The New Labour MP for Erewash made his first speech in parliament yesterday (Tue 29 Oct) celebrating local residents who are “empowering our community”.
Adam Thompson, who became the first Labour MP to represent the area in 14 years after the general election, honoured the famous names that hailed from the towns and villages in his speech, from actor Robert Lindsay through to grime artist Bru-C.
But his main priority was to highlight the everyday heroes “who are doing everything they can to lift the area up by its bootstraps” – especially after 14 years of being let down by the Conservative government.
Adam’s rollcall of local stars included:
- Ilkeston’s Joe Cahill and Paul Opiah, who staunchly campaign to revive the local high street;
- Long Eaton’s Scott Clayton and his Blue Tonic choir, offering mental health support for men;
- Chris and Jackie Brookes, along with the team at Long Eaton Rugby Football Club, who provide local access to sport for children and adults, alongside their charity work;
- And Lindsey Rice and her team, who run a food bank and lunch club in Ilkeston.
Adam Thompson MP said: “Our towns, villages, and people are fantastic, but they have been let down by the previous Conservative government.
“Standing here, I feel the weight of my community, the weight of responsibility, and the weight of the need to deliver a better future for my constituents and the whole country.”
The Erewash MP, who used to teach engineering apprentices at the University of Nottingham, added: “Throughout my tenure, I will always be guided by reason, not dogma, by the scientific method, and by a desire to serve.”
FULL TEXT OF SPEECH BELOW:
Thank you, [Mr Speaker], for your kind invitation to present my first speech [and may I congratulate the honourable member for X on their excellent first speech, alongside the many members who have spoken for the first time in this House in recent days]. If the high bar set by the newest members of this House is indicative of the quality of debate to follow in the coming Parliament, I am very confident about our future.
In my own maiden speech, I will lay out why I stood to represent my home of Erewash, my plans for my time in parliament and why I love the area I now have the honour of representing. (By the way, before I start in earnest, it’s pronounced Eh-ruh-wash, or occasionally Eh-ree-wash, but absolutely, never, under any circumstances, Ear-wash). I look forward to seeing how that sentence is recorded in Hansard!
I will begin my speech by thanking my predecessor, Maggie Throup, for her efforts in serving the people of Erewash over the past nine years. Maggie worked diligently for our community, consistently lobbying for funding to support our towns and villages. Given her background in the health sector, Maggie regularly contributed to health policy throughout her tenure, and she served the nation admirably through the latter stages of the COVID-19 pandemic as Vaccines Minister. While Maggie and I rarely saw eye to eye on policy, our relationship across the political divide has always been courteous and collegiate, and I wish her the very best for the future. I would also like to pay tribute to my colleague, Liz Blackman, who served Erewash as our MP throughout the last Labour government. Liz’s guidance during my campaign to become the MP for Erewash was invaluable, and I am sure I will continue to seek her advice throughout my own tenure.
In my first weeks in Parliament, as I’ve met colleagues from across the country, the question I’ve most frequently been asked is, “What even is an Erewash, anyway?” Named for the river and the canal, we comprise two towns: Ilkeston and Long Eaton; five villages: Breaston, Draycott, Risley, Sandiacre, and Stanton-by-Dale; and other communities in Sawley, Kirk Hallam, and Cotmanhay. More often, though, I find it easiest to answer with a reference to our geography: simply “Junction 25 of the M1.” Like many towns that operate like a binary star, Ilkeston and Long Eaton exist in a delicate balance, with residents of Ilkeston, or ‘Ilson’ as we call it, regularly declaring, “Long Eaton gets everything.” It is probably no surprise, then, that if you spent ten minutes talking to someone in Long Eaton, you would, similarly and resoundingly, hear the mantra, “Ilkeston gets everything.” I should note, [Mr Speaker], that I have sanitised these statements somewhat—references to ‘the other town’ are often a little more colourful.
In truth, both of our towns have been hard done by in the past 14 years. Despite the hard work of incredible and passionate teaching and support staff, for example, many of our schools struggle with underfunding; something I witnessed first-hand when I trained as a secondary physics teacher. Both high streets have declined, and while towns funding is helping to support Long Eaton’s regeneration, the underlying problems remain—anti-social behaviour, crime, shopkeepers forced out by online giants, and a general malaise that nothing will fix the foundations.
Despite the difficulties we face, I’d like to explain why Erewash is a fantastic place, by paying tribute to the people and the groups in our towns who are doing everything they can to lift the area up by its bootstraps. People like Joe Cahill, who, by liaising with shopkeepers and landlords through a local Facebook group focused on independent, incredible shops, has empowered our community and begun restoring Ilkeston as a thriving market town. Similarly, I commend the work of Paul Opiah and others in building the new Friends of Ilkeston Town Centre, providing grassroots regeneration to our town. Joe and Paul’s efforts have been fantastic, and I want to provide them with more support—Joe recently noted that he had done as much as he could without changing the law to bring the remaining, rotting shop units back into service, units that are currently held hostage by absentee landlords. I’m excited about the government’s proposals to revive our town centres, and I will do everything in my power to support local people in their efforts.
In Long Eaton, I would like to pay tribute to Scott Clayton and his team, who have created a beautiful new community focused on supporting mental health through the joy of song, where men of all abilities can come together to sing and discuss their issues. It was a pleasure, during my campaign, to join Scott and the Blue Tonic community and dive, headfirst, out of my comfort zone to sing with new friends. There’s also Chris and Jackie Brookes, along with the team at Long Eaton Rugby Football Club. The club serves Long Eaton so well, providing access to sport in our local park for children and adults, and supporting local charities and the armed forces community. Growing substantially over the past decade in the men’s game, the women’s game, and now with their new minis side, Long Eaton RFC has become a pillar of our community. And then there’s Lindsay Rice and her team, who have built a food bank, a lunch club, and are on their way to creating a brand-new Ilkeston carnival through Every One Eats, alongside the collective churches in Long Eaton that have similarly supported those in our community struggling through poverty. Lindsay recently asked me, “When are you going to shut us down?” I responded, “As soon as possible, Lindsay, as soon as possible.”
Erewash has a thriving veteran community, and as a member of the Royal British Legion, I am very proud that our current Mayor, Cllr Kate Fennelly, is an RAF veteran. I recently met with local charitable trust, Forces Veterans Afloat, who do incredible work housing veterans, for whom bricks and mortar are not the answer, on narrowboats. As a cadet warrant officer in 1344 Cardiff squadron ATC for much of my childhood, I have long supported our forces and veterans – without 1344 and the citizenship, leadership and community spirit instilled in me by the wider cadet movement, I would not be standing here as a member of parliament.
Erewash is also the birthplace of many national stars, from Douglas Houghton, Baron Houghton of Sowerby, who served both our country in the First World War and in Harold Wilson’s government as the last British Cabinet minister born in the 19th century. Through to Robert Lindsay, who has played countless parts, including the infamous Wolfie in Citizen Smith to the former prime minister, Tony Blair. And then we also have Bru-C, who is putting Long Eaton on the map in the rap scene. Our towns, villages, and people are fantastic, but they have been let down by the previous government, by politicians, and by their country.
So, what do I bring to this place, and what do I hope to do for Erewash? My background is in academia and education— In my former day job, I taught engineering apprentices at the University of Nottingham. I worked there for a decade, specialising in metrology research and training the next generation of world-leading manufacturing engineers. I believe I am the first metrologist elected to this place — metrology being the science of measurement and definitely not meteorology — as I said in the opening quote to my PhD thesis, it’s got nothing to do with clouds.
Erewash, and the wider East Midlands, has long been the engine of our nation’s manufacturing base, producing everything from drain covers (look down on nearly every street in the country to see the logo of the famous Stanton Ironworks) to the fine lace worn by the Princess of Wales on her wedding day, produced by Cluny Lace, tunnels for HS2, made by Sateba UK, and composite motorsport and aerospace components, from Atlas Composites. I want to see an expansion of our manufacturing base through an industrial strategy and reform of the apprenticeship levy, so we can cement Erewash’s position as a centre for advanced manufacturing. We also need new infrastructure and to build new homes to support our local economic growth, which I am very glad to see the government commit to. As the Stanton industrial site grows, I will fight every day for infrastructure works. We need a new junction on the M1 to support the growing industry in the area and reduce the impact on residents in Sandiacre and Ilkeston, who currently endure a huge volume of heavy goods vehicles passing through their towns.
I am very proud, today, to support the Great British Energy Bill. For years, my constituents in Erewash have suffered through rising bills, because of our exposure to dictator-controlled fossil fuel markets. Now that Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, just outside of my constituency, has burned its final lump of coal, I look forward to the investment in our community that GB Energy will bring, and the rewards that we will reap in energy security, clean power and new jobs.
It is the most incredible honour to represent my home, Erewash, [Mr Speaker]. I wouldn’t be here without my partner, my family, my friends and my incredible campaign team, who, by constant repetition of our mantra of being five points behind under any circumstances, begun the process of changing our country for the better. Coming from a background in education and science, I look forward to contributing to evidence-based policy debate and applying my scientific training in this House. Standing here, I feel the weight of my community, the weight of responsibility, and the weight of the need to deliver a better future for my constituents and the whole country. Throughout my tenure, I will always be guided by reason, not dogma, by the scientific method, and by a desire to serve.
