Loyal Address House of Commons

I shall first call Mrs Caroline Spelman to move and then

Dr Philip Lee to second the address.

Mrs Caroline Spelman.

I beg to move that the humble address be presented to Her Majesty

as followed, most gracious sovereign, we your Majesty 's masjid

as followed, most gracious sovereign, we your Majesty's

most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom

and Great Britain and Northern Ireland beg leave

to offer our humble thanks to your Majesty for the gracious

speech which your Majesty has addressed to both

Houses of Parliament.

It's an honour to be asked to propose the Queen's

Speech, especially in Her Majesty 's 90th year.

When I was asked to see the Chief Whip my first thought

however was what have I done?

The relief in discovering it was for a good reason

was followed almost immediately by the angst of how to do it well.

So I looked carefully at how the Right Honourable member

for Chelmsford tackled it last year.

I know, Mr Speaker, that unfortunately he cannot be

with us today as he has to attend the funeral.

But we all know no of his unswerving admiration for Hillary Clinton.

We have shared with him the anxieties of the primaries.

So I put all colleagues on alert that if you are standing next to him

when the news of the presidential election comes through be prepared

to provide moral support, whichever way it goes,

but especially should Hillary Clinton be Trumped.

Can I stay to my constituents how grateful I am to them

for electing me to Parliament.

I am always proud to represent them.

A lot has changed since my first day here 19 years ago.

I was often the only woman in meetings.

I was one of very few women around a Cabinet table with

school-aged children.

This could prove awkward, such as the Shadow Cabinet meeting

interrupted by the news that one of my sons had fallen off

a drainpipe at school.

In 1997 only 18% of MPs were women.

This has now risen to a total of almost 30%, not yet

parity but we are heading in the right direction.

It has also been a great privilege to help mentor newcomers

and in return I have been especially grateful for the mentoring

of Baroness Shepherd down the years.

Now the chamber looks more like the electorate at large.

Better decisions are made.

On all sides.

Better decisions are made, Mr Speaker, when those who make

them are more diverse.

For example when assessing the priorities for public transport

men rate reliability and cost as the most important factors.

But women put something else first, their personal safety.

Put these perspectives together and a better outcome is achieved.

I hope by now the nearly new members are beginning to make friends

in all parties and discover that they can have allies

across the floor.

The work of Parliament is often enhanced by the friendships that

transcend party lines.

When I was party chairman the Right Honourable member

for Birkenhead asked me to organise a debate with him on the subject

of dying well, as we each had a parent with a poor experience

of this in hospital.

The whips did not bat an eyelid.

The only objection was to the title, dying was considered far too

controversial, we had to call it end of life care.

I also work with the Right Honourable Gentleman on the modern

day slavery Bill as we both served on the joint committee

of both houses.

If ever there was an outstanding example of cross-party approach

to tackling a terrible injustice this is it.

The Home Secretary deserves the credit for securing a piece

of landmark legislation which is a world first in this area.

The legal expertise of Baroness Butler-Sloss forced us

all to think very hard how to get this absolutely right.

And I felt it was my red letter day when the noble lady uttered

those magic words to me, "I think the Right

"Honourable Lady has a point."

I have been any cross-party prayer Fellowship all the time I have been

here which consists of two consecutive sectors,

two Labour, one Liberal and one Democratic Unionist.

You could not do this better by proportional

representation if you tried.

We met up with our families and my children were initially

perplexed by the fraternisation until I explained that it is like

with your friends support Aston Villa and you support Coventry

and you think he is misguided but you are still friends.

Mr Speaker, we will shortly face a big decision about our membership

of the EU and whichever way the vote goes we will need

to ensure good relations with our neighbours moving forward.

So can I commend to the house the recent concert by the Parliament

choir in Paris to show our solidarity with the people

of France after the terrorist attacks last year.

There are often opportunities for soft diplomacy and

we should take them.

The member for Harwich and North Essex and I may not see

eye to eye on Europe but his rich baritone and my alto voice have

produced a delightful harmony.

I welcome the clear references to the life chances and gender

in the gracious speech and I am pleased this is to be a key theme

in the year ahead.

The Right Honourable member for Chingford and Woodford Green

pioneered this approach and the new Secretary of State has

the life experience and the ability to drive it forward.

My constituency has a council estate of almost 40,000 people.

I have seen how the life chances of my constituents have improved

through the regeneration of housing and schools by Solihull Council.

I took a minister on our visit there recently and two tenants

emerged from one of our 37 refurbished tower blocks

expressing their delight that their energy bills had

been halfed as a result of the new energy-saving features.

The minister turned to me and asked how much I paid them to say that.

Buildings can be regenerated but it's the life chances

of the human beings within them which makes the difference.

I am delighted so many young people are getting apprenticeships

including many young women as engineers in the great tradition

of those women who built Spitfires in the last world war.

All of this is made possible because of the Renaissance

in manufacturing and economic recovery we have seen.

Parts of my constituency are rural and despite being at the very centre

of England and we have mobile and broadband not spots.

I am glad effort is being made to juice the digital divide.

Can I remind the government of the offer of church

spires and towers to help crack this problem.

They may bring us closer to God but a proper signal can feel

like heaven on earth to those...

Prison reform is well overdue and we know that reoffending can

beat dramatically cut with the right kind of help.

The Justice Secretary and the Education Secretary know how

important it is to improve the life chances of schoolchildren as far

too many prison inmates are unable to read or write.

I am glad the Justice Secretary is using his reforming zeal to give

prisoners a better chance to turn our lives around.

I have witnessed first hand how this can be achieved.

I set up a charity called Welcome to tackle drug and alcohol abuse,

to get people free of addiction and into work.

We started with one employee in a community hall and now

employ over 20.

We do the triage for the NHS in our borough of 200,000 people.

Some of the best advocates are our volunteers who have

achieved this themselves and are role models for others.

Members on all side of the house have sought to help the vulnerable.

On entering politics it was my personal resolution

to speak for those who were unable to speak for themselves.

Few people in our country are more vulnerable

than a child leaving care.

The state has not often proved a great parent and knowing how hard

it is to be a parent we should not be surprised.

But I take my hat off in particular to those who adopt.

We need more parents to come forward to foster and adopt so I welcome

the government's intention to speed up adoption.

This was the objective of my Private Member's Bill on the subject

but still children can be left to one in care and the damage

can be irreparable.

Let's keep it going until a young adult is fully fledged,

18 be the notional age of adulthood but based

on my experience it takes a good few more years of parental support

before their wings can take life 's turbulence.

New measures are needed to prevent sections

of society feeling alientated

but I appeal to the government not to take a hammer to crack a nut.

I have high expectations of the new Mayor of London,

who is not only an excellent cricketer as the Lords and Commons

cricket team will testify, uniquely well-placed to help.

Good luck, Sadiq.

No pressure.

Let me return to my theme of making friends across the house.

Over the years there has been a good few members who I have sought

to encourage after experiencing setbacks

in their parliamentary careers.

My key piece of advice has been don't give up,

get stuck back in and fight for the causes you know and care

about and this house will ultimately respect you for it.

Can I say here, a heartfelt thank you for the way the house has

helped me rediscover the fulfilment of being an elected member of this

mother of all parliaments.

As long as you have the chance to make a difference,

there is no such thing as having had your day.

We are elected to change things for the better,

to take up issues which confront us.

So, seize the day.

I commend this notion to the house.

Dr Philip Lee.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

It is a privilege to second the great speech and I am honoured

to be following my right honourable friend, the member

for Meriden this afternoon.

This is not the first time I have done so.

Because among her many achievements, one of her proudest must

be that she is captain of the Parliamentary ski team

of which I am a junior member.

In that role she has responsibility for leading

a team of large egos, hidden talent, some with little

sense of balance or direction, navigating up peaks

and down slippery slopes.

I can't imagine where she gained the experience, Mr Speaker.

But such skills make her an extremely valuable

member of this chamber, and of her party.

Mr Speaker, I was surprised to have been given the privilege

of seconding the Loyal Address this afternoon.

I am not, for example, the son of a bus driver.

Although my father did once drive milk float in my honourable friend's

Wickham constituency.

But just as an aside, Mr Speaker, why is it always the case

that we have to wait for so long for these sons of bus drivers

and then two come along at once?

Mr Speaker, it might be my education.

I am, like the Leader of the Opposition,

an ex-grammar school boy.

And like him, I gather, I rather screwed up my A-levels.

So perhaps there is hope for me yet.

Or it might be my extensive experience of PR before

entering politics.

As the house knows, I am a practising doctor.

Unfortunately, Mr Speaker, in a medical context, PR does not

stand for public relations.

But is shorthand for the type of examination that involves putting

on rubber gloves, applying gel, and asking a man to cough.

If I may give my right honourable friend, the Prime Minister,

a bit of advice, Mr Speaker...

if in the future, he finds himself

speaking at a medical professional dinner, under no circumstances

should he tell the audience that in his life before politics

he was into PR, and that he found the work very stimulating.

Many of my predecessors in this role has had a reputation for humour,

and so I think it is courageous of the PM to ask a doctor to second

the gracious speech.

As the house can readily tell, medical humour

is a famously acquired taste.

And it would be all too easy to share some of the stories

which every doctor has in the infinite supply.

Many may not be appropriate for this place and its refined audience.

I can perhaps, though, report on the lady who complained

of, as she put it, a history of erotic bowels.

I resisted the temptation to ask whether her erotic symptoms

were erratic in nature.

Or the elderly man who said his secret for looking so healthy

was to do Kama Sutra exercises every morning.

Only to be corrected by his wife - "Gareth,

I think you mean Tai Chi".

If colleagues don't think I delivered this speech very well

today, just be grateful that we are not holding this

debate at the weekend, when I understand from some that

doctors don't perform as well.

Mr Speaker, I had hoped that my medical background would be

an advantage in politics but I have been disappointed.

My first disappointment came when I stood as the Conservative Party's

candidate in Gwent.

I'm sure the honourable member would agree that sporting a blue

rosette outside of Kwik Save takes a certain type of character.

Mostly delusional, perhaps even masochistic.

In fact the president of my constituency association was

elected to Woking Borough Council with more votes than I received.

elected to Wokingham Borough Council with more votes than I received.

I was however able to comfort myself with the fact that my modest 816

votes nevertheless represented the biggest swing to

the Conservative Party of any candidate in Wales that night.

In retrospect I should have taken more note

of the lady at the market who, when I asked why she supported

Labour, she replied "Don't you get complicated with me".

Mr Speaker, delivering this speech is of course really an honour

for the constituency of Bracknell, which I am privileged to represent.

It is a particular honour in this year of Her Majesty's 90th birthday.

Bracknell's constituency has long-standing royal links.

It is proud to host the Royal Military Academy

Sandhurst, which celebrated its bicentenary in 2012,

and has trained successive generations of British,

Commonwealth and international officers serving in Her Majesty's

army and elsewhere around the world.

My constituents also enjoy access to Swindley Forest,

which is wonderfully maintained by Crown Estates.

With its vibrant economy and town centre regeneration,

Bracknell constituency has a very bright future.

This is the 63rd greatest speech that Her Majesty has given

since her accession to the throne.

On this occasion it is apt to look back to her first gracious speech,

and at the changes that there have been since.

The preservation of peace was the first emphasis in 1952.

Our country was still recovering from war.

My right honourable friend, the member for Mid Sussex's

grandfather was Prime Minister.

The nationalisation of iron and steel was the subject

of heated debate.

Slums had to be cleared and people housed.

This led to the creation of new towns, of which Bracknell was one.

Communicable diseases such as tuberculosis challenged our

young health service.

Abroad, closer unions were foreseen to cement the ties

on which peace depended,

with the United States of America, with the North Atlantic

Treaty Organisation, with the Commonwealth

and with a recovering Europe.

The vision of the post-war political generation was a big vision.

The country would never again suffer the insecurity and hardship

experienced by those who had to pick up arms and fight for our existence.

Of every person being able to get a chance in life.

Of health, of education, of employment.

Of a society that is fair, just and free.

In which freedom is valued and because we value our country,

our environment, our world -- freedom is earned.

In which rights are balanced by responsibilities for each

other and for ourselves.

And most importantly to prepare for the future.

Variations of this vision have guided successive

governments ever since.

With varying degrees of success.

with varying degrees of success.

The generation Her Majesty addressed in 1952 had fought for this vision.

Displayed a deep consciousness throughout our nation that

individual lives are fleeting.

That we much take care of the world we inherit, conserve,

so we pass something better to our children.

That we achieve more by coming together with our neighbours,

with our friends, and with our former enemies, by respecting our

riches and each other.

And that humanity is the vital bond, without which our society, globally

and nationally, our communities, our families will disintegrate.

Mr Speaker, on a personal level, I am humbled by the experience

of the wartime generation.

of that wartime generation.

My grandfather was under fire at the age of 20 in the tail end

of the Halifax bomber.

I also recall caring for an 89-year-old Polish patient

who was short of breath and experiencing angina.

He had taken the time to put on a tie and suit adorned

with military ribbons.

And he apologised for taking up my time.

I asked him about his military experience.

He told me that his village in eastern Poland had been overrun

by the Soviets in 1939.

He was deported to a Siberian work camp and, in his own words,

wore the same socks for two years.

He was handed over to the British in 1942 in Baghdad, and fought

with Montgomery's eighth Army across North Africa,

and up the spine of Italy via Monte Cassino.

When reflecting upon his heroic story, I humbly asked

When reflecting upon his heroic story, I humbly ask

whether my generation would display the same values, Mr Speaker,

the same stoicism, the same modesty, the same courage, the same

respect for others.

And I recall his loyalty to his adopted country.

Mr Speaker, the closest I have come to fighting is as a doctor battling

ageing, obesity, and the challenges of cultural dislocation.

In the course of Her Majesty's reign, life expectancy has

increased by a decade.

The percentage of people aged over 85 has grown

by a factor of five.

The world's population has virtually trebled.

Our own has gone up by a third, and the proportion of our population

of foreign birth has more than trebled,

albeit from a low base.

It is clear that we must not only treat the symptoms of the challenges

that come with such marked change, but strive to cure their causes.

Which is why this government's commitment to improve

the life chances of those who have the misfortune to be born

or raised in circumstances over which they have no control

is admirable and right.

Mr Speaker, the generation Her Majesty addresses today must

rediscover the values of the past to face an ever-accelerating

pace of change.

It is a world that is more connected, more conscious

of its differences, but also more conscious of what we have in common

than ever before.

This time, Mr Speaker, we have the opportunity

to rediscover those values peacefully, and the important

legislation outlined in the greatest speech will enable us to do so.

legislation outlined in this greatest speech

will enable us to do so.

The challenge of overcoming extremism without compromising our

humanity is one that deserves the support of the whole house.

My right honourable and good friend the Home Secretary knows that

dealing with our society's failure to integrate some

communities will be integral.

The space industry receives the attention it deserves as one

of Britain's most successful industries, with a power

to inspire that is unmatched.

I am sure all members of the last Parliament recall I mentioned

the UK space industry in my maiden speech in 2010.

And as British astronaut Tim Peake was a graduate of Sandhurst, I'm

shamelessly going to claim him as having been educated

in my constituency.

As such, I am concerned for his welfare, Mr Speaker.

I know that Tim is due back from the International Space Station

just before the EU referendum vote.

But if he's slightly delayed and the country votes to leave

in June, he need not worry about getting home,

since the European Space Agency sits outside the European Union.

Seriously though, Mr Speaker, the government's support

of the space industry will help secure Britain as

a globally recognised centre for high technology,

whether we are inside or outside the European Union.

Finally, some honourable members will know that I've

kept my own counsel on June's big European event, but the time is fast

approaching when I feel I should make my position clear.

If only to deal with the alarming possibility that, as time moves on,

I and other honourable members who have taken a similar approach

will have to deal with the advances of two charming men.

will have to deal with the advances of two charming men,

one with blonde hair and one with spectacles, approaching us

in the members' lobby to ask when we are coming out.

LAUGHTER.

In my view, I can see no good reason we should exit.

CHEERING.

At least, not before the semifinals!

LAUGHTER.

And preferably not after the pain of extra time and a penalty shoot-out.

Mr Speaker, keeping up with change is a tough

enough job for any government.

Conservative governments don't

just want to keep up, they want to do better.

That is why, Mr Speaker, I am not just privileged

to represent the good

people of the Bracknell constituency, but proud to second

this gracious speech.