Tributes to Her Late Majesty the Queen

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Saturday 10th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

I was appointed deputy chairman of the Conservative party in 2015. I would be attending Cabinet, but no one had informed me that I would be made a Privy Counsellor. My constituency office got a call saying that I needed to attend Buckingham Palace, so I replied to my caseworker, “It’s a nutter on the phone—just ignore it.” This happened with two or three telephone calls, and it was only on the day itself, when I was told that a ministerial car would be picking me up to take me to the palace, that I realised—I would have bought a nicer suit, had I known. It was the greatest honour of my life. Sadly, I was unable to kneel because of my legs, but Her Majesty the Queen did not bat an eyelid. There I was, the son of an immigrant to this country, becoming a member of the Privy Council, and I thought to myself, “What an honour, and what a meritocratic country we have become.”

I am very proud to be here representing my constituents of Harlow, Hastingwood, Matching, Nazeing, Roydon and Sheering. The Queen visited Harlow in 1957. Harlow is a new town built after the war to provide homes, and many of the people who moved there had come from the east end of London. She had a wonderful visit to the market square, which the BBC featured in one of its documentaries over the past couple of days. The visit symbolised that, although she came from the old world, the Queen was bringing in the new world. She was showing that this was what the new, post-war Britain would be about: beautiful new towns, bringing hope, aspiration, achievement, opportunity, community and dignity to our country. These were, of course, the values that Her Majesty represented.

Finally, I am a Jewish MP and I was brought up in the United Synagogue, which is traditional Judaism. Every single part of the service is in Hebrew and, not being the best of learners, I did not understand a lot of what was going on, but the one part of the service in English is the prayer for the Queen:

“May the Supreme King of Kings in His mercy preserve the Queen in life, guard her and deliver her from all trouble and sorrow.”

The one English part of the service said in synagogues across the land every week is a prayer for the Queen, and it made me very proud whenever I attended synagogue that I was able to say that prayer. The Queen embodied everybody, not just her deep Christianity but everyone of all faiths: Jews, Muslims, Hindus and people of many other faiths.

This week the synagogues will be saying not a prayer for the Queen, sadly, but a prayer for King Charles. The rest of the prayer says:

“May He put a spirit of wisdom and understanding into his heart and into the hearts of all his counsellors, that they may uphold the peace of the realm, advance the welfare of the nation and deal kindly and justly with all the house of Israel.”

On behalf of those of the Jewish faith in our country, and also my constituents of Harlow, Hastingwood, Matching, Nazeing, Roydon and Sheering, God save the King.