Immigration and Home Affairs

Debate between Shockat Adam and Edward Leigh

Tuesday 23rd July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak in this debate. It is an honour to follow the hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) who spoke on a subject on which we can all agree—safeguarding our women and children. There have been many excellent contributions today, and it is an honour to follow each and every one of them.

In my short time in this House, it has become abundantly clear to me that the most important person is you, Mr Deputy Speaker, with your desire to keep speeches and contributions short, and that that is the best way for me to curry favour with you. With that in mind, I shall make my maiden speech.

I arrived in this country as a toddler from the heart of Africa to the heart of the midlands—Leicester. That city nurtured, schooled and shaped me. It would be fair to say that, no matter where I am in the world, there is a corner of a foreign field that is forever Leicester. The vibrancy, the diversity and, occasionally, the complete rawness of the city were the backdrop of my upbringing.

I remember very well as a child those free, small, cold bottles of milk that I used to get at school—I remember very well when it was stolen from me as well. I remember embarking on my life journey with friends from all different creeds, colours, religions and no religion, and we made a life for ourselves in this amazing country. I remember also moments of racism. One that comes to mind was with my late mother. We were in a park and were set upon by a group of people who hurled abuse and foul things, including language and objects, in our direction. But those incidents were superseded by kindness, love and understanding from the great people of this country.

As the youngest child by a distance, I was often referred to by my family members as the mistake, but my mother always referred to me as a miracle, and ever since then I began to believe it. My mother, who did not get the opportunity of a formal education in her lifetime, ensured all her children made the most of what this country had to offer. It was this mother who, when I suggested when I grew a bit older that I wanted to study history at university, looked at me as if I was about to become history, so, like a dutiful child, I did optometry at university.

And that brings me to here. I have checked the archives, and it appears I am only the second optometrist to have ever become an MP. So, I hope I can bring a little of my professional skills to help the House to focus on what matters and not be myopic in our decision making. With laser-like reflections, I believe we can bring 20/20 vision to matters before us and not make a real spectacle of ourselves. But the serious point is this: with better usage of optometrists, our GP services and our pharmaceutical colleagues, we can ease the burden on secondary care in our hospitals. We all need to work joined up and together.

As we are on the topic of health, at this juncture I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor Jon Ashworth, a shadow Health Secretary for more than five years before latterly taking on the shadow Paymaster role. He had the honour before me of representing the wonderful Leicester South constituency. In his maiden speech in 2011, he said it perfectly:

“I am privileged to represent a constituency of huge diversity, vibrancy and tolerance, and while we must never be complacent, our communities generally live harmoniously together. We are part of a city renowned across the world for welcoming incomers. Families have come from across the globe to make their home in Leicester South…Our diversity”—

ethnicity—

“enriches our cultural, social and civic life, and contributes immensely to our economy, too.”—[Official Report, 8 June 2011; Vol. 529, c. 200-201.]

He represented Leicester South with distinction for 13 years and I hope I can live up to the reputation he earned as a dedicated champion for our city.

Talking of champions, Leicester is the city of champions —another miracle. I am from the city that defied all the odds in the 2015-16 season when Leicester City became premier league champions, proving again that miracles can happen. I have been a diehard fan ever since I was a child, when one of our favourite sons, Gary Lineker, was still on the bench. We have the Tigers for our rugby force and the Foxes for the cricket, whilst the Riders are usually top of the court in basketball, and in Mark Selby we have a snooker world champion. But on a serious note, we must invest in sports facilities, not only to continue this rich tradition but to give our youth opportunities to improve their physical and mental wellbeing and occupy their time in positive pursuits. Too many of my young constituents told me they have nothing to do, and we must give them that opportunity.

Young people also bear the brunt of the housing crisis, and in Leicester we face overcrowding and waiting lists of over six years—worse than some London boroughs. We urgently need more affordable homes.

Leicester—another miracle—is where we found the remains of the last Plantagenet king. The bones of Richard III had been lying undisturbed for over 500 years until they were discovered under a car park in 2012. Please do come and visit him at our beautiful cathedral. We are a friendly bunch, regardless of what you may have read and heard about us. To quote Shakespeare,

“My heart is ten times lighter than my looks.”

My city is a united city. We celebrate all religious festivals—Christmas, Diwali, Vaisakhi, even the Caribbean carnival—with equal vigour, and have lived in harmony for over half a century. However, in recent years fractures have appeared, sown by those who wish to divide us, often by weaponising language. I understand that our isle has finite resources, but we must always have infinite empathy, infinite sympathy and an infinite vocabulary to build bridges, not to destroy them. In the words of the great Muslim Sufi poet Rumi, “We must raise our words, not our voices. It is rain that brings forth flowers, not thunder.”

During my campaign, I was humbled: I thought I knew my city, but I really did not. Within my city there was an underbelly, a shadow, a city within a city. While I used to speak about people who had a conflict between eating and heating, during my campaign I met them. Food banks at 11 o’clock on a Tuesday morning had over 80 people queuing, and I was told that was one of the quietest days they had ever had. We must tackle the cost of living crisis and reduce the wealth inequality in our country. It is not ethical or sustainable for any civilised nation to go on that way.

One poignant incident from my campaigning was when I knocked at a house and a lady peered through a partially opened door. I could not see her whole face, but saw enough to see a life of sadness and tragedy. She explained that she had had a relatively successful life, but something had happened a work—a little bit of bullying—and she went into a depression cycle and never really recovered. She said to me, “I will vote for you if you can do one of two things.” What did she ask me? She said, “If you could just plant me a tree so I can see it, that would make me smile, and if you could get me a fountain so I can see some water trickling, I’ll vote for you forever.”

It is important to remember that it is the simplest things that people want and that make the biggest difference to their lives. They want someone to speak up for them in these corridors of power, to speak about the injustices in the world, to give a voice to those who do not have one, who have no might, authority or power—whether that is the forgotten in Yemen, the victims of conflict in Sudan, or the victims of the ongoing devastation in Palestine—regardless of where they are in the world. I will always endeavour to speak truth to power and demand that this new Government take action for the poor and dispossessed, not just the powerful.

Finally, if my campaign ever had a catchphrase, it would be the Chinese proverb that says, “The best time to plant a tree was 25 years ago, in order to enjoy its beauty, its shade and its fruit, but the next best time is today.” We must plant that seed of unity, equality and justice now to ensure that our future generations can enjoy the fruits of friendship, fairness and peace.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Edward Leigh)]

I call Brian Leishman to make his maiden speech.