really strong enough?'. "You start questioning everything, but I think that's totally normal and I recognise that from previous times," the Lancaster and Wyre MP Cross, she is not looking to break any political pavement pounding records. Last time, she managed six hours six minutes. "I'm incredibly slow - I am the tortoise who will get there in the end," she says."When you compete a marathon, that is the real prize." Political parallels As an experienced London Marathon-er, does she have any words of wisdom for her fellow parliamentarian?"I have absolutely no advice at all that is worth having. Just keep one foot in front of the other," she pair will be among 16 MPs running the race on Sunday - and Cross thinks there are some parallels between running a marathon and a political life. "It needs determination, needs focus. You need to not be distracted by what other people are doing around you," she says."If you go off at the start of the marathon with someone who is trying to get a two thirty and you're nowhere near, that you're not going to get very far."Cross is raising money for Kayleigh's Wee Stars, a charity that raises money for families of children who have terminal is running for the Bay Hospital charity, which she says raises money for the "nice extras" that the NHS doesn't provide, as well as some medical equipment. You can listen to the interviews on BBC Radio 4's Today in Parliament at 23.30 BST on Friday and after that on BBC Sounds.
The Herald Scotland
25-04-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Running can help bridge Westminster divide, say MPs ahead of London Marathon
They include experienced runners such as Labour's Josh Fenton-Glyn, a fell runner, and Conservative Harriet Cross, who won a 50 kilometre ultra-marathon in 2023 and is tipped by Tory colleague Andrew Bowie as among the fastest of the party's MPs. Others are taking part for the first time such as shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, who sparked rumours of a leadership challenge after he accidentally added 600 people to a WhatsApp group while trying to fundraise for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association. Harriet Cross, an ultra-marathon winner, has been tipped by her Tory colleague Andrew Bowie as one of the fastest MPs in the Conservative Party (Michal Wachucik/PA) Meanwhile, Lib Dem Tom Gordon will be running his second marathon this month, having completed the Paris Marathon on April 13. Another of those who will be lining up on Blackheath on Sunday is John Slinger, newly-elected Labour MP for Rugby and chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on running. Speaking to the PA news agency, he said he had found running to be one of the things that brought people together in Westminster, despite their differences. He said: 'I'm a new MP, I was elected in July, and what I found was there's a huge amount of cross-party working in all-party groups and select committees and just in and around the House. 'Don't believe everything you see in the chamber. Yes, there's a lot of yah-boo Punch and Judy, there's also a lot of serious debate there and outside of the chamber people are, to a person, very friendly and civil with one another. 'So, it's yet another way that we can enhance cross-party working because, at the end of the day, we are all colleagues at one level seeking to do the best for the country.' While Mr Slinger's group intends to encourage more MPs to take up running, many require no additional incentive, finding it helps them unwind from the stresses of Parliament. Mr Bowie, the shadow Scotland secretary and acting shadow energy secretary who started running properly in the Royal Navy, said it 'provided an opportunity to get away from the madhouse' and 'think things through, contemplate and clear the head'. Parliament marks the final stage of the London Marathon course (Yui Mok/PA) Labour's Cat Smith said she had taken up running during lockdown, 'more for my wellbeing than my physical fitness', completing Couch to 5k before taking on the London Marathon in 2021 and 2023. She said: 'I've done it twice before, and it's a bit addictive, so I want a third one.' Meanwhile, Mr Fenton-Glynn, the fell runner, saw things as a more binary choice, telling PA: 'An MP told me you need to be careful, because there's two kinds of MPs – running MPs and drinking MPs. 'You don't want to be the latter.' Six of the MPs taking part in this year's race have run the London Marathon before while in office, although none are close to matching the record held jointly by Alun Cairns and Edward Timpson of 12 appearances in the race. The most frequent participant this year is Labour's Alex Norris, who is taking on his fourth marathon as an MP – and 10th in total – despite claiming to have done 'precisely three training runs'. Another returning runner is Lib Dem environment spokesman Tim Farron, who did the marathon in 2021 and 2022 before a knee injury while serving coffee at his local church a year later put him out of action. He said: 'I thought for a while that might be it, I might no longer be a runner. 'But, slowly but surely, I have mended, I think, and I guess you get to 54, nearly 55, you think, if I stop, bad things will happen. 'But I enjoy it, I enjoyed the buzz of doing it last time round. I also enjoyed the challenge of trying to be ready for it, the discipline of it.' He would not say whether his party leader, Sir Ed Davey, should make running a marathon his next election stunt, but said he too had 'paid a lot of attention to his physical wellbeing and is, like me, a man in his 50s who is, I think, fitter now than we were 10 years ago'. Whether any of this year's MP runners will break time records for the marathon remains to be seen. The fastest ever time by an MP remains 2:32:57, set by Matthew Parris in 1985; and the fastest time by a female MP stands at 3:57:00, set by Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson in 2011. But, in the same way MPs generally avoid commenting on expected election results, most refused to be drawn on how they thought they would do, focusing instead on completing the 26.2 mile course and raising money for charities. Several have chosen to raise money for local charities: Mr Slinger has opted for Back and Forth Men's Mental Health; Mr Fenton-Glynn for the Overgate Hospice; Mr Farron for mental health charity Growing Well; and Ms Smith for the Bay Hospitals Charity, all connected to their constituencies. Others, however, have opted for national charities. Mr Bowie said he chose to raise money for the MS Society because a member of his team has the condition and it 'doesn't get as much attention as some of the other headline-grabbing charities'. And although not a parliamentarian himself, David Prescott – son of the former deputy prime minister John Prescott – will be running for Alzheimer's Research UK in memory of his father, who died last November. The parliamentarians taking part in Sunday's London Marathon are: – Alex Norris (Labour, Nottingham North and Kimberley) – Andrew Bowie (Conservative, West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) – Blake Stephenson (Conservative, Mid Bedfordshire) – Cat Smith (Labour, Lancaster and Wyre) – Chris Curtis (Labour, Milton Keynes North) – Chris Evans (Labour, Caerphilly) – David Simmonds (Conservative, Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) – Harriet Cross (Conservative, Gordon and Buchan) – John Slinger (Labour, Rugby) – Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour, Calder Valley) – Lloyd Hatton (Labour, South Dorset) – Michael Shanks (Labour, Rutherglen) – Patrick Hurley (Labour, Southport) – Robert Jenrick (Conservative, Newark) – Tim Farron (Lib Dem, Westmorland and Lonsdale) – Tom Gordon (Lib Dem, Harrogate and Knaresborough) – Lord James Bethell (Conservative)
