Isle of Wight West Labour MP, Richard Quigley, gave his maiden speech in the House of Commons today (Wednesday).
He was not given a specific time that he would be called to give his speech, but was told it would be sometime after today’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). As it turned out, it was quite a long time after, about four and a half hours later.
Championing the Island
Richard used his maiden speech to shine a light on the Island’s athletes (with special mention to Paralympic silver medal rower Annie Caddick), its innovators and innovations, food producers, its rich heritage and culture, state-of-the-art boat-builders and manufacturers, even young Islander Daisy Morris who discovered the fossil of a new pterosaur more than ten years ago.
But Richard explained that it was the people, and more importantly its community that made the Island what it is. He mentioned many of the services such as community pantries and warm spaces.
Former MP
The MP for Isle of Wight West explained that his predecessor had mentioned Isle of Wight ferries 23 times in Parliament in seven years.
Richard pledged to mention ferries and cross-Solent travel as many times as he could during his term, highlighting the difficulties Islanders faced with rising fares, service issues and the obvious barriers to opportunities.
He also mentioned that his predecessor’s “interest in all things Chinese and Russian is legendary on the Island”.
Watch again
If you missed Richard Quigley speaking live, you can watch the maiden speech through the Parliament Live website.
Isle of Wight East MP, Joe Robertson, will be giving his speech in the second week of October – date and time to be confirmed.
Full speech
The full transcript of Richard’s speech can be found below.
Thank you Madam deputy Speaker
May I Congratulate …. On their eloquent and informative maiden speeches.
Firstly, I will pay tribute to Annie Caddick, who won silver in the mixed doubles skulls at the para Olympics. We are all very proud of you.
May I also pay tribute to my predecessor Bob Seely, for his 7 years of service to the Isle of Wight as MP for the then largest constituency in the country. His interest in all things Chinese and Russian is legendary on the Island.
Mr/ Madam deputy speaker , my Dad wasn’t a tool maker , but he is a Conservative Cllr. Whilst we don’t agree on politics, he and my mum’s many years as Cllrs did teach me that politics is about service. It is also the reason I am stood on this side of the chamber, rather than that. A fact my Grandad Dennis, a life long Labour supporter, would have been very proud of.
From being the largest constituency , the Isle of Wight is now two of the smallest constituencies. IW West and IW East, I stand here as the very proud member of IW West, and the first ever Labour MP to represent the Island and I look forward to working with my colleague in the Isle of Wight East to improve the lives of Islanders.
But it turns out the Island is pretty good at firsts.
In 1660 , freshwater resident Robert Hooke developed Hooke’s law of elasticity.
In 1843, the UK’s first amusement park opened at Blackgang chine and is still open today, albeit much smaller due to coastal erosion.
Marconi established the first wireless station on the Island in 1897.
Saunders Roe built the first Hovercraft in East Cowes in 1958, we still have a Hovercraft service on the Island today.
The first IW festival was held in 1968, in 1970 the crowds were so large that the following year and act of parliament was passed banning such large scale gatherings.
The first consumer electric cars, the Enfield 8000 were built in Cowes.
In 2009 4 year old Daisy Morris discovered a new species of dinosaur, the Pterosaur, on Atherfield beach.
We even have our first prize winning Alpaca, named Hip Hip Hooray at West wight Alpaca’s.
I am also the first owner of a chip shop to be an MP.
Of course we are known for sailing, and a special thanks to the RNLI and Independent life boats that put their lives at risk to save ours.
The Island is also home to some fantastic produce, that graces the menus and tables of great eating establishments across the country many of you will have tried it without realising.
- The fantastic tomatoes from the Isle of Wight tomato company.
- Asparagus and sweetcorn from the Arreton Valley and Browns farm.
- Beef from Cheverton farm
- Cherries from Godshill
- And our own cheese makers.
We also make the blades for wind turbines, aircraft parts and the Thames clipper boats you see from the terrace, at Wight Shipyard in East Cowes.
We have a thriving arts culture with the Trinity, Quay Arts and Apollo theatres, where a young Anthony Minghella started his acting career.
But it is the people that make the IW. It’s community that makes it a special place to live and the envy of towns and villages across the country.
Whether it’s the Saturday morning tea and cake in Niton, or the regular events in Yarmouth. The community run sports centre in Freshwater, the warm space in Northwood, the volunteers at Cowes foodbank and the model train enthusiasts that open up to the community, the amazing work of Pan together in Newport and the inclusivity of East Cowes. As well as the many charities , with a special mention to the Ellen MacArthur cancer trust, community is the heart of the Island.
The IW West is referred to, along with many others, as a bonus seat. Which is code for “oh ffff fair play, you won”.
BUT We did win, we won due to the hard work of 120 volunteers that have worked hard over the last 5 years, returning me as the only Labour councillor and now the first Labour MP.
I’d like to thank every single one of them, but special thanks must go to my agent Phil Attfield whose commitment was second to none, but extra special thanks must go to my wife Leah, two children and grandchildren, for their unwavering support and putting up with me over the years.
As rosey of a picture I paint of our wonderful Island and how much we contribute to British life, we share all the same problems as coastal and rural towns , poor access to NHS dentistry, GPs, adult social care and SEND education in crisis as well as severe lack of secure and adequate homes.
These problems are exacerbated by us being an Island, imagine that every time you drove to your neighbouring county, you were charged between £50 and £300 return. Travelling from Derby to Nottingham, Southampton to Salisbury or Oxford to Aylesbury.
Ferry travel across the Solent has become unreliable and ferociously expensive in the last few years, so much so it is now a barrier to opportunity.
Having to rely on expensive, privately run ferries means school trips don’t happen, NHS appointments on the mainland are missed or patients are so worried they travel the night before and pay for a hotel.
My predecessor mentioned ferries 23 times in 7 years, but ferries are such a huge issue to me and my constituents (some of you may have picked this up already), that I have made a promise to mention ferries and cross Solent ferry travel at every opportunity, regardless of the topic. I might even pass the 23 mark in this speech.
I’m a husband, Dad, grandad, walker of our 3 dogs and enthusiastic visitor of Island pubs, my focus whilst in this place will be finding solutions to issues I’ve outlined previously.
My job as MP is to champion the Island here, ensuring I represent all my constituents and that the Island is no longer a forgotten outpost and gets it’s fair share of support from my government, as well as action on ferries.
I extend a warm invitation to everyone on the estate, not just this place, to visit the Isle of Wight, but I make a plea to ministers to visit.
Now, I’ve spent some time in the first few weeks here talking to doormen and women, security and restaurant staff. I explained that I have found this place one of the friendliest workplaces I’ve ever stepped foot (and I’m self employed).
The response was that it has changed as a workplace “very recently”, asked how recently, they have all replied “5th of July“.
So I am extremely proud to stand here today with my colleagues as part of a Labour government dedicated to service and I look forward to being part of a government that builds a future for the IW and the Country.
Article edit
6pm 11th Sep 2024 – Link to watch again added, tense changed from future to past, some additional info added
9pm 11th Sep 2024 – Transcript added
