Code of Conduct and Modernisation Committee

Shaun Davies Excerpts

Thursday 25th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Shaun Davies (Telford) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a real privilege to make my maiden speech with you in the Chair, and a delight to follow the hon. Member for Spelthorne (Lincoln Jopp) and my hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Jack Abbott). I cannot promise that my speech will be as witty as theirs, but I do support a proper premier league team in Manchester United—[Interruption.] I have lost the House already.

It is an honour to make my maiden speech in this House as the very proud MP for my home town. Telford is where I was born and raised, and where I am now bringing up my own family. I am Telford and proud. I begin by talking about those MPs I follow. My predecessor, Lucy Allan, worked on many notable causes. I particularly pay tribute to her tireless work in respect of the Post Office scandal, and to her constituency team, who have supported the residents of Telford over the past nine years. I would also like to mention and thank my friend and mentor, my immediate Labour predecessor David Wright, who served our town and this House with passion for 14 years.

I also want to pay tribute to the first person to hold the job of MP for Telford, a great supporter and crucial adviser to me, who now sits in the other place, Lord Bruce Grocott. Lord Grocott led me on a tour of this House in 1997, when I was just 11 years old—right hon. and hon. Members may be forgiven for thinking that I look to old to have been 11 in 1997, but that is what 14 years in local government does to you.

Telford is a new town in Shropshire, one that has grown significantly since its designation as a new town in 1963. A town with a proud history and strong local identity, we are home to the west midlands’ only world heritage site, the Ironbridge Gorge, the true birthplace of the industrial revolution. We have long-established communities such as Madeley, Oakengates and Dawley, which were recorded in the Domesday Book, and other proud communities too. I am of course a son of Telford, but also of Dawley, the birthplace of Captain Matthew Webb, who in 1875 become the first man to swim the English Channel. His monument in Dawley High Street says, “Nothing great is easy.” Telford is great, but over recent years we have certainly not had it easy.

Despite the challenges it has faced, just like our own world champion boxer Liam Davies, Telford has continued to punch above its weight. We have delivered housing growth and economic growth. We have outstanding education, with outstanding primary schools, first-class secondary schools, and we are home to the Thomas Telford school and to state-of-the-art further and higher education facilities, with Telford College and Harper Adams University in the centre of Telford.

We have a record number of green and protected spaces. In fact, if hon. Members would like to visit Telford, joining the 3.2 million people who do so each and every year, they will notice just how green we are. We are home to millions—and I mean millions—of trees. We are known as a forest city.

In Telford we are also incredibly proud to be home to some of the biggest defence companies. Right now, Telford residents are working on tanks destined for Ukraine and distributing essential equipment, from uniform to morphine, that will be deployed across all parts of the world to our brave armed forces. Our relationship with the armed forces is deep and strong. We are home to over 8,000 veterans—my own family have served in all three services—and our council became one of the first authorities to be awarded a Ministry of Defence gold accreditation for our work on the military covenant.

For the past eight and a half years, I have served as leader of Telford council, and we have done a lot over that time. We have regenerated our town centre, with the creation of Southwater. We have been a business-winning and business-supporting council: we are home to Besblock, which provides bricks to almost every house building company across the country, and to Aviramp, which provides airports across the world with boarding ramps; and we also provide wheelie bins to most households across the country. We have kept our council tax among the lowest of all councils in England. We have supported children with outstanding children services, delivered exceptional adult services, and been leaders within our sectors.

As well as a being a council leader, I have led Labour in local government. I have chaired the cross-party Local Government Association. Indeed, I am proud to be the first former chair of the LGA to sit in this House rather than in the one down the corridor. I welcome to the House hon. Members and Friends who have served as councillors and council leaders.

In Telford, as in the rest of the country, poverty and child poverty are increasing. It is heartbreaking that almost one in 4 children are living in poverty. For me, that is not an academic issue; it is personal. I was in poverty as a child. I remember switching the lights off in our council house and laying on the floor as debt collectors banged on our door. I remember the embarrassment of queuing for a blue free school meal ticket as many of my friends got their paid yellow ones. That deep-down imposter syndrome remains and is very much with me today.

For too long, towns such as Telford have had their contributions to housing and job growth banked, but the investment and support that is so desperately needed to break the cycle of poverty has not arrived. Despite our housing growth, we have not had the investment needed over the past 14 years—the closure of our A&E and the relocation of our consultant-led women and children’s unit being examples. I say to my constituents that I will never stop fighting to bring services back to Telford. I pay tribute to Telford Crisis Support, which works with the community and provided 238,624 meals last year—up by almost 21% on the year before. It also provides clothes, nappies and the very basics of life, offering a vital lifeline to families.

Families come in many different shapes and sizes. From the age of 11, I lived with my nan, Betty, who is and was my guiding star. Although I lived with my nan from such a young age, my parents have always been there for me, too. I was lucky to have people like my great aunty Dil, who provided me with the financial support that meant I could be the first person in my family to go to university, where I read law and qualified as a solicitor. I am so lucky to have my own family now. I am a proud dad and stepfather to Evan, Millie and Owen—my wife Elise and I see no distinction in our family.

Part of the role of councillor is to be a corporate parent. Those in state care should be considered part of all our families. In Telford, 423 young people are in our care, and we support 249 care leavers. When I was the chair of the LGA, I described the local government sector as the corporate uncles and aunties of those in care and those who have left care. What, then, is this House? What are Members of Parliament to those children in state care? Maybe we are the corporate great aunties and uncles with resources, influence and wisdom—just like my auntie. What more can we do to support our children in case? To children living in council homes, in temporary accommodation or in our care, who are picking up free school meals, food parcels and avoiding debt collectors, I say this: “If I can get here, so can you.”

To provide a better future to all our children, we must reform our public sector. Yes, for some that is a dry subject, but it is the only way to fix our broken system. Reform is vital and prevention is key. The longer-term approach to investment—investing a pound now to save hundreds of pounds many times over—will be important. Investing in and focusing on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life can lead to better life outcomes and massive savings to the public purse.

We must always ask ourselves how public services can best serve the public. The answer is so often with the users of those services and those who work in them. When those who have skin in the game are empowered and trusted, the results are always better. We know that so well in Telford, after the recent work of Holly, Scarlett and Joanne. For too many, our country does not work for them. Not only are they disconnected, but they feel a million miles away from this place. That allows others to exploit the void—to divide us. We—all of us—should work together, despite our political differences, to help connect this place to our citizens, so that democracy does not just survive, but thrives. I hope that I can work on that nationally in the coming months and years.

I thank the people of Telford for trusting me with the incredible honour and privilege of representing my home town. I will stand up for Telford and for them. I know that we have a long road ahead of us, but I am committed to the challenge. After all, nothing great is easy.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Right hon. and hon. Members will be conscious that a number of people still wish to get in, so unfortunately I am going to have to put a six-minute time limit on speeches from the next speaker. Obviously, Members making their maiden speech will be exempt from that limit. I call Alberto Costa.