Exclusive:Morgan McSweeney's wife Imogen Walker has spoken least in Commons of Scottish MPs since general election
Imogen Walker, Labour MP for Hamilton and Clyde Valley, has spoken just 16 times in the 19 months since she was elected, according to Hansard.
Morgan McSweeney’s wife has spoken the least of all the Scottish MPs in the House of Commons since the general election.
Imogen Walker, Labour MP for Hamilton and Clyde Valley, has spoken just 16 times in the 19 months since she was elected, according to Hansard.
This was well below the average number of spoken contributions for Scottish Labour MPs (123) or all Scottish MPs (156).
The Tories said Ms Walker’s constituents will wonder if she “is being given a free pass to avoid speaking in the Commons simply because she is married to Keir Starmer’s top adviser”.
Ms Walker was made an assistant government whip in September. Whips generally do not speak in debates or ask questions in the chamber. She was also previously a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Chancellor Rachel Reeves. PPSs tend to speak less than other MPs due to their job as ‘eyes and ears’ of the ministers they serve under.
Ms Walker only spoke 13 times in the Commons in the 14 months when she was a Treasury PPS.
Fellow Labour MP Alistair Strathern, who was appointed a Treasury PPS at the same time, spoke 140 times during the same period. He has spoken in the Commons an additional 30 times since September and is still in the same role.
Livingston MP Gregor Poynton, who was became a whip at the same time, has spoken 105 times since being elected. All of these were before he joined the government in September.
Energy minister Martin McCluskey spoke in the Commons 37 times when he was a whip between June 2024 and September last year.
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: “This abysmal level of contribution from this Labour MP is a total dereliction of duty to her constituents.
“They will be wondering if Imogen Walker is being given a free pass to avoid speaking in the Commons simply because she is married to Keir Starmer’s top adviser and was once promoted by the disgraced Lord Mandelson.”
An SNP spokesperson said: "Scottish Labour MPs are now hopelessly distracted and consumed by their own civil war - people's real priorities don't get a look in.”
Out of the 57 Scottish MPs, the 12 who had spoken the least were all Labour.
For the most part the SNP, Tory and Lib Dem MPs spoke more in the chamber than Labour ones.
But energy minister and Rutherglen MP Michael Shanks contributed the most, speaking 729 times since the general election.
He was followed by SNP MP for Perth and Kinross-shire Pete Wishart, who had spoken 362 times and Labour’s Edinburgh South West MP Scott Arthur on 350.
Tory MP John Lamont was on 336, while his fellow Conservative Harriet Cross and Labour culture minister (and former Scottish Secretary) Ian Murray were both on 330.
Ms Walker was one of just six Scottish MPs - all Labour - to have spoken in the Commons less than 50 times since the election.
Another seven - six Labour and one SNP - spoke less than 100 times.
A Labour spokesperson said: “It’s a shame the Tories and the SNP are more interested in playing party politics than serving the people of Scotland. MPs represent their constituents in a variety of different ways, including in Parliament, in advice surgeries, and at constituency meetings.
"Since the General Election, Imogen Walker's focus has been on tirelessly delivering for her constituents in Hamilton and Clyde Valley. That includes responding to thousands of enquiries, resolving nearly 500 complex cases, advocating to ensure constituents received over £43,000 owed to them, and securing £20 million for Hamilton town centre. In Parliament she has served on 16 committees, had regular meetings to speak up for Hamilton and Clyde Valley, and contributed to Parliamentary debates.
"The Tories and the SNP both failed Scotland with disastrous consequences for our economy and public services. The UK Labour Government delivered a pay rise for 200,000 Scottish workers and the largest budget settlement for Scotland in the history of devolution."
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