Telford's new MP, former council leader, Shaun Davies, gives his maiden speech in the House of Commons on Thursday, July 25
Video: parliamentlive.tv
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00:00I now call Sean Davis to make his maiden speech.
00:04Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It's a real privilege to be speaking on my maiden speech
00:09with you in the Chair today, and it's been a delight to follow the Honourable Member
00:13for Spalform and my Honourable Friend from Ipswich. I can't promise that my speech will
00:19be as witty as theirs, but I do support a proper Premier League team in Manchester United.
00:24It is an honour to be making my maiden speech as the very proud MP for my hometown of Telford.
00:35Telford is where I was born, raised and now bring up my own family. I am Telford and proud.
00:43I want to begin by talking about those MPs who I follow. My predecessor, Lucy Allen,
00:50who worked on many noticeable causes. I particularly want to pay tribute to her tireless work
00:56in respect of the post office scandal and pay tribute to her constituency team who supported
01:02the residents of Telford over the last nine years. I'd also like to mention and thank
01:07my friend and mentor, my immediate Labour predecessor, David Wright, who served our
01:13town and this House with passion over the last 14 years. I'd also like to pay tribute
01:21to the first person to hold the job as MP for Telford, a great supporter and crucial
01:26advisor to me. He now sits in the other place, Lord Bruce Grocott. Lord Grocott led me on
01:33a tour of this House in 1997 when I was just 11 years old. Now, Honourable Members and
01:41Right Honourable Members may be forgiven for thinking I look too old now to have been
01:4611 in 1997, but Madam Deputy Speaker, that's what 14 years in local government does to
01:51you. Telford is a new town in Shropshire, a town which has grown significantly since
01:58its designation as a new town in 1963. A town that has a proud history and strong local
02:06identity. We are the home to the West Midlands' only World Heritage site, the Ironbridge
02:11Gorge, the true birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. And we have a long-established
02:18communities like Maidley, Oakengate and Dorley, which were recorded in the Doomsday Book,
02:24with other proud communities too. I am a son, yes, of Telford, but of Dorley too, the birthplace
02:33of Captain Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel in 1875. His monument
02:40in Dorley High Street says, nothing great is easy. And Telford is great, but over recent
02:47years we certainly have not had it easy. Despite the challenges that Telford has faced, just
02:53like our own world champion boxer Liam Davis, Telford has continued to punch above its weight.
02:59We have delivered housing growth and economic growth. We have outstanding education with
03:04outstanding primary schools, first-class secondary schools, homes to Thomas Telford School, and
03:08the state-of-the-art further education and higher education facilities with Telford College
03:13and Harper Adams University in the centre of Telford. We have a record number of green
03:19and protective spaces. In fact, if honourable Members would like to come and visit Telford,
03:23joining the 3.2 million people who do each and every year, you will notice just how green
03:28we are. We are home to millions—and I mean millions—of trees. We are known as a forest
03:34city.
03:35In Telford, we are incredibly proud to be home to some of the biggest defence companies.
03:42Right now, Telford residents are working on the tanks that are destined for Ukraine, and
03:48they are distributing essential equipment, from uniform to morphine, that will be deployed
03:54across all parts of the world to our brave armed forces. Our relationship with the armed
04:00forces is deep and strong. We are home to over 8,000 veterans. My own family have served
04:07in all three services. As a council, we became one of the first authorities to be awarded
04:13an MOD gold accreditation for our work on the military covenant.
04:18For the past eight and a half years, I have served as leader of the council, and we have
04:23done a lot over that time. In the regeneration of our town centre and the creation of Southwater,
04:28we have been a business-winning and business-supporting council. We are the home to Besblocks, which
04:34provides bricks to almost every householding company across the country, Aviramp, which
04:40provides accessible access to planes at airports across the world, and we also provide wheelie
04:47bins to most households in the country.
04:50We have also kept our council tax low, among the lowest of all councils in England, and
04:55we have supported children with our outstanding children's services, delivered exceptional
05:01adult services, and have been leaders within our sectors. As well as being a council leader,
05:06I have led Labour in local government, and I have chaired the cross-party local government
05:10association. Indeed, I am proud to be the first former chair of the LGA to sit in this
05:16place rather than the one down the corridor. I welcome Members from right across the House,
05:24Members and friends who have served as councillors and council leaders in this Parliament.
05:30In Telford, like the rest of the country, poverty and child poverty are increasing.
05:36It is heartbreaking to know that almost one in four children live in poverty. For me,
05:42this is not an academic issue, it is personal. I was in poverty as a child. I remember switching
05:48the lights off in our council house and laying on the floor as debt collectors would bang
05:53on our door. I remember the embarrassment of queuing for a blue free school meal ticket,
05:58as many of my friends got their paid yellow ones. That deep-down imposter syndrome remains
06:03with me today, and I can say, Madam Deputy Speaker, it is very much with me today.
06:09For too long, towns like Telford have had their contributions to housing and job growth
06:14banked, with the desperately needed investment and support required to break the cycle of
06:18poverty not arriving. Despite the housing growth, over the past 14 years we have not
06:24had the investment we need either. The closure of our A&E and the relocation of our consultant-led
06:30women's and children's unit are an example. I tell my constituents that I will never stop
06:35fighting to bring services back to Telford. I also pay tribute to Telford Crisis Support.
06:42It worked alongside the community to provide 238,624 meals last year, up by 21% on the
06:50year before. It also provides clothes, nappies and the very basics in life, offering a vital
06:56lifeline to families.
07:00Families come in many different shapes and sizes. From the age of 11, I live with my
07:04nan, Betty, who is and was my guiding star. Although I lived with my nan from such a young
07:11age, my parents have always been there for me too, and I was lucky to have people like
07:16my great-auntie Dil, who provided me with the financial support which meant I could
07:20be the first person to go to university, to read law and to qualify as a solicitor. I
07:25am so lucky now to have my own family. I am a proud dad and stepfather to Evan, Millie
07:31and Owen. My wife, Elise, and I see no distinction in our family.
07:36As part of a role as a counsellor is to be a corporate parent. Those in state care should
07:41be considered as part of all of our families. In Telford, 423 young people are in our care
07:49and we support 249 care leavers.
07:52When I was the chair of the LGA, I described the local government sector as the corporate
07:57uncles and aunties of those children in care and those who left care. What is this House?
08:03What are Members of Parliament to those children in state care? Maybe, just like my auntie,
08:09we are the corporate great-aunties and uncles, with resources, influence and wisdom, but
08:15what can we do more to support our children in care? I say to children living in council
08:19homes or in temporary accommodation or in our care who are picking up free school meals,
08:24food parcels and avoiding debt collectors, if I can get here, so can you.
08:31To provide a better future to all of our children, we must reform our public sector. Yes, for
08:36some it is a dry subject, but it is the only way that we can fix our broken system. Reform
08:43is vital and prevention is key. The longer-term approach of investing a pound now that is
08:49saved hundreds of pounds many times over. The first 1,000 days of a child's life invested
08:56in, focused on, can lead to better life outcomes and massive savings for the public purse.
09:02We must always ask ourselves how public services can best serve the public. The answer is so
09:08often in the users of those services and those who work within them. When those who have
09:13skin in the game are empowered and trusted, the results are always better. We know this
09:19so well in Telford with the recent work of Holly, Scarlett and Joanne. For too many,
09:25our country does not work for them. They are not only disconnected, but they feel a million
09:29miles away from this place. This allows others to exploit the void, to divide us. We, all
09:36of us, together, despite political differences, should help connect this place to our citizens
09:43so that democracy does not just survive, but it thrives. I hope I can work on this
09:48nationally in the coming months and years.
09:50In conclusion, I want to thank the people of Telford for trusting me with this incredible
09:57honour, the privilege of representing my hometown. I will stand up for Telford and I will stand
10:03up for them. I know we have a long road ahead of us, but I am committed to that challenge,
10:09because after all, nothing great is easy.
10:13Thank you.