Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead) (Con): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make my maiden speech this evening. I stand at the far end of the Opposition Benches, but that does not mean that I have fallen out with my colleagues already. I stand here as a tribute to an ex-Member who stood in this place for many years, and that was Sir Teddy Taylor, the Member for Rochford and Southend, East, who brought me into politics about 11 years ago.
I am a former boy soldier and I was a fireman in Essex. I had an unusual incident on going into a second-floor window and coming back out again rather quickly. That terminated my career as a fireman. I wrote to my Member and said, "I don't know what to do. Can you give me some guidance on my future career?" Those who know Teddy Taylor will recognise that he was a fantastic constituency Member. He typed a letter in the most interesting grammatical way. There was a cigarette burn on one corner of the page and a coffee stain on the other. He wrote, "Why don't you come and shadow me here in the House of Commons for a couple of weeks?"
I came to this place and I took Teddy's pass for a couple of weeks. I was proud to hand back Teddy's pass when I walked into the House as the Member for Hemel Hempstead two weeks ago.
Teddy never once asked about my political persuasion. He did not ask about my views on Europe or on the health service. He just genuinely wanted to help. When I said to him, after a few months, "Do you think that I could actually make it into the House of Commons in a political career?", he said, "Why not?" I said, "I left school at 16. There are many great speakers in the House of Commons." We have heard many of those Members making their maiden speeches today. Teddy said to me, "That does not make any difference. The test is whether you want to serve your community. That is what matters." I hope that I can take that tradition on in Hemel Hempstead.
I will be moving from the place where I speak on the Opposition Benches this evening in the not too distant future, not least because in my 48th year I need glasses. I will in future find it difficult to catch the eye of the occupant of the Chair without being a little closer to him or her.
I have replaced a good constituency Member. Tony McWalter was the Labour Member for Hemel Hempstead for eight years. He worked extremely hard for his constituents. He worked hard for the Select Committee on Science and Technology, for example. Tony has a great claim to fame because he asked the Prime Minister what his philosophy was, back in February 2002, during Prime Minister's questions. Those Members who were in the Chamber at the time—I was in a different position—were probably intrigued to hear the Prime Minister's reply. That was nearly two and a half years ago. I do not think that the House has quite worked out what the Prime Minister's philosophy was. Perhaps I will be able to ask him in the not too distant future whether he has an answer to Tony's question.
Tony replaced a great constituency Member in Robert Jones, who was also a good Minister. Having listened to so many good speeches, not least that of the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody), it is interesting to learn about what people believe in. If someone really believes in something, that is what matters.
Hemel Hempstead is commonly known these days as a new town—a new town that was conceived in 1947 as a London overspill town for the bombed-out parts of north London. I was born and bred in north London, in Tottenham. However, Hemel Hempstead goes back, as I am sure right hon. and hon. Members know, to Roman times. It inherits the traditional name Dacorum, which is the name of the borough council. That goes back to the time of Henry VIII, when he gave the royal charter for the borough of Hemel Hempstead.
Hemel Hempstead is not about only the new town. Really, the constituency should be called East Dacorum because it goes from the south from the village of Kings Langley all the way to the villages of Flamstead and Markyate in the north, by the A5. Even though about 45,000 people live within the town of Hemel Hempstead, with all the problems that a new town has which was built in the 1950s, there are serious rural issues that have to be addressed.
Some new Members have described just how beautiful their constituencies are. I can say that I have a beautiful constituency. One has only to look at the Chilterns, including the Gade Valley, which is one of the most beautiful areas of Hertfordshire. I recommend that right hon. and hon. Members come to the area to spend a day in one of our local rural pubs—or two or three.
In 1947—this is relevant to today's debate— Hemel Hempstead had three public hospitals. They were in place to serve the community. When the new town was built, there was a new general hospital. So for a short time there were four public hospitals. That is something to which I shall return. During the election campaign, the greatest issue on the doorsteps—I hope that the Minister is listening intently—was the future of Hemel's hospital. It was built for the people of Hemel Hempstead, a new town. The other hospitals were all closed. We have a full general hospital. There is a maternity unit, an accident and emergency unit and all acute services to meet the needs of the community.
There was a big debate during the run-up to the 1997 election on the future of the hospital. The debate was won by the people of Hemel Hempstead and the Dacorum hospital action group which fought so hard for the hospital, and £60 million of investment went into the hospital. Shortly after the 1997 election—it was a big issue—the maternity unit closed. It took the intensive-care baby cots with it. They went to Watford. In the run-up to the election, I was contacted by two families. The mother and the baby needed intensive baby cot provision. That was found for them in Yarmouth and in Nottingham. No intensive baby cots are available for the families of Hemel Hempstead in Hemel Hempstead because they were taken away from the hospital.
This is sad. We have a birthing unit in Hemel. That is all right, we think, because we have a children's ward, so that paediatricians are around. That will help if there is a problem. Unfortunately, the children's ward will open only from 8 am to 8 pm. That is a new decision, which was implemented in the past couple of weeks. The result is that paediatricians are not available at night.
All right, we have an A and E, which will have specialists for acute services. They will be available if babies, children and elderly people have problems. Well, the House will have guessed it, the A and E is to close. It is going to Watford. All the acute services in Hemel, including the fantastic new stroke unit, which was opened with 18 beds—it is down to 12 already—will close and be moved to Watford. On the doorstep in Hemel Hempstead, people are saying to me, "All this money is coming into the health service but where on earth is it going for the people of Hemel?"
It is true that we shall have a new day stay centre, and there will be facilities there for minor injuries and minor care. Many people will come in from other areas around Hemel for this provision. However, that does not help the people of Hemel Hempstead.
I do not want to be too controversial this evening, but these things matter to the people whom we represent. Violent crime in Hemel Hempstead has risen by nearly 150 per cent. in the last two years. In 2002–03, there were 739 violent assaults. On the figures available for 2004–05, 1,824 lives were damaged by violent crime.I do not blame our police force in Hemel Hempstead, which is stretched to the limit. There are no extra police in Hertfordshire this year. We do not have a single extra policeman on our streets. For every one coming in, another is leaving to join the Met. Other hon. Members have raised the matter in debates in the past few days. We must remedy the situation whereby Hertfordshire taxpayers are paying for the training of the Metropolitan police force. That was a major issue on the doorstep.
The voluntary sector in Hemel is a vital part of the community. Without it, our community, like many others throughout the country, would not survive. I shall speak briefly about an aspect which I am sure is close to the Minister's heart—the hospice movement. We need to look urgently at the funding streams for the hospice movement. It does not want to be taken over by the public sector, but it needs help.
I conclude as I began, by referring to Sir Teddy Taylor. He was known as a great constituency MP who worked for every man, woman and child in his constituency. That is what I hope to be known for when the time comes for me to leave the House at some time in the distant future.
6.30 pm
| Hansard
