Valedictory Debate

David Jones Excerpts

Friday 24th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Jones (Clwyd West) (Con)]

It is a huge privilege to follow my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Sir Robert Neill).

It is sobering for me to reflect that almost 19 years ago to the day, on 23 May 2005, I was sitting on the Opposition Benches waiting to make my maiden speech. All colleagues will know what a fraught moment that is. It is a bit like standing for the first time on the high diving board: you are hoping to make a bit of a splash, but not so much that you damage yourself in the process. Now, at the end of those 19 years, I am finally bidding farewell to this wonderful old place.

It was my ambition to come here from the age of nine, when I visited this place with my father. I fell in love with the Palace of Westminster and decided that I wanted to become a Conservative MP. You, Mr Deputy Speaker, will know how remarkable that is, because of course I am Welsh—but I am also a Londoner. I was, in fact, born in the London Hospital, which is within earshot of the Bow bells. That makes me the rarest of beasts: I am a Welsh cockney. My entire life has been lived in two places: here in our capital city, and in north Wales. I love them both.

It has been the greatest privilege of my life to represent the interests of the people of Clwyd West in this House in five successive Parliaments. I want them to know that they have my deepest thanks for the confidence that they have placed in me over the last 19 years.

My association with Clwyd West began in 1974, when I entered articles with the firm of William Jones and Talog Davies, St Peter’s Square, Ruthin. For those who do not know it, Ruthin is arguably the finest small town in Wales. Its medieval centre is an outstanding collection of buildings, including Nantclwyd y Dre House, which is reputedly the only edifice left standing after Glyndŵr put the town to the torch in 1400, at the start of his rebellion. Almost opposite Nantclwyd is Sir John Trevor House, which takes its name from a former Speaker of this House. John Trevor was in fact simultaneously Speaker of the Commons and Master of the Rolls at the end of the 17th century. He was impeached for taking a bribe and was banished from the Chair of the Commons but, remarkably enough, he was allowed to remain Master of the Rolls, which just goes to show that in those days, higher standards were expected of politicians than of judges. Sir John Trevor was notorious for his very pronounced squint, which, as Speaker of the Commons, was something of an occupational hazard, because people never knew when they had caught his eye. Several hon. Members would stand up at the same time, and Trevor used to get terribly upset about it.

Over recent years, Ruthin has experienced many of the same difficulties as other small market towns up and down the country, so it was an unequivocal boon when it was awarded almost £11 million under the levelling-up scheme. The award will benefit not only the historical town centre, but the nearby villages of Bryneglwys and Gwyddelwern, which will have new community centres. The award also means that we will have a new, much-needed visitor centre on Moel Famau, which is the great hill that overlooks Ruthin. The award will help restore civic pride, and it will of course also act as a boost to the visitor economy. Most importantly, including to me personally, it will result in the removal of the ugly, intrusive roundabout that has been a carbuncle on the otherwise virtually perfect St Peter’s Square since the 1960s.

I was pleased to work closely with Denbighshire County Council under the leadership of my friend, the excellent Councillor Hugh Evans, in producing the levelling-up bid, and I was delighted when it was granted. Towns such as Ruthin and many others in north Wales have in many respects been forgotten about over recent years. The levelling-up fund was developed to address the needs of such places, and I very much hope that other north Wales towns, such as Colwyn Bay and Abergele in my constituency, will also benefit from it in future.

Over my years in this House, I have tried my utmost to advance the interests of north Wales. The levelling-up fund is a great initiative, but much more needs to be done. In particular, transport links need to be improved. Pleasingly, the Government have allocated £1 billion to the electrification of the north Wales coast main line. That is indeed welcome, but we need more flesh on the bone. My plea is that whoever is in government next should press ahead with that project, to ensure that north Wales has the sort of rail infrastructure necessary in a 21st century economy.

I have been privileged in my time in this House to serve twice in government. My first ministerial roles were at the Wales Office, where I was ultimately appointed Secretary of State. In that capacity, I of course had many dealings with the Welsh Government. Many of them were positive, but my experience was that there was an unfortunate and undesirable tension between the two Administrations who are responsible for the governance of Wales. Too frequently, that relationship is perceived as a competition. That is probably the result of an inherent fault in the structure of devolution. I believe that it needs re-examining, so that both of Wales’s Governments work in co-operation, whichever party is in power, for the benefit of Welsh residents.

I therefore recommend that the next Government conduct a review of the constitutional settlement, with the aim of replacing the current state of affairs with something that is more beneficial to Welsh citizens. Such a settlement would require recognition that some things are done best here at Westminster, some at Cardiff, and some at the local government level. Indeed, Welsh local authorities should be trusted more in the administration of their areas. If they were, there would possibly not have been the problems that we have seen as a result of the unpopular decision to impose a 20 mph speed limit across all built-up areas in Wales.

My second ministerial position was at the Department for Exiting the European Union, and I am very pleased to see my former colleague, my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr Walker), in the Chamber today. That was the most challenging and, in many respects, the most satisfying experience of my time here at Westminster. I always felt that the United Kingdom was an individualistic country, and that it was very different from the continental nations, and therefore not really fitted to be part of a supranational organisation such as the EU. I campaigned actively for Brexit, and I was delighted when the British people voted in favour of it.

The proudest moment of my time here at Westminster was when I took the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 through this House, which triggered the legal process of withdrawal. We have, of course, now completed that process. We are once again a sovereign, independent nation, although I retain concerns about Northern Ireland under the Windsor framework. I also recognise that Brexit has been controversial, and that some divisions have been caused by it. Nevertheless, I believe that Brexit was ultimately the right thing to do and in the interests of the country.

Anyone who spends any time at all as a Member of this House is hugely privileged. We are supremely well served by erudite and brilliant Clerks, both in this Chamber and in Committees. We have the benefit of one of the finest research libraries in the world. We have the services of the immaculate Doorkeepers. We are fed and watered by excellent catering staff. We are kept secure by brave police officers, one of whom, Keith Palmer, gave his life for us; he was quite rightly—though, sadly, posthumously—awarded the George Medal. And we all have our teams of bright, highly motivated, talented, and sometimes very young people, all of whom will probably go very far in life. I want to mention my team of Ted Wilson, Greg Wynne, Leanne Kennedy, Isobel Barrett and Isabel Turnbull, who are known in the office as “the two Izzys”. We are highly blessed in this extraordinary community, and I thank each and every member of it.

Finally, I thank the staff of Hansard, who record our every utterance, no matter how profound or banal, with absolute accuracy for the benefit—and probably the bemusement—of future generations. Indeed, such is their accuracy that I have no doubt that they will faithfully transcribe the names of some of the loveliest villages of my constituency: Llanrhaeadr, Llansannan, Llangernyw, Llanarmon-yn-Iâl, Clawddnewydd, Clocaenog and Cyffylliog—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”]—whose people I have been privileged to serve, and who I will miss so very much.