Foreign Affairs and Defence

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Wednesday 26th May 2010 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

Let me begin by paying tribute to the fine speech of the hon. Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy). While we may be on different sides of the House, his passion and commitment to his constituency really came across, and I wish him a long and successful parliamentary career.

It is with considerable pleasure, Mr Deputy Speaker, that I stand before you as the newly elected Member of Parliament for Stalybridge and Hyde, a place that I am proud to call my home as well as my constituency. May I express my gratitude to you for allowing me to make this maiden speech, and to my friends, neighbours and colleagues for electing me as their Member of Parliament?

I wish, in the customary fashion, to say something about my predecessor, the right hon. James Purnell. Many in the House will know James from his work as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and before that as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. James will be a hard act to follow. Not only did he enjoy an impressive ministerial career in the nine years that he spent here, but before he had even arrived he was credited with having drawn up the blueprint for Britain’s system of media regulation when still in his mid-twenties.

But James is also fondly remembered in Stalybridge and Hyde as a conscientious constituency Member of Parliament. We are particularly grateful for his tireless lobbying for our new schools—of which there are now several, with more on the way—for his commitment to the regeneration of our parks and public spaces such as Stamford park, and for his unstinting support for local community groups such as RASH in the Ridge Hill area of Stalybridge, where his support helped them to establish a communal garden, launch projects to cut antisocial behaviour, and open a drop-in centre for local residents.

Most of all, James has my admiration for always being a politician prepared to deal in the business of ideas. At times British politics can appear to run on orthodoxies, and people like James who can see beyond those should be cherished. I believe that the House will miss him.

It is with great sadness that I must report that one of my first duties as a Member of Parliament will be to attend tomorrow the funeral of Corporal Harvey Holmes, a soldier from my constituency from 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment who was serving in Afghanistan, fighting to bring some of the freedoms that we enjoy in this country to a troubled part of the world. I know that all Members will join me in sending best wishes to Corporal Holmes’s family.

I wish to use this opportunity to record my admiration for, and gratitude to, men and women like Corporal Holmes for their outstanding devotion and service to their country. It seems to me that in a world where a person can be described as a hero for a performance on a sports pitch or an appearance on a television talent show, we so often forget the true meaning of words like “heroism” and “courage”. In my time in this House I will never forget their true meaning, and I hope I will always be known as a friend of this country's armed forces.

I am immensely proud of my constituency and the localities that make it up: the towns of Stalybridge, Hyde and Mossley, and the villages of Broadbottom, Hollingworth, Mottram and Hattersley—to which I owe a particular debt, as they allowed me to begin my political career by electing me to Tameside metropolitan borough council. I should also not forget to mention the town of Dukinfield, for which, owing to its division between two constituencies, I share the honour of parliamentary representation with my hon. Friend—and good friend—the Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne). Together, those towns and villages form part of the borough known as Tameside, on the eastern side of the great city of Manchester.

I would recommend a visit to my constituency to any Member of the House. Whether it is the beautiful countryside of Werneth Low or the Longdendale Valley, the atmosphere of the buffet bar at Stalybridge station or the distinct character of the town of Mossley, there is much to enjoy and appreciate. Most of all, however, it is the people of my constituency who make it what it is.

We are proud and hard-working people, providing an example of the enduring ability of the British people to adapt to changing times. In 1844, no less a man than one Friedrich Engels visited my constituency when writing his book on the condition of the working class in England, and described Stalybridge in the following terms:

“On first entering the town the visitor sees congested rows of old, grimy and dilapidated cottages....most of the streets run in wild confusion up, down and across the hill sides. Since so many of the houses are built on slopes it is inevitable that many of the rooms on the ground floor are semi basements. It may well be imagined what a vast number of courts, back passages and blind alleys have been created as a result of this wholly unplanned method of building....of this disgustingly filthy town.”

I am pleased to say that today Stalybridge is a pleasant and prosperous place, unrecognisable as the town that Engels visited. However the themes that motivated Engels’ writings—the force of industrial change and the resulting social problems—are an illustration of the enduring nature of the political challenges that this House is called to address. For today the people of my constituency are faced with forces of change no less powerful than those that Engels observed, but whereas he observed how working people’s lives were being changed by the powerful force of industrialisation, today we can just as easily observe the effects of the force of globalisation. It is a force that has left many feeling vulnerable, insecure and concerned for their future, yet it is a force that cannot be stopped or turned back, any more than the luddites could turn back the process of industrialisation. The question for us is: how can we harness this force, shape it and turn it to the advantage of constituencies such as mine?

I believe that it is the role of Government to help people in my constituency to do this. In making that point I wish to make it clear that I do not advocate a return to the days of the state running every aspect of our lives, or a return to the paternalism of the past. Government must steer, not row. They must give people the skills with which to compete in this new world, give them opportunities to retrain in the face of global adjustments, and set the rules by which we all stand a chance to fulfil our potential. In addition, Government must be prepared to tackle the inequalities that stand in the way of that fulfilment. I believe the previous Government made a significant contribution to doing that. My constituency now has better schools, better housing and better health care than in 1997, but we should also recognise that tackling inequality is about more than just providing new buildings; it is about what goes on inside them.

We need to inspire our young people to have higher aspirations. We need a society based on values, not just material value. We also need to be prepared to take on vested interests when they attempt to block our progress. We must be tough on poverty, and tough on the causes of poverty, not just because that is fair, but because, in today’s global world, we need to unleash the capacity of every one of our citizens, or be prepared to see ourselves overtaken by the nations that do.

I shall end by saying something about the political times we find ourselves in. I first came to this House as a student on a trip from my college, and it created in me a sense of wonder that has stayed with me ever since. It is my sincere regret that its reputation, and that of politics generally, has been so diminished by the events of the last few years. We as Members of this new Parliament have a great deal of work to do to repair some of the damage. That will involve not only how we conduct ourselves as individuals, but how we go about reforming our entire political system, and I believe that this House needs to make sure that in a world dominated by coverage of the Executive branch of Government, we do not forget the supremacy of Parliament and how it can be used to enable a national dialogue on matters of national contention.

I believe that this House needs to remember that on many issues, cross-party co-operation will yield results much faster than exaggerated dividing lines. I also believe that this House needs to make real progress towards reforming the House of Lords, and to take seriously the opportunity to amend the voting system that sends us all here to the House of Commons. Most of all, however, I believe that what this great House needs is great parliamentarians. In my time in Parliament, it will be my humble aspiration to attempt to be one.