Yorkshire (Tour de France)

Debate between Julian Sturdy and Martin Vickers

Tuesday 18th December 2012 Westminster Hall

[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to take part in the debate under your chairmanship, Mr Gray. I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Skipton and Ripon (Julian Smith) on securing it. I feel something of an intruder, as a Lincolnshire yellow belly, although my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy), who has one foot in Lincolnshire, has also come along to the debate.

On being elected to the House, I never anticipated that I would make a speech in favour of the Tour de France passing through Lincolnshire, so this is somewhat bizarre. The ideal route to get out of Yorkshire, should any of my colleagues wish to do so, is over the Humber bridge. That iconic construction would make a fantastic advert for the civil engineering skills of British industry.

My hon. Friend the Member for Skipton and Ripon mentioned that good things come out of Yorkshire, and I have to admit that that is occasionally true, as my wife is from Sheffield. In fact, she comes from a cycling family, and our recent research into our family history indicates that a great or a great-great-uncle—we are still working on it—cycled in the Olympics in the early 1920s, so there is a family connection to cycling.

As I mentioned, the ideal route for those heading south after the delights of the Yorkshire countryside would pass over the Humber bridge. It would then head to the winner of Britain in Bloom, and the east coast’s premier resort, Cleethorpes. From there, the beauty of the Lincolnshire wolds opens up—an area of outstanding natural beauty with magnificent landscapes. The route would then head towards the county town of Lincoln, with its magnificent cathedral high on the hill—it is perhaps even greater, dare I suggest, than York minster.

[Julian Sturdy]

I, like my hon. Friend, will make the case for my area. York is a great, historic city, and York minster will make an amazing backdrop for one of the stages of the Tour de France. However, the important thing across the region is not where the stages will be held, but the economic benefit to the north of England and, dare I say it, the country. Even Lancashire might benefit slightly—[Hon. Members: “Oh.”] I say that with a bit of trepidation. However, the important point is the economic benefit the Tour will bring across the region and the country, and I urge everyone, including the Government, to back it.

[Martin Vickers]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s intervention. He knows the glories of Cleethorpes, having travelled there only a few months ago in support of my local party, so he can testify to the town’s magnificence. He is quite right to draw attention to the fact that the Tour is a great opportunity to boost our local economies, and I urge all the agencies—tourism boards, local authorities and local enterprise partnerships—to get together and to work closely with the Government and sporting organisations. This is a tremendous opportunity to give a much needed boost to some areas of northern England.

If we can pull this off and get the tour to pass not only through the great county of Yorkshire, but down into Lincolnshire, that will again emphasise the closeness of their links. I urge the Government to co-ordinate every possible agency to work on that so that we can benefit the whole economy.