Address to Her Majesty: Platinum Jubilee

Stephanie Peacock Excerpts

Thursday 26th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

It is an honour to be here today to pay tribute to her Majesty the Queen.

The Queen truly defines our modern history. Through the 70 years she has reigned, huge changes have occurred. In 1952, when Princess Elizabeth acceded to the throne, Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister, tea was still rationed and British troops were fighting the war in Korea. Some 14 Prime Ministers, 21,000 engagements and 70 years later, Queen Elizabeth II is now Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, having seen us through every milestone in recent history. The constant amid such change, the Queen has been nothing but a loyal servant to her country, and across Barnsley we remain incredibly grateful for her work and service.

Indeed, Her Majesty has visited Barnsley, most notably in July 1977 as part of her trip to Yorkshire on her silver jubilee tour. In the coming days and weeks, our town will once again come together to mark the 70th year of the Queen’s reign, her platinum jubilee. Bunting will decorate our town centre and on 2 June a commemorative beacon will be lit in the Glass Works Square, at the same time as over 2,000 others across the country.

Across the region, there will also be a number of events such as the service of celebration at Sheffield Cathedral. As part of the jubilee celebrations we congratulate our neighbours in Doncaster on gaining city status; I know that my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster Central (Dame Rosie Winterton) is particularly pleased, after all her years of campaigning, to see Doncaster become a city. There will also be community events across Barnsley East, from Grimethorpe to Hoyland, such as the garden party at Owd Martha’s Yard, where there will be a brass band and maypole dancing. Brass bands remain popular across south Yorkshire, and I pay tribute to the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, who performed “Brassed Off Live” at the Royal Albert Hall last night, 25 years after the iconic film was released.

It is great to hear that local schools will be holding celebrations too. Ellis Church of England primary school, Jump primary school and Forest Academy are all hosting red, white and blue days with lots of activities, including special picnic lunches. High View primary school and West Meadows primary school are also hosting themed lunches, with the former creating an exhibition of work to commemorate each decade of the Queen’s reign, and the latter hosting a sports day and poetry recital.

Jubilee celebrations provide a fantastic opportunity for people of all generations to come together and feel united as a community, as we honour the contribution Her Majesty the Queen has made over the past 70 years. We thank her for her service. God save the Queen.