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Home Affairs and Communities

It is a privilege to wind up today’s debate and I thank the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) for her kind words and for the tenor of her contribution. Members will know that the Government’s general election manifesto promised opportunities more equal and communities more secure. Those aspirations are at the heart of the Queen’s Speech, and I am pleased to say that they were at the heart of today’s debate. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary set out how the Government plan to build on the successes of police, courts and local councils in tackling crime and antisocial behaviour, as well as to take forward proposals on asylum and immigration. Debate on some aspects of the proposals will no doubt be fierce, but today’s debate has shown that there is room for more unity across parties and—dare I say it?—within parties as well. In respect of affordable housing, efficient planning, tackling poverty and improving local services and local democracy, the ministerial team in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be working, under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister, to extend the opportunity on which strong communities depend. I shall set out our agenda of action tonight, but I am first able to congratulate new Members on their maiden speeches. In fact, I counted 16 such speeches, rather than the 15 that the hon. Member for Meriden mentioned. You will be pleased to hear, Mr. Speaker, that those speeches have been delivered with great modesty when the content required no modesty at all, and with great respect for the traditions of the House, notably in the generous tributes paid by all such Members to their predecessors. Two themes have dominated today’s debate: civic pride, and pride in roots. We have learned a lot about our country today: about the hat industry in Denton and Reddish; about the racing industry in Newbury; about the marine heritage of Portsmouth; about the lifeboats of Bridgend; about the manufacturing industry of Dudley, North; about the biscuits of Reading; about the Olympics that are coming to West Ham; about tourism in Colwyn bay; about the universities of Dundee—the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Stewart Hosie) is in his place—and about the history of Albanians. The whole House will doubtless know that the story of Albanians is of course the story of St. Albans. We have also learned that castles for the masses are available in Windsor at the Legoland factory—I am sorry that the hon. Member for Windsor (Adam Afriyie) is not in place—and about the posh, and not so posh, parts of Solihull. I congratulate all those Members. As I said, there has been a second theme in today’s debate, following the outstanding speech of my right hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman). The hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) explained that although his predecessor changed parties—quite often—the hon. Gentleman will not be changing his Polish name and I congratulate him on that. My hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan) spoke of his pride in his immigrant roots, and the hon. Members for Richmond Park (Susan Kramer) and for Rochdale (Paul Rowen) spoke about the diversity of their constituencies. I hope that I can also mention that in a House of Commons tour de force, the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) not only remembered each of the maiden speeches that had come before; he also reminded his party that firmness without fairness is no basis for immigration policy. The Conservative Front Bench’s loss is the House’s gain. I hope that the House will not mind if I say that I paid special attention to the maiden speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, North (Edward Miliband). I am grateful to the hon. Member for Reading, East (Mr. Wilson) for noting the special pride that I felt on hearing the words of my hon. Friend. His speech carried the passion and insight that I would expect of my younger brother, and it confirmed very clearly that after the birth of a first child, parents should not be discouraged. It is wise to proceed on the maxim that if at first you don’t succeed, try again. I hope that the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten) will not mind if I say that we were disappointed that we were not able today to hear from the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather). We look forward to her debut on the Front Bench and we all wish her well in her attempt to disentangle her leader from the local income tax. The right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis) has been a Member of this House for 18 years, but his speech was also a maiden in one respect; his first on the campaign trail for the Conservative leadership.