---

Thames Gateway

I apologise to the House for not being here at the beginning of the debate. I was on the Westminster estate at a meeting with a senior Minister. It is good to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham (Clive Efford), although I spend far too much time in his constituency as both a shareholder and season ticket holder of Charlton Athletic. I am sorry that the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) is no longer in the Chamber, as I was brought up in Leigh-on-Sea and attended West Leigh primary school and Westcliff high school. As a boy, I did the Boxing day run along the pier many times. I know how important the pier is in the culture of Southend, so I hope that we can do as much as possible to support its rebuilding, even though it is for the third time. All our piers are wonderful, but Southend’s is especially wonderful.