0:00:35 > 0:00:36Thank you, Mr Speaker.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39It is a great privilege to be called to make my maiden speech in this
0:00:39 > 0:00:41most important of debates, and I congratulate many others
0:00:41 > 0:00:47who have made outstanding maiden speeches today.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51I am sure that many right honorable and honorable Members will claim
0:00:51 > 0:00:54that their constituencies consist of two halves or numerous
0:00:54 > 0:00:56parochial parts - I am another in that respect,
0:00:56 > 0:00:59and Batley and Spen is very much that kind of constituency.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03It is a joy to represent such a diverse community.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05Batley and Spen is a gathering of typically independent,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09no-nonsense and proud Yorkshire towns and villages.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15be it of Irish Catholics across the constituency
0:01:15 > 0:01:18or of Muslims from Gujarat in India or from Pakistan,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21principally from Kashmir.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time
0:01:24 > 0:01:27again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far
0:01:27 > 0:01:31more united and have far more in common with each other
0:01:31 > 0:01:33than things that divide us.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35My constituency is also home to Fox's Biscuits
0:01:35 > 0:01:40and Lion Confectionery, so I am sure you will not
0:01:40 > 0:01:43think it an indulgence, Mr Speaker, if I describe Batley
0:01:43 > 0:01:46and Spen as a constituency with an industrial heart wrapped
0:01:46 > 0:01:51in a very rich and pleasant Yorkshire landscape - geographical,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54historical and cultural.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59The spirit of non-conformity is as prevalent now in my
0:01:59 > 0:02:02part of West Yorkshire as it was in the time of my two
0:02:02 > 0:02:07immediate predecessors, Mike Wood and Elizabeth Peacock.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10They were both known for offering their own brand of independent,
0:02:10 > 0:02:15non-conformist service, albeit in very different ways.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18I intend to maintain that established tradition
0:02:18 > 0:02:22in my own unique style.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25Of course, Batley is a town that has sent Labour MPs to this place
0:02:25 > 0:02:28for the best part of 100 years.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33One of them, Dr Broughton, is of course famously credited
0:02:33 > 0:02:36with bringing down a Government, so I respectfully put the right
0:02:36 > 0:02:41honorable Members on the Front Bench opposite on notice.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45The Spen Valley has a far more chequered political history,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48alternately sending Labour and Conservative MPs
0:02:48 > 0:02:51here to Westminster for much of the 20th century.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Nothing made me prouder on the 8th of May than to be sent to this place
0:02:55 > 0:03:00with an increased Labour majority, proving again that in my neck
0:03:00 > 0:03:04of the woods non-conformity is what we do best.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08As I have already alluded to, we make things in Batley and Spen -
0:03:08 > 0:03:10we do so now, just as we did historically.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Batley and Spen has a high proportion of people
0:03:14 > 0:03:17working in manufacturing, and we can boast the full range
0:03:17 > 0:03:21of industries, including high-skilled, precision engineering.
0:03:21 > 0:03:26We manufacture all sorts, from beds to biscuits,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29and from carpets to lathes.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32We also have some of the best fish and chips in the country,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34and some of the best curries in the world.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39However, what many of our businesses are lacking is confidence,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42confidence to expand, confidence to borrow,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46confidence to grow, and the confidence to fuel a real
0:03:46 > 0:03:50economic recovery that benefits everybody, offering decent jobs,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54paying decent wages and bridging the skills gap.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Key to changing that situation is a fundamental shift in attitude
0:03:58 > 0:04:02towards regional economic regeneration.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06It is time to give city and county regions the powers and resources
0:04:06 > 0:04:09they need to promote growth, and I will happily work
0:04:09 > 0:04:14with all of those who are genuinely committed to building an economic
0:04:14 > 0:04:16powerhouse in the north.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20This agenda has to have at its centre a commitment
0:04:20 > 0:04:24to connect towns and villages in constituencies like mine
0:04:24 > 0:04:28to thriving city hubs, and to deliver a financial offer
0:04:28 > 0:04:31in the forthcoming July Budget that gives this worthy goal a real
0:04:31 > 0:04:34chance of success.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38Yorkshire folk are not fools.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Talk about devolving power to cities and regions, while simultaneously
0:04:40 > 0:04:44stripping them of the resources to deliver and subjecting northern
0:04:44 > 0:04:48councils such as Kirklees to the harshest of cuts,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51is not compatible with a worthy commitment to building
0:04:51 > 0:04:56a Northern Powerhouse to drive growth and prosperity.
0:04:56 > 0:05:02Businesses in my constituency want help to address the skills mismatch
0:05:02 > 0:05:04at local level which leaves employers with staff shortages
0:05:04 > 0:05:07and young people without jobs.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10They want access to reliable sources of finance, including
0:05:10 > 0:05:12a network of local banks.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15They want to connect to a regional infrastructure that works for them,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18not rail price hikes of more than 126% and endless delays to key
0:05:18 > 0:05:22transport projects such as the electrification of the line
0:05:22 > 0:05:25from Manchester to Leeds.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Many businesses in Yorkshire want the security and stability
0:05:28 > 0:05:32of Britain's continued membership of the European Union,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35a cause I look forward to championing passionately in this
0:05:35 > 0:05:38place and elsewhere.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43The key question is, will the Government's actions match
0:05:43 > 0:05:46their Northern Powerhouse rhetoric?
0:05:46 > 0:05:49HS2 is not the only acid test.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51There are two bigger challenges.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56First, will the Government really devolve all the powers and decisions
0:05:56 > 0:05:59that could and should be taken locally and regionally?
0:05:59 > 0:06:03My test will be this - if there is a compelling reason
0:06:03 > 0:06:06for this to be a national decision then so be it.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08If not, it should be devolved.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Secondly, will the Government really take the whole range
0:06:11 > 0:06:14of their decisions - on transport, research
0:06:14 > 0:06:18and development, planning, education and skills -
0:06:18 > 0:06:22in the interests of rebalancing the economy and growing the north?
0:06:22 > 0:06:26I am Batley and Spen born and bred, and I could not be prouder of that.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29I am proud that I was made in Yorkshire and I am proud
0:06:29 > 0:06:32of the things we make in Yorkshire.
0:06:32 > 0:06:33Britain should be proud of that, too.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36I look forward to representing the great people of Batley and Spen
0:06:36 > 0:06:38here over the next five years.