Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has joined his SNP parliamentary colleagues in calling for the Chancellor to review VAT on tourism. The group of SNP MPs have asked for new research to be commissioned by the Treasury to look at how reducing the current rate would act as an encouragement to help grow one of Scotland's most important industries. In the letter the MPs point out that in the last five years the tourism and hospitality industry in Scotland has

Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has met with a Malawian smallholder farmer to discuss ways in which we can tackle food security in developing countries and promote ethical trade around the world. Gavin met with Kenneth Mwakasangula, a Malawian smallholder farmer, along with Just Trading Scotland to find out how fairtrade can rectify injustices in some of the poorest countries in the world. Just Trading Scotland is a fair trade organisation, set-up to fa

Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has used a speech at Westminster to praise the efforts that have been taken to address racism in sport, but has called for more work to be done in eliminating all forms of discrimination. Speaking at a special event to mark the 20th anniversary of ‘Show Racism the Red Card’, Gavin praised the work of the organisation but sent a reminder that still to many young sport athletes are victimised due to some of prejudice. Gavin

Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has welcomed the announcement from Virgin Media that the communities of Houston, Crosslee, Craigends and Bridge of Weir are to benefit from an ultrafast broadband and entertainment boost this year as part of a £3bn network expansion across the UK. Earlier this year, Virgin Media launched its ‘Supercharging Local Communities’ initiative - urging local residents and businesses to vote for their community to be one of the fi

Gavin Newlands, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has encouraged local constituents to make sure that they are registered to vote for the upcoming European Union referendum. The #generationEU campaign has been launched to encourage as many people as possible to register to vote in the EU referendum which takes place on the 23rd of June. Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, said: “Whether we continue to be a member of the European Union or not is one

Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has slammed the Queen’s speech for failing to bring forward progressive legislation that will improve the economy and make us a fairer society. The Queen’s speech, outlines the UK Government’s legislative agenda for the coming year. Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, said: “This Queen’s speech represents a missed opportunity for the UK government to grow our economy and put forward legislation which wi

The SNP is calling for the urgent re-introduction of a post study work visa scheme as a priority in its alternative Queen's Speech at Westminster . This comes as a survey conducted by 'Hobsons International Students ' shows the importance of such a visa as an incentive for international students when deciding whether to come to Scotland and the UK to study. The survey shows that the principal factors that discourage students coming to Scotland are the ease of getting a visa

Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has reacted angrily to a new report from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) which suggests that the cost of the UK government renewing Trident nuclear weapons has increased to £200 billion. The UK Government is determined to proceed with the project – even with this new extraordinary price tag – and plans to dump the nuclear arsenal on the Clyde for the next 50 years despite opposition from the Scottish Government

Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has accused the Prime Minister of performing a "complete U-turn”and sacrificing civil liberties at the expense of “ineffective, costly and intrusive” security powers. Gavin Newlands MP, who sat on the Bill Committee for the Investigatory Powers Bill, said it has been considered one of the most intrusive pieces of legislation in the Western world, and proposes to overhaul the framework governing the use of surveillance by

Following on from Gavin’s blog about his first year as an MP at Westminster, the Renfrewshire MP blogs about his work in the constituency over the past year. For the past half-century, the constituency of Paisley and Renfrewshire North – in its various forms and guises – has consistently returned Labour MPs to the House of Commons. Indeed, in modern times, the seat had been the definition of ‘Labour heartland’. The incumbent Labour MP had been elected in 2001 and at the 2015