Immigration and Home Affairs

Neil Hudson Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Darlington (Lola McEvoy). I congratulate her on a fantastic maiden speech. I know she will be a proud champion for her area.

I must start my first speech of this Parliament by expressing to my constituents how humbled I am to be elected as their new Member of Parliament for Epping Forest. Epping Forest has given so much to me and my family over so many years and it is an honour and privilege to try to repay that and stand up in Westminster for our fantastic communities.

I cannot mention my constituency without mentioning my predecessor, Dame Eleanor Laing. I pay tribute to her 27 years of tireless service on behalf of Epping Forest and this place, as an MP, in shadow Cabinet and as Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means. She was in the Chair for my maiden speech, a very personal and emotional occasion, a few days after the passing of my father Christopher, her constituent whom she knew so well. I am so pleased that she will continue in public service in the other place. Our area is privileged to have been represented not only by Dame Eleanor Laing, but by the former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, who represented the then seat of Epping from 1924 to 1945.

Today we are talking about home affairs and security. I want to pay tribute to our brave, hard-working police on the frontline, who are keeping our streets and communities safe and secure in Essex and right across the country; to our brilliant Essex police, fire and crime commissioner Roger Hirst; and to our chief constable, Ben-Julian Harrington. They have truly led the way in reducing crime, with antisocial behaviour down by at least 63% in the past five years. I firmly believe that that needs to continue. I know, of course, that my constituents in Epping Forest feel that there is a lot more we need to do to keep our communities secure and safe; their concerns include violent crime, fly-tipping, drug crime, burglary, shoplifting, fraud and car crime.

We also need to think about international security. I am proud that the previous Conservative Government supported Ukraine and I am pleased that the new Labour Government will be doing that as well. I was disappointed that the new Government omitted from the King’s Speech our cast-iron commitment to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence; I really urge them to move forward on that quickly.

I welcome the fact that in the King’s Speech mental health was given the same attention and focus as physical health. Parity of esteem between mental and physical health is so important; it is something that I have raised since my maiden speech. I urge the Government to confirm the work we did with 3 Dads Walking to get age-appropriate suicide prevention on to the school curriculum to protect our young people.

As a veterinary surgeon, I was disappointed by the lack of any mention of animal health and welfare in the King’s Speech. In the last Parliament, huge strides were made to bolster our reputation in the area of animal welfare, with the Animal Welfare Sentencing Act 2021 and the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022. I urge the Government to continue that progress and to support legislation on issues such as banning the smuggling of puppies and heavily pregnant dogs and the importation of dogs with cropped ears.

Epping Forest is a beautiful area and has precious green spaces, but I am nervous that the Labour Government will put some of that in jeopardy by re-badging the green belt as grey belt. We must make sure that new housing is put in the right places and that infrastructure is protected. I urge this Government to carry on with the capital build projects committed to by the previous Conservative Government: a new community diagnostic centre at St Margaret’s hospital in Epping and rebuilds for the Princess Alexandra hospital in Harlow and Whipps Cross hospital—hospitals my constituents depend on. Those projects were committed to by the previous Government and I urge the Labour Government to carry on with them in full.

It is important that we as a constructive Opposition help this Government to serve our communities and get things right, but that we point out things when we feel they are getting them wrong. I wish this Government well, and I look forward to working with colleagues across the House on important issues of public health, animal health and welfare, protecting our green spaces and ensuring that our constituents have access to the good health and education systems that they deserve.