Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley gives maiden speech in the Commons

Shropshire Star

Watch Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley gives maiden speech in the Commons - Shropshire Star on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00and so I'm just going to close my remarks today without making reference

00:04to Aldridge and the reason is that it's just one of a handful of constituencies

00:09that has a track but it has no train station and so I would urge the

00:16honourable gentleman to join me in pushing his colleagues in the Treasury

00:21and the West Midlands Combined Authority to help me deliver a train station for

00:26Aldridge on time. Thank you. Julia Buckley to make her maiden speech.

00:34Thank you very much Madam Speaker for allowing me to make my maiden speech and

00:39what a privilege it is to follow my honourable friend for Sheffield Central

00:43on her very moving story of family overcoming racism and her personal

00:48passion for change. Thank you. I'm delighted to contribute to this

00:52afternoon's debates on our plans to introduce the Great British Railways and

00:57bring trains back into public ownership. Nowhere will these benefits be felt more

01:02keenly than in my own constituency of Shrewsbury where services are thin on

01:07the ground, lacking carriages and frequent and reliable services. Indeed

01:12most residents and visitors to Shrewsbury would very quickly conclude

01:15our town is a beauty spot with so much potential but cut off from the wider

01:20economic region by lack of robust public transport and this is mirrored by

01:25our inadequate bus services with over 5,000 routes cut since 2010. Shrewsbury

01:31is dreaming of a Sunday service or a bus after 6 to support our young people and

01:36our night-time economy. Public bus franchises will make a huge impact on so

01:41many lives. We also have high hopes of the Midlands Connect plans to electrify

01:45the train route between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton to boost our capacity. But

01:50Shrewsbury is of course the new name for my constituency or should that be

01:54Shrewsbury? Apparently your pronunciation reveals which side of the river you grew

02:00upon but actually the people of Shrewsbury and Shrewsbury are very

02:04tolerant of both pronunciations as it turns out. My constituency was known for

02:09many years as Shrewsbury and Atcham until several villages leading up to

02:13Wenlock Edge were donated to South Shropshire and to the Boundary Review. My

02:17predecessor Daniel Kaczynski is well known to this house as he served our

02:22constituency for 19 years and was particularly focused on raising the

02:26profile and challenges of our river through establishing and sharing the

02:30River Severn Caucus. I hope to continue this important work with my neighbour

02:34and colleagues as we tackle the shared threat of flooding and compromised water

02:38quality. There is another perhaps even more famous former MP for Shrewsbury

02:43going back a little further into history as Benjamin Disraeli was our Member of

02:49Parliament from 1841 when he earned a reputation as both witty and able before

02:54going on twice to become Prime Minister and to decriminalise the work of trade

02:58unions. Shrewsbury has many famous sons but none are more well-known than Charles

03:03Darwin, the father of evolution. He was born and raised in Shrewsbury, attended

03:07Shrewsbury School as a boarder in the building which has since become our town

03:11library and has a statue commemorating his contribution to learning. We're

03:16delighted that his family home will finally become an international visitor

03:20attraction to celebrate his work. Unlike Darwin I've only lived in Shropshire for

03:26a mere 20 years and so I'm grateful to have been graciously adopted by the good

03:30people of Shrewsbury to represent the county town for Shropshire, renowned as

03:34one of the finest medieval market towns with regular farmers markets brimming

03:38with local producers, agricultural livestock markets and our award-winning

03:43indoor market which goes from strength to strength with late-night events and

03:47live music winning Britain's favourite market no less than three times. The

03:52River Severn famously forms a loop around the town centre framed by our old

03:56town walls as a backdrop to our older historic properties, stone flag narrow

04:01streets, Regency crescents imposing black and white timber framed buildings. In

04:06total we have over 600 listed buildings including the castle, now a museum, the

04:11art gallery, old market hall and the famous Shrewsbury Abbey. Our main

04:16shopping street the Wild Cop which climbs the steep hill from the English

04:20Bridge up to the town square is reported to host more independent shops than any

04:25other street in the country thanks to the support of Shrewsbury Bid and our

04:28Chambers of Commerce. There are beautiful riverside walks, cycle paths, pedestrian

04:34bridges and the jewel in our crown the Quarry Park along the river with Percy

04:39Thrower's famous sunken gardens in the Dingle and where the Royal Horticultural

04:43Society hosts its annual flower show. With such well-kept beauty and heritage

04:48charm it's easy to see why Shrewsbury attracts so many visitors each year

04:52boosted by our array of cultural festivals including the Folk Festival,

04:55Food Festival, of course the Darwin Festival, the County Show at the West

05:00Mid Showground and Loop Fest. But we also welcome gentle sustainable tourism those

05:05that come to walk in the Shropshire Hills, kayak down the river or take a

05:08leisurely cruise on our famous tour boat the Sabrina. I'm sure members listening

05:13are already planning to book their next visit and I will be happy to oblige with

05:17the guided tour for any who make it. We have some 30 or so smaller villages in

05:23the rural hinterland with Upton Magna in the east towards the Reakin, Montford

05:27Bridge and Nescliffe and up with our long-standing military training camp.

05:31Minsterley, Pondsbury and Basin Hill to the south and Shrewaldown and Westbury

05:35almost on the Welsh border in what was historically named the Marches. These

05:41rolling green hills provide our farming base, woodland natural habitat and serve

05:45our agricultural sector ably supported by the nearby world-leading University

05:50at Harper Adams where our farmers of the future are trained in sustainability and

05:55productivity. It's crucial given their impact on the food and drink supply

05:59chain that flows through the county to support our local economy. We have

06:04several large employers including the world-leading Morris lubricant factory

06:07dating back to 1869, Sallop Leisure, Beaver Bridges and of course Shrewsbury

06:12Town Football Club where manager David Morris once played. Yet despite this very

06:19long list of famous Shrewsbury men I am here today as the first female MP for

06:25Shrewsbury and not before time. I am the daughter of a coal miner whose pit was

06:32closed in 1986 and who never worked again. I was 12 years old when this

06:37affected our family and our community and that's when my interest in politics

06:41was first ignited. As an adult I was fortunate to win a scholarship for my

06:47PhD in EU policy. I worked in the European Parliament for five years in

06:51Brussels specialising in regional investment funding to tackle inequality.

06:56Whilst I was there I made friends with the chirpy young woman in the next door

07:00office, another northern lass passionate about politics, Jo Ledbeater who later

07:06became Jo Cox. We ran the New York Marathon together in 2001 with Susie

07:11Sumner as the Northern Lasses. We were so proud of Jo when she became an MP and

07:16how with her usual style of tigerish enthusiasm and charm she would persuade

07:22everyone towards her policy aims. All the more reason why her death was so very

07:28difficult to comprehend. A senseless loss of someone so sincere and positive. Jo

07:35never shied away for standing up for what she believed in, what really

07:38mattered, however important or difficult or unpopular. She never said she was too

07:44tired or too busy, she just got on and fought for what was important and always

07:48with a winning smile. Jo inspired me back into politics. After

07:54realising that life is too short and precious to wait for other people to

07:58solve problems I decided to be more like Jo and that week I rejoined my local

08:03Labour Party, became a town and then county councillor and ultimately leader

08:07of Shropshire Labour Group. I stood as the parliamentary candidate in this seat

08:11in 2019 and I returned this year to win and become our MP. Thanks in no small

08:18measure to the support of my husband John and the patience of my children

08:22Annabelle and Edward. May I take this moment to conclude by saying to Jo and

08:26to her sister Kim that finally the Northern Lasses are reunited in this

08:32place.

08:36Sarker Eastwoods make her maiden speech.

Category

Transcript

Recommended