Jen Craft

I thank all Members who have taken part in today’s debate. I appreciate their time, and I am sure that VisitBritain will contact us shortly about our commissions. We have had a brilliant whistle-stop tour of fabulous local museums around the country, from the Bayeux tapestry to the Dad’s Army Museum, which I very much want to visit. I will make my own pitch for town of culture, and Thurrock has submitted several—we should obviously be a recipient because we have so much to offer, as I said in my opening remarks. To my hon. Friends the Members for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) and for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer), “fangs” for entering the Dracula debate. I will bat away any suggestions that Purfleet-on-Thames is not the epicentre of Dracula lore. I will touch on a few things that have been mentioned. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) said that local museums are an opportunity to learn from what history can teach, and perhaps not repeat the same mistakes. The Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre has an exhibit that lists the human toll and cost of war, which is incredibly timely with the discussions that are currently under way. To my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Dr Gardner), I am friends with a very proud potter who has taken me to a number of the museums. I look forward to visiting the Gladstone Pottery Museum when I can. It is important to have a cultural exhibit that informs how modern techniques and practices deliver. My hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) spoke about how a museum can transform a town and about the power of arts and culture to drive a real sense of place. I thank everyone for taking part in the debate, despite some of the fractious exchanges at the end. Local museums contextualise the people and history of a place, and they put it very firmly in the present and in our national story. I once again thank the excellent volunteers at the Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre for the shift they have put in over the last few months to bring the museum up to where it is now. I again encourage everyone to get on the train and visit. It is only half an hour from London, and they will have an excellent time. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the contribution of local museums.