20/08/2026
A huge thank you to Dr Scott Arthur MP for taking the time to visit us at The Spylaw today.
It was a real pleasure to welcome you and to have such a positive conversation about our wonderful local community, the hospitality industry and the important role pubs like ours continue to play within it.
We really appreciate your kind words about The Spylaw and our team. We're incredibly proud of what we do and of the community we're lucky enough to be part of.
We'll definitely hold you to that proper pint and a meal next time! 🍺😊
Thank you again for visiting — we look forward to welcoming you back soon.
My first meeting of the day was at The Spylaw in Colinton, where it was great to catch up with James and hear how both the warm summer weather and the World Cup have helped make this a particularly busy year for the pub he runs with his wife, Ioana.
It was also inspiring to hear about the hard work that James and his team put in every day to ensure that everyone who walks through the door feels welcome, safe, and part of the community.
I was pleased to meet representatives from Heineken to learn more about the support they provide to businesses like James's, as well as some of the pressures facing the wider hospitality sector. We discussed taxation on b**r and pubs, and I made the point that we should be open to measures in future Budgets that make drinking at home slightly less attractive and encourage people to enjoy the safer, more social environment that pubs can provide.
I believe pubs have an important role to play in supporting both our wellbeing by bringing people together. We also discussed the Government's plans around alcohol labelling and how this may make a small contribution towards reducing the incidence of conditions such as cancer across the UK.
Of course, The Spylaw is a great example of the role pubs can play in local communities. While pubs are not for everyone, they are often an important focal point for villages and neighbourhoods across Edinburgh South West. That's why it is so important that both the UK and Scottish Governments take steps to ensure the sector is properly supported and able to thrive.
I also had the opportunity to "pour" a pint, which is something of a rite of passage for MPs! However, given that it was before 11am and I still had plenty of driving to do, I was reluctant to pull a genuine pint only for it to go to waste. Instead, we settled for a photo opportunity rather than the real thing. Hopefully I'll be back to enjoy a proper pint (and maybe a meal) at the Spylaw soon.
Finally, let's hope Scotland's Women's National Team can qualify for next year's World Cup and that James sees a similar boost in trade. If Scotland don't make it, I have to admit that England look as though they have every chance of going all the way. Whatever happens, continued success for the women's game would be a fantastic outcome across the UK.
