Telford MP Shaun Davies gives maiden speech in Commons

Shropshire Star

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

Transcript

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.

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