Jason McCartney Makes Maiden Speech

The new MP for Colne Valley, Jason McCartney, made his maiden speech in the House of Commons last week. The Conservative spoke in a debate on the economy, and he praised the “enterprising, entrepreneurial and innovative businesses” in his constituency, which includes Marsden, Slaithwaite and Holmfirth among other areas.

As is traditional, Mr McCartney told MPs about the area he had been elected to represent. He described the Colne Valley itself as having some “lovely little mill towns” and said the Holme Valley, where he himself lives, is “a beautiful part of the world with lovely countryside, stone walls, lots of sheep and lots of traditional folk.”

Another Commons convention is that a new MP praises their predecessors, and Mr McCartney paid tribute to both Graham Riddick and Kali Mountford. He said Mr Riddick, who held the seat for the Tories between 1987 and 1997, had given him “many words of advice and encouragement.” Mr McCartney added that he wished Ms Mountford, the Labour MP between 1997 and 2010, best wishes for the future, and praised her work with the Anthony Nolan bone marrow trust.

He went on to address the recent decision by the BBC to finish production of Holmfirth-set comedy Last of the Summer Wine. Mr McCartney admitted that “we will really miss that opportunity to promote tourism.”

On the subject of the debate itself, building a high-skills economy, Mr McCartney said it was important to promote small-scale local enterprises. He said: “We have to cut the red tape; we should support them with lower taxes; we must give them the skills in the work force and the local infrastructure so that their workers can live and work locally.”

Mr McCartney also voiced his support for local Post Offices, saying: “Post Offices, especially the rural ones, are struggling, and our Post Office network was decimated in the last decade. It is important that we support them, because once they are gone, they are gone.”

Another Commons convention is that an MP from the other side of the House immediately thanks a member for making their maiden speech. In this case Roberta Blackman-Woods, who holds City of Durham for Labour, said Mr McCartney had delivered an “extremely entertaining and informative maiden speech.”

You can read the speech in full here and you can watch it by following this link on Mr McCartney’s own website.

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

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