Lorely Burt's Maiden Speech Monday 23rd May 2005
May 23, 2005 12:00 AM
Lorely Burt's maiden speech as MP for Solihull was presented to Parliament late in the evening of Monday 23rd May 2005. This is the transcript.
Mr Speaker thank you.
I'm grateful for this opportunity to make my maiden speech on the day we discuss Home Affairs and Communities, because I feel that it's largely campaigning on local issues dear to the heart of Solihull people which has got me here today.
Indeed Mr Speaker, I'm immensely grateful to be here at all, having overturned a majority of over 9,400 votes and won by the slender majority of only 279.
I am the first ever Liberal Democrat who's had the honour to represent the people of Solihull, and the first ever woman Liberal Democrat to be elected to this House from the West Midlands. It's a great honour and a great responsibility which I do not take lightly.
And while I'm personally VERY grateful to be here, I am also mindful that the majority of constituents in Solihull did NOT vote for me. Indeed, even fewer electors as a proportion of the electorate voted for this government, and in the interests of fairness and the desire for every voter to feel that their vote counts, I am disappointed that no time in this parliamentary session has been allocated to discussing fair votes.
Mr Speaker, it's appropriate on this occasion to mention my predecessor Mr John Taylor, who served the people of Solihull in this place for 22 years, prior to that as a Member of the European Parliament and before that as a local councillor. It is a fantastic record of service to one's own community, and I am sure all the members present will join with me in wishing Mr Taylor a happy and healthy retirement in his beloved Solihull.
Indeed, only 3 members have served the people of Solihull in Parliament since the Borough was created in 1945, serving an average of 20 years each. I hope, Mr Speaker, that I also can look forward to a long term of service, although 20 years would in all probability qualify me for the exalted position of Mother of the House!
As I said in my opening remarks, Home Affairs and Communities are hugely important to the people of Solihull. Our motto is Urbs in Rure, which, for the non-classically trained like myself, means Town in the Country.
Solihull sits on the South East boundary between Birmingham and the Warwickshire countryside. Some people have an image of Solihull as 'where posh people live'. It IS very much a sought after place to live, but I can tell you, Mr Speaker, there's a lot more to Solihull than being 'posh'. Within the constituency are are the strong communities of Shirley to the West: Olton, Lyndon and Elmdon to the North.
At it's heart is Silhill, although Solihull people as a whole are sometimes referred to as Silhillians, and St Alphege: named after a local nobleman who refused to allow a ransom to be paid after he was kidnapped and who was beaten to death by his kidnappers with mutton bones.
So you can see, Mr Speaker, the people of Solihull don't like to be messed with. And they DO care passionately about their environment.
I have talked about our motto, Urbs in Rure. A key issue in Solihull, and I am sure elsewhere, is the continuing urbanisation of our increasingly fewer green spaces. To put it in a nutshell, there's too much urbs and not enough rure.
Parkland throughout the Borough is being sold off for development to fund capital projects and regeneration. What right has a Local Authority to sell off our children's green heritage, Mr Speaker? When that green space is gone, it is gone forever.
And that's not all. Our lovely old and sometimes historic buildings are also falling into the hands of developers who seem to capitalise on every inch to erect blocks of luxury flats which are destroying the very character of our communities. Destroying the very quality which makes people feel proud to be a Silhillian.
And in the face of these developers, our Local Council is hamstrung by central government planning guidance rules. Guidance which does little in Solihull to provide starter homes to enable our children when they grow up to be able to stay in the community.
If our local council turn a developer's application down, they run the risk of being taken to court and not only having the decision reversed but also having to pay the developer's court costs as well as their own, just to add insult to injury.
People feel powerless. And they are. Successive Conservative and Labour governments have stripped Local Authorities of many of their powers to make decisions for their own communities.
We want communities to have as much power as possible to make decisions for themselves.
If I can achieve one thing for the people of Solihull, Mr Speaker, it will be to help restore the balance and give local people more of a say, and in particular more of a say in the planning decisions which shape their environment and ultimately shape their lives.
What would you like to do next?
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