Economic Affairs and Work and Pensions

David Rutley Excerpts

Tuesday 8th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for inviting me to address the House this evening. We have already heard contributions of real quality from my hon. Friend the Member for Orpington (Joseph Johnson) and the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins). I hope that I can fulfil the same degree of quality in the words that I say.

Being elected to represent the wonderful constituency of Macclesfield is the greatest honour of my career. I will seek tirelessly to serve the people of Macclesfield and to honour the trust that they have put in me. Sir Nicholas Winterton is like few other predecessors—he could hardly be described as shy, even when he was retiring. He served as a hard-working constituency MP in Macclesfield for more than 39 years and, being elected in my 40s, I can assure the House and Macclesfield residents that that is a record I will not break.

At the start of the campaign, I canvassed one very short street in which three people told me about the way in which Nick Winterton helped them with real problems in their lives. That is the sort of constituency MP he was. In the House, he was a strong, independent parliamentarian, who gave long and legendary service. He was respected on both sides of the House and by many others who work here. Whether I am in Macclesfield or in the House, people constantly say to me, “You’ve got a hard act to follow and big shoes to fill.” Well, I wear size 11 shoes, so I am off to a reasonable start, but I have a lot to learn. I wish Sir Nicholas and Lady Winterton a long and fulfilling retirement.

Macclesfield is famous for silk. At one point, it was the world’s biggest producer of finished silk, with more than 100 mills and dye houses in the constituency. The fine silk tie that I am wearing was woven in Macclesfield and I am proud to wear it. Today, revitalising Macclesfield town centre is a real priority. Local residents and traders will be consulted on how that should be done in the months ahead, but further development must celebrate the town’s rich heritage and ideally be linked to the creation of a national silk centre in Macclesfield, where it belongs.

Macclesfield hospital is also an important priority in the community. Many people have fought to keep the accident and emergency and children’s services at the hospital, and I will continue to fight to ensure that they stay there. Macclesfield is also home of the mighty Macclesfield Town football club and Macclesfield rugby club, and I am proud to say that we were crowned champions of the national league 2 this season. Our communities are served well by the active Macclesfield Express, Canalside Community Radio and Silk FM. We enjoy great rail links; some people might describe them as first class, but I am very happy to travel standard, like many hon. Members.

The history of Poynton, in the north of the constituency, is rooted in coal. Many residents work in Manchester and continue to enjoy the sense of community that Poynton offers. Traffic congestion is a real challenge, and one that I will tackle as a major priority. In the far north-east, the vibrant village of Disley lies at the edge of the hills next to the magnificent Lyme park. Bollington, once known for cotton, nestles below the wonderful White Nancy and is known locally as “Happy Valley.” With its strong community spirit, it is easy to see why. Nearby Prestbury, sometimes famous for footballers, boasts one of the oldest parish churches in the country and has a magnificent conservation area.

As a keen walker and rock climber, I love spending time in the upland villages of the hill tribes of Kettleshulme, Rainow, Wildboarclough and Wincle. I also enjoy all that the Peak district has to offer in the east of the constituency. To the west, we move out to the fertile farmland of the Cheshire plain and the unique rural communities of Langley, Sutton, Gawsworth, Marton and Lower Withington. I will work to protect that beautiful countryside and support our farmers and those rural communities, which were overlooked for far too long by the previous Government.

The most impressive thing about the great part of Cheshire that I represent is the warm, generous, hard-working and enterprising people who work and live there. We have well-known residents who have achieved their aims in the world of commerce and industry, and famous footballers. We also have other heroes, who are mostly unsung and work selflessly in the community: our doctors, nurses and policemen and the volunteers who work actively in our churches, in the local talking newspaper, in the MAST—the medical and surgical trust—hospital appeal, at East Cheshire hospice, for the Gateway Project in Poynton and for the Friends of Bollington Recreation Ground, to name but a few. Those people genuinely inspire me and do so much for our area.

Let me turn to the debate in hand. Since the war, Macclesfield has turned from its focus on silk to pharmaceuticals, with ICI and now AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca demonstrates that we can still innovate, develop and make things in this country and, in turn, the pharmaceutical industry shows that we can compete in global markets. However, too many local businesses have announced job losses in recent years, and the latest announcement—of 250 job losses—came today from the Cheshire building society.

We have to get this economy working again, which means that we must focus on reducing the deficit. When I had the honour of being a special adviser in the Treasury, working with “canny Ken” as the Chancellor, I learnt a lesson: we cannot spend what we do not have. That lesson has not been lost on the Government side of the House.

Having worked in the real world of commerce and industry for more than 20 years in companies such as Asda and PepsiCo, it is clear to me that growth is not determined by state diktat, but based on the decisions of thousands of brave businesses. Growth is developed only in a truly competitive private sector. That is what we need to create jobs, provide valued public services and support those in genuine need. That task will always motivate me as long as I serve the people of Macclesfield in this House.