Sir David Amess Adjournment Debate

Manuela Perteghella Excerpts

Thursday 12th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Manuela Perteghella (Stratford-on-Avon) (LD)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make my maiden speech. I thank all hon. Members for their fine contributions, including my hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) and the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Kevin McKenna).

It is the greatest honour of my life to serve the people of Stratford-on-Avon. I am humbled to have been elected to represent the place that I call home, where I live and where I have raised my family, who are here today in the Public Gallery. I am proud to be the first Liberal MP for our constituency in over a century, and the first woman ever to be elected to this role. I extend my heartfelt thanks to the people of Stratford, Alcester, Studley, Shipston, Henley, Bidford and the many villages and hamlets that make up our beautiful constituency. I thank them for placing their trust in me. I promise to be their champion, and a strong and unwavering voice for everyone, fighting every day for the fair deal that they deserve.

I pay tribute to my predecessor, Nadhim Zahawi, who was MP for Stratford-on-Avon for the last 14 years. During his political career he covered many important roles in the Cabinet, but I thank him in particular for his work as vaccines Minister during the covid pandemic. I also acknowledge the service of the late John Maples, who represented Stratford-upon-Avon with distinction from 1997 to 2010, before being elevated to the other place. He was both well liked and greatly admired. Although I am proud to be the first female MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, I am not the first to bring Italian heritage to the role. That distinction belongs to another of my predecessors, John Profumo, who beat me to it —although I plan on a much quieter stay in the history books.

My constituency is one of the most beautiful areas of our country, with luscious woodland such as the Heart of England forest, valleys lapped by rivers and brooks, and fertile farmland—a landscape special as only the Warwickshire countryside can be. My connection to my constituency is one of deep love. I love the stretches from Shipston-on-Stour and the rolling Cotswolds fringes in the south, to the Avon valley villages and Henley-in-Arden in the north, where the majestic forest of Arden once stood.

At the heart of my constituency lies the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, celebrated worldwide as the birthplace of the greatest playwright of all: William Shakespeare. Each year on William’s birthday, the town remembers and celebrates its most famous son, with civic dignitaries and local schoolchildren parading through the historic streets to lay flowers on his tomb in Holy Trinity church. I look forward to joining them next April.

What makes our constituency special above all is its people, who are resilient and community minded. Each town and village is blessed with warm-hearted volunteers helping in repair cafés, food banks, the community speed watch and flood action groups. There are outstanding places of learning, such as our local schools and colleges, the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham, and the University of Warwick’s innovation campus; national portfolio organisations such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust; as well as grassroots arts companies such as the Bear Pit Theatre and Escape Arts. Events such as the Shipston proms celebrate the wealth of musical talent. Most of all, we are a constituency of entrepreneurs and innovators, businesses and social enterprises.

Overlooked by Beaudesert castle—known locally as “the Mount”—the town of Henley-in-Arden has a timber-framed high street, which includes Henley’s most famous attraction, Henley Ice Cream, which is well worth a visit. Alcester is a town rich in community spirit that comes together each year for events such as the Alcester food festival. The town’s roots stretch back to Roman times, and its heritage is proudly preserved today in the Roman Alcester Museum. Just up the road from Alcester is Coughton Court, home of the Throckmorton family, who played a rather infamous role in the gunpowder plot of 1605. As the new MP for the area, I assure the House that I will not continue that local tradition.

My constituency also has some of the most beautiful waterways in the country. The Rivers Avon, Alne, Arrow and Stour, and our fantastic canal network, including the longest canal aqueduct in England—the Edstone aqueduct—are not only vital to our community’s natural and industrial heritage, but are central to our environmental responsibilities. Sadly, not enough has been done to tackle river pollution. I thank residents for joining citizens’ science projects to regularly test the water and collect much-needed data on the state of our rivers’ health, so that we can hold the Government and water companies to account.

As a rural constituency, we face many challenges: NHS dentistry deserts, long waiting times for mental health services, special educational needs and disabilities families battling for education provision, and fuel poverty. Many of my vulnerable constituents live in off-grid homes that are expensive to heat. The Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000, introduced by Sir David Amess, was important legislation that sought to eliminate fuel poverty. To further combat it, we need an emergency home insulation programme so that homes are safe, warm and cheap to heat.

As Shakespeare wrote:

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.”

I stand here today not because I was born great, or because I sought greatness, but because the people of Stratford-upon-Avon have entrusted me with public service. Together, we can achieve greatness not for ourselves, but for our constituents and our country. With a new Parliament, we have a chance to strive for a fairer, greener and more inclusive future. The stage is set, and it is now time for us to play our part.