Sport: Team GB and ParalympicsGB

Andrew Cooper Excerpts

Thursday 10th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Cooper (Mid Cheshire) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Ben Maguire), who gave a passionate if controversial maiden speech. It is also a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (Sarah Hall), whose father-in-law is one of my predecessors as MP for Northwich. I pay tribute to Mike Hall, whose contribution towards getting the funding we needed to stop the town sinking into a big hole of subsidence was vital.

I am grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to the House for the opportunity to make my maiden speech in this important debate on sport, following the incredible achievements of our Olympians and Paralympians at this year’s games. We are lucky enough to have a great record of sporting success in Mid Cheshire. Our own Paula Radcliffe, who needs no introduction, achieved incredible feats in athletics over her long career, smashing the marathon world record.

Northwich rowing club’s Matt Langridge won gold at Rio in the men’s eight. The club, which has a proud tradition of breaking the perception of rowing as an elitist sport, told me about the “Matt Langridge” effect, as more young people have taken up the sport with that club than ever before.

And this year, the awe-inspiring Poppy Maskill, from Middlewich, who was mentioned by the shadow Minister, not only swam her way to five medals, a world record and the accolade of being the most successful British athlete at this year’s Paralympics, but was given the honour of being the GB flagbearer at the closing ceremony.

I cannot leave this list without mentioning my mum, who got the running bug after I was born—I do not think the two are related—and went on to win the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the European veterans championships in 2013. All these athletes, and others like them, have been an inspiration to the next generation of runners, rowers and swimmers. It is fitting that we honour them and their achievements today.

It is a tremendous honour to have been elected to represent Mid Cheshire, and our three great and historic salt towns of Northwich, Winsford and Middlewich. The last constituency to bear the name—back then, a two-member constituency with a strong pedigree of electing men with beards and the same surname—was abolished in 1885. Thanks to 139 years of boundary changes, I now pay tribute to not one but four predecessors.

Mid Cheshire gained the village of Rudheath from the right hon. Member for Tatton (Esther McVey), who has represented the area since 2017. I thank her for her service. It seems that Rudheath’s loss is Lymm’s gain, and I am sure the people of Lymm can look forward to many years of common-sense solutions to the challenges they face.

Middlewich was transferred from Congleton, formerly represented by Fiona Bruce. She served as a Member of this House for 14 years and, prior to that, as a councillor in Warrington for six years, a remarkable 20 years of public service that is testament to Fiona’s character. I know her former constituents appreciated her hard work and advocacy on their behalf, and her focus in Parliament on championing the right to freedom of religion and belief. I pay tribute to her as a campaigner for better transport infrastructure in her constituency, something on which I hope to build in my time here.

I gained Winsford from the former constituency of Eddisbury, represented by Edward Timpson from 2019, who prior to that served as the Member for Crewe and Nantwich. Edward’s outstanding work on improving the life chances of fostered children will undoubtedly shape his political legacy. Edward said in an interview in 2014 that he would not have been Children’s Minister and he would not have been a family lawyer if his parents had not fostered. He may no longer be a Member of Parliament, but I am certain we have not seen the last of Edward’s contribution to public life.

Finally, I pay tribute to my good friend, my hon. Friend the Member for Runcorn and Helsby (Mike Amesbury), who has represented Northwich these past seven years. Colleagues from across the House will know of his loyalty and his diligence, as well as his successful campaign from Opposition to make school uniforms cheaper for all. He has been unfailingly kind and supportive towards me, and extremely generous with his time and sound advice. I was until recently a councillor in Northwich, so I know at first hand how assiduously my hon. Friend worked on behalf of his former constituents, and how highly regarded he is locally. He certainly leaves some big shoes to fill.

Each of my predecessors would have been a worthy custodian of the constituent parts that now form Mid Cheshire, but these areas are not just names on a map—they are vibrant communities, each with its own natural beauty, rich history and promising future. The towns of Northwich, Middlewich and Winsford were predicated on the salt industry. From the Roman era to the industrial revolution, these towns have been shaped by the salt deposits found beneath their foundations and their strategic location at the confluence of several waterways that have been exploited to support trade, transport and our communities’ growth.

In the best tradition of British innovation, the people of Mid Cheshire have found interesting things to do with the holes in the ground after the salt has been removed. The Adelaide mine in Northwich once hosted a banquet for Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, with over 10,000 candles illuminating the orange crystal banqueting hall, all 130 feet below the surface. Today, the Winsford salt mine keeps the nation’s secrets, with over 33 km worth of papers from the National Archives stored safely underground, while just outside Middlewich, preparations are well under way to store the hydrogen produced by Cheshire’s Hynet project in the salt seam below.

The salt mines, canals and rivers that run through my constituency have played a pivotal role in shaping the local economy and culture and each has left an indelible mark on our landscape and identity. But these towns are not just about salt and their storied past; today, they are thriving places that are built on resilience, innovation and community spirit.

Northwich is a vibrant town with an exciting and lively events programme. The Now Northwich international dance and street arts extravaganza has delighted visitors with giant insects, peacocks, princesses and rainbow butterflies, while the annual Piña Colada festival, inspired by Northwich-born Rupert Holmes’s song “Escape”, which I will not provide a rendition of now, has become an important fixture of life in the town centre.

These events and dozens more like them would not be possible without the council, local businesses, rotarians and community groups all pulling together and supporting the town centre to make it the events capital of Cheshire. There is pride in our community, with people willing it to succeed in the face of 14 years of managed decline under the previous Government.

It was in Northwich in 1933 that polythene was accidently discovered by ICI researchers, and, in Winsford today, we have companies dealing with that industrial legacy, eliminating single-use plastics and recycling them. Indeed, Winsford is home to more than 200 innovative companies, from creators of advanced tissue-healing technologies to developers of a sophisticated AI model to keep people safe from plant and equipment on construction projects all over the world. But the true lifeblood of Mid Cheshire lies in its people. They are compassionate, friendly, and proud of their heritage. They are people like Julie, Diane or Matthew, running charities to help people with Down’s syndrome, autism, and muscular dystrophy. They are people like John, Alan or Janet, volunteering hours of their time to keep the parks and the streets of Winsford Northwich and Middlewich looking their best. They are people like Catherine and Ant who have kept our community fed, and people like Gale and Jess who have helped more people in Winsford than I could begin to count. They and hundreds like them are at the heart of our community. They are the custodians of our history, and the architects of our future, and, despite the challenging times that we are facing, I am convinced that it is a future filled with promise and possibility.

I have long believed that the people of our three great Mid Cheshire salt towns, and, indeed, our country, want a Government who are on their side. They want politics and politicians to serve them, to end the chaos and dysfunction of Westminster and to rebuild our country. The key mission of this Labour Government is to restore trust in politics, to show that politics can be a force for good, and to demonstrate that politics and politicians can deliver for people and change lives for the better.

I promise always to do my best to serve and represent my constituents, to work tirelessly to deliver the change that people have voted for, and to repay the trust that the people of Mid Cheshire have placed in me.