Great British Energy Bill

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Uma Kumaran

2nd reading
Thursday 5th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Uma Kumaran (Stratford and Bow) (Lab)]

I am grateful for the opportunity to make my maiden speech with my parents and husband in the Gallery today. I congratulate the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Liz Jarvis), who gave an impassioned speech showing how deeply she cares for her community, its heritage and in particular the history of caring for refugees. She spoke so lovingly of her late parents.

It is the honour of my life to be elected as the first ever MP for Stratford and Bow. I was born in east London, and I have lived in Stratford and in Bow. I studied at one of our brilliant local universities, Queen Mary. To go from local student to local MP in 20 years has been quite the homecoming. Not getting our declaration result until nearly 6 am really did bring back memories of stumbling home from uni.

I pay tribute to the force of nature Lyn Brown, who served her home West Ham as the Member of Parliament for 19 years, and for a total of 36 years of selfless service to communities in Newham. A true east London girl, her guidance and support have been invaluable. I have no doubt that her contribution to the east end and public life will continue. I also inherit Bow from my hon. Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney (Rushanara Ali). She is another trail-blazer, as the first Bangladeshi-origin woman elected to Parliament. She has inspired a generation with the promise of what is possible.

Although Stratford and Bow is a new parliamentary constituency, its history is old and rich. The Woman’s Hall at Old Ford Road in Bow was home to Sylvia Pankhurst and Norah Smyth and the headquarters of the East London Federation of Suffragettes from 1914 until 1924. It was the beating heart of the east end suffrage movement, and the home of the matchgirls’ strike and the largest union of women and girls in the country. Every corner is filled with the history of the struggle for women’s rights and for our voices to be heard; a history that I will work every day to honour. As a proud grand- daughter of a trade unionist and a member of the GMB union, I go forward in their memory and will continue to fight for working people.

Parts of my constituency have been represented by illustrious political figures including Charles Key, Keir Hardie, Lansbury and Clement Attlee, who led the Labour Government that created our beloved NHS—so no pressure on this new Member. Our stunning Victoria park with its breathtaking canals opened to the public in 1845 and became the people’s park: a centre for political meetings and rallies with speakers such as William Morris and Annie Besant.

It is not just political history that we are blessed with in Stratford and Bow. I am sure that many hon. Members in the Chamber love nothing more than going home after a long day sitting in the Chamber and putting on their favourite grime playlist. They can thank Bow for playing an integral part in the origins of grime music, with Roman Road and its once-beloved record shop producing artists and crews such as Roll Deep and Skepta to name just two. Over in Newham, we have our top boy Kano.

I can see that I have completely baffled some hon. Members—[Laughter.] For those whose tastes are a bit more retro, we are also home to ABBA Voyage. My constituency is a place where people can come and spend their money, money, money in some of our brilliant local and international businesses. Of course—it cannot be missed—sitting at the heart of my constituency is the London stadium: a place of joy and wonder from the 2012 Olympics and some of our most wonderful sporting achievements. As this generation of Team GB Paralympians competes in Paris, I send my wishes to them.

The ability to bring people together that sport possesses is like nothing else, so it is a privilege and honour to be the Member of Parliament for the greatest club in world football—sorry, Keir—West Ham. As a Hammer since 5 July—[Laughter]—I am proud to be forever blowing bubbles. I know that there are several Hammers fans on the Government Benches and throughout the parliamentary estate—probably more of us than Members on the Opposition Benches.

Stratford and Bow is a wonderful, vibrant and diverse constituency, and our current heritage lives up to that history. Forest Gate is the home of independent cafes and shops and Forest Gayte Pride, overlooking the nature and beauty of Wanstead Flats. There are the bustling shops of Green Street serving communities throughout east London, alongside mosques, temples, synagogues, gurdwaras and churches. It is a place that is truly representative of the rich tapestry of cultures and people that make up our great capital city, London.

People from all over the world have come to Stratford and Bow to make the UK their home. My constituency is a prime example of Britain at its best, with pearly kings and queens, and white, European, Indian, Bengali, Pakistani, Chinese, African, Asian, middle eastern, Caribbean communities and more living side by side and working together to make a better society for everyone. Wherever someone is from, they are welcome in Stratford and Bow.

I am proud, too, to have origins as an east London girl born in Homerton hospital, but I was born here but by fate. I am the daughter of Tamil refugees and the child of a community that knows what it is like to endure prejudice and persecution. My parents, proud and patriotic British citizens, came to Britain over 40 years ago, but they did not simply come here; they fled for their lives, forced to leave behind everything and everyone they knew and loved, torn from a good and prosperous life in their prime to start from scratch in an unfamiliar country, working multiple jobs day and night to give me the chances that were taken from them.

Britain welcomed my parents with open arms so that they could rebuild their lives and flourish, and it was the east end that they first chose to call their home. This is the London that I know and love, and it is the story of Britain and British values at its best: outward looking and compassionate; a country where people can work hard and triumph. Mum and dad, thank you for everything: your endurance and your will to succeed—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] You are part of the success story of Britain, and that is a story that can be found in every corner of Stratford and Bow and in every part of Britain, with the hope and aspiration for a better tomorrow that all parents have for their children and the dreams of a safe and secure life.

It is that hope and determination to fight for a better future that this Labour Government will work hard every day to deliver. Whether the people of Stratford and Bow were born here, came here in search of a better life or just moved to the best bit of London—whatever their start in life—I will ensure that their voices are heard and valued. I pledge to work day in, day out to tackle the root causes of poverty, to fight for more police on our streets so that women and girls feel safe to walk home at night, parents do not have to worry about knife crime and young men are not having to look over their shoulders when they walk home after dark, and to fight for an NHS that is here for us in our time of need, where patients can be seen in wards, not corridors.

Delivering my maiden speech during the GB energy debate is apt. Climate change remains one of the greatest challenges of our time, and we must redouble our efforts. Before I came to this place, I worked internationally on climate action with cities around the world, the United Nations and civil society to help stop our world going past the point of no return and ensure that generations who come after us have a world that has not been destroyed because of our failure to act or our fear of being bold.

I feel deeply the responsibility that I have to repay the faith that the people of Stratford and Bow have placed in me and the duty that I have to be their voice here in Westminster. I will work every day for that and for the values and pledges that I was elected on. Thank you.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call Tom Morrison to make his maiden speech.