Contribution
Let me begin by paying tribute to the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) and thanking him and all the members of the Backbench Business Committee for all the work they do in bringing so many important issues to the notice of this House. I thank him again for his contribution today, although I slightly disagree with him and others on the Transport for London issues. Many of us outside London dearly wish for a transport system that is so well-funded and efficient. I think he was channelling Ebenezer Scrooge a little bit in complaining about capped fares, but I take his comments in the spirit in which they were intended. I also thank him for raising the issue of the hostages taken on 7 October. Our hearts break for them and their families, and we desperately hope for them to be returned. We hope for peace and a ceasefire, and we thank him for bringing this issue to the House. I also thank him for his important tribute to Holocaust Memorial Day; we all agree on its importance.
I wish a very happy Christmas to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, the other Deputy Speakers and Mr Speaker, as well as your fantastic team, the Clerks, the Doorkeepers, the Library staff, the security, the catering teams, the police, the guides, the visitor support, the cleaners, Hansard and the many thousands of people who make this place and the other place run. We should never forget what a privilege it is to be here, and how well we are served by the entire parliamentary team.
We also should never forget how precious our democracy is as we stand here in the mother of Parliaments. From the market squares of Damascus to the trenches of the Donbas, people are fighting and dying for democracy—for the right to self-determination, for the right to speak out, for freedom. We must never take this responsibility or this privilege for granted.
While this may be the last speech in this Chamber for the year, it is my first speech in the Chamber for more than five years. I am very grateful to find that this old place has not changed too much. I see one or two new faces on the Benches, and I am delighted at how many of them are on the Labour Benches, and how many Labour Members represent places that have never before had a Labour MP. The lovely Jennie the guide dog, who is normally here, is following in the pawprints of Lucy and Sadie. And of course today we think particularly of the late, great Sir David Amess—we see the commemorative plaque—a phenomenal man who I really enjoyed working with in setting up the all-party group on endometriosis. He is much missed, and I know how much he loved this debate every year.
Of course, I think also of my dear friend Jo Cox, who we still miss very dearly, and who should have been here with us, playing her part in a Labour Government.
I have never been prouder in my life than to have been returned as the Member for Redcar in July. As a so-called retread, I have been denied a maiden speech, and as a Government Whip, I am unable to join in debates. I have swapped voice in this place for influence, I hope, on behalf of my constituents within this Government. As it is Christmas, I hope the House will indulge me if I take a moment to thank my wonderful constituents across the Redcar and Cleveland constituency for putting their faith in me once again. I thank my agent Sarah, my organiser Jack and my brilliant team for their hard work in those long months leading up to 4 July. I thank them and all constituency and parliamentary staff for the fantastic support they provide for us on our constituents’ behalf.
Since the election, I have been thrilled to visit schools across the constituency, including Huntcliff, Riverdale, Nunthorpe, Ormesby primary, Rye Hills, Lakes primary, Whale Hill and Redcar and Cleveland college. I talked to hundreds of pupils to celebrate Parliament Week recently. It has also been my privilege to continue to support local charities, including Footprints in the Community, South Tees Research, Innovation and Education, the Imaginarium, Teesside hospice, the Royal British Legion, Grangetown Generations, the Junction and many more. It has also been a privilege to have watched netball at Grangetown, football at Redcar Athletic, Redcar Town, Marske United and Normanby, swimming with Eston swimming club and boxing at Redcar boxing club. I am thinking today of the home helps caring for our elderly, the steelworkers at Lackenby, the small businesses on our high streets and the nurses in James Cook, Foxrush House and Redcar hospital. I am reminded every day what makes our community great and what a great community I am lucky to live in.