Laird spoke on behalf of Fife Council at the Barclay Review looking at non-domestic rates across Scotland and called for reform, saying the current scheme favoured out-of-town retailers.

[11] For the 2017 snap general election, Laird was selected to stand as the Scottish Labour candidate for the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency; once held by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

[15] Laird's maiden speech at the House of Commons focused on poverty in her constituency and quoted Kirkcaldy-born economist Adam Smith, as well as former PM Winston Churchill: The state must increasingly and earnestly concern itself with the care of the sick, the aged and the young.

[16]Laird continued to regularly campaign on poverty issues in the constituency, working in partnership with local charities in a bid to overturn the UK government's new flagship welfare policy, Universal Credit.

[20][21][22] In response to public concern with ongoing flaring at Fife Ethylene Plant (FEP), Laird established a Mossmorran Working Group, the first to include cross-party elected representatives, community groups, as well as representatives from FEP operators Shell UK, ExxonMobil, the Health and Safety Executive and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency also attended.

[23][24][25] Laird held a public meeting with ScotRail director Alex Hynes in Kirkcaldy in February 2019, to discuss franchise operator Abellio's poor performance record in Fife, particularly during that winter, when stop-skipping and train delays were a regular occurrence.

[30][31] The MP secured a pledge from the Ministry of Defence to finance work to clean-up radiation at Dalgety Bay – an issue blighted by two decades of inactivity.