Code of Conduct and Modernisation Committee

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Chris Murray

Thursday 25th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Chris Murray (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a great honour to make my maiden speech as you take your first day in the Chair following your election. It is also a great honour to follow the excellent maiden speeches we have heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Jack Abbott), the hon. Member for Spelthorne (Lincoln Jopp) and my hon. Friend the Member for Telford (Shaun Davies). They have made excellent and intimidatingly good maiden speeches. Keeping up with them will be a full-time job.

The constituency I represent, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, is geographically small but extremely diverse, comprising city centre, suburb, town and village. It stretches from the historic centre of Edinburgh along the Forth coast, and is unrivalled in both its natural and architectural beauty. It encompasses Niddrie and Lochend, hard-working communities of people who contribute much but whose talents and industry would offer yet more if opportunity allowed, held back as they are by a lack not only of work but of secure working conditions—there are lots of second jobs there! Organisations such as the Greenhouse Pantry in Craigmillar help people keep their heads above water in the cost of living crisis.

The constituency is also home to the diverse, vibrant communities of Abbeyhill, Southside and Leith Links, full of excitement and ambition but held back by a housing crisis. Edinburgh has seen the sharpest rent increases in Europe. Through Duddingston and Craigentinny, the seat stretches to Portobello and Joppa, Edinburgh’s seaside, where groups such as the Porty Water Collective are fighting the scandal of sewage in our seas. I also represent Musselburgh, the honest toun—perfectly sandwiched between capital, countryside and coast—where last weekend I attended the kirkin’ and sashing of this year’s honest lad and lass, Billy Innes and Eilidh Bonthron.

My constituency is home to two universities: the University of Edinburgh at one end and Queen Margaret University at the other. This makes the seat both intellectually dynamic and young. Students and recent graduates make their home there, and their ideas, skills and energy make them the engine for my constituency’s enormous potential.

I have been struck by the contribution of these young people. When the pandemic came, they were the group least at risk from the virus, but they unhesitatingly sacrificed so many moments in their lives to protect others. Arguably no generation has given up so much for another since the war, but to my mind their sacrifice has not been adequately acknowledged, never mind compensated. In this Parliament, we must secure for them well-paid, interesting jobs in the industries of the future; decent affordable housing; and a climate that is not disintegrating before their eyes.

In the past, events in my constituency have ricocheted out across the world. The fiery debates of the reformation and the rational arguments of the enlightenment were incubated in my seat in centuries past. Nevertheless, I am convinced our best days lie ahead, because my community has all the raw material for a vibrant, dynamic century. The universities and their research spin-offs, in fintech and biotech, innovative start-ups in their hundreds, and huge opportunities in the energy transition and green technology are all to be found there. If we are to have the economic growth the Government are aiming for, my constituency could be a powerhouse of it.

Incorporating, as it does, the historic old town of Edinburgh, culture, hospitality and tourism form the economic backbone of my constituency, not least in August, when it plays host to the Edinburgh international festival and fringe. Am I correct, Madam Deputy Speaker, in thinking that the convention is that MPs must inform another Member when they visit their seat? In that case I expect my mailbox to melt down when everyone comes to the Edinburgh festival next month. Of course, everyone is most welcome. The Edinburgh fringe is well known for its world-class performances, but also for amateurs trying to get attention by saying something shocking—the Conservative leadership contenders will fit right in.

While my constituency has many castles, theatres and museums, the most important building in the seat, indeed in Scotland, lies at the foot of the Royal Mile in the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. That is where the lifeblood of the Scottish political heart beats, and that is why it is fitting that I make my maiden speech as we discuss how to modernise Parliament. It is safe to say that relations between this Parliament and that one have not been good these past 10 years. That must change. I was heartened to hear in the King’s Speech an agenda that will address that, just as I was when the Prime Minister’s first visit was to my constituency. That speaks to a new era in Scottish politics of respect, constructive engagement and delivery, and I look forward to playing my part in it.

As society changes, so the Parliaments that represent it must change too, both in their Members and their practices. This Parliament is breaking new ground in how it represents modern Britain, not just in having the first woman Chancellor, a woman Deputy Prime Minister, and 190 Labour women MPs, but in having more minorities, more LGBT representatives, and more state-educated MPs. I am glad that in the latter two I am adding to the tally.

My generation grew up with Scottish devolution. Having two Parliaments is a fact of life for us. With the Scottish Parliament now 25 years old, there is much that this place can learn from Holyrood, and reciprocally there are things Holyrood can learn from here. No Parliament has a monopoly on modernisation; it is something to which we must all continually strive. I am pleased to see the Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothian region, Sarah Boyack, in the Gallery. I have learned much from her, and will continue to do so. Let our two Parliaments co-operate and learn from each other, so that they make each other better in synergy and symbiosis, rather than with rancour and anger. Let us remember as we modernise here, that this is one of several Parliaments and Assemblies in this land.

While I am discussing Scottish politics, let me pay tribute to my predecessor. Tommy Sheppard was an assiduous and dedicated constituency MP, and for that he is held in high regard by many in Edinburgh. In this place he was a dedicated champion of peace and justice in the middle east, and although he and I may take different views on constitutional questions, I hope my constituents will find continuity on both those scores. I also pay tribute to his predecessor, Sheila Gilmore, who has been dedicated to improving the lives of the people of Edinburgh, particularly the poorest, for many decades, including five years in this House. Her commitment to the community, even years after leaving office, is astounding, and rarely has a new Member been so supported by a predecessor as I have been by her.

The coming years will be critical for my constituency. If we can generate economic growth by attracting the jobs of the future, if we can ensure that people who work hard get good wages and decent conditions, and if we can seize the opportunity of the energy transition, bring opportunities for the young and take our place as a global cultural capital, then we can achieve our potential. For all its attributes, and given the challenges we face, my community needs a Government focused on its priorities. In fact, it needs both its Governments and both its Parliaments to do that. It needs both Parliaments to modernise to meet the demands of today and to not be distracted by the arguments of decades past, and Members of both Parliaments to learn from each other’s practices and to spur each other on. It needs both Parliaments to compete in claiming credit for improvements in people’s lives, not in casting blame for what has gone wrong. For my part, I mean to be an MP for use and not for show. Everything I do in this place will be aimed at deploying the power of government to unleash the untapped potential of my constituency.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call Blake Stephenson to make his maiden speech.