Mark Eastwood MP delivers maiden speech in Parliament
Mark Eastwood, Member of Parliament for Dewsbury, Mirfield, Kirkburton and Denby Dale, delivered his maiden speech in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.
In his speech, Mr Eastwood described his working-class upbringing and paid homage to his mother, a retired nurse, who raised him as a single parent.
Mr Eastwood also praised the dedication of key workers and community groups across his constituency, calling them ‘heroes’:
“We have seen heroes emerge all over the country. Alongside our NHS and emergency staff, there are the people who have kept us fed, cared for us, operated our public transport and those who have ensured we can still access the goods and services we rely on.
I would like to pay tribute to some of those heroes in my constituency, people who have made great sacrifices and gone above and beyond throughout this emergency.”
He laid out his conservation credentials by stressing the importance of preventing inappropriate developments on the Green Belt and promoting brownfield developments as the answer to housing pressures.
He finished his speech with a promise not to let the voters down.
Despite being called a maiden speech, this is not the first time that Mr Eastwood has spoken in the House of Commons, as questions to government ministers are not considered speeches. In January, he asked Boris Johnson in Prime Minister’s Question Time whether he agreed that “the Northern rail service is no longer fit for purpose”. Later that month the Government announced that Arriva would be stripped of the Northern franchise.
Mark Eastwood won the Dewsbury seat for the Conservatives from ex-MP Paula Sheriff at the most recent general election with a majority of 1,561
Commenting, Mark Eastwood said:
“I am pleased to have delivered my maiden speech, which I had intended to give some months ago but was delayed due to COVID-19.
I used the speech to say thank you the people of Dewsbury, Kirkburton and Denbydale and to highlight the incredible work of our keyworkers and community groups – they really are heroes.”
