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2.50 pm
Mr. Gyles Brandreth (City of Chester): Speaking of those who sound least like politicians, here I am. Having been a Member of Parliament for only three and a half years, I like to think that I am still loosely in touch with reality. But today I am not entirely sure. I am overwhelmed by the honour of being asked to second the motion, particularly because it was moved with such effortless brilliance and sage wisdom by my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd), who is one of the most civilised and civilising people I know.
Incredible as it may seem to the more casual observer, I have something quite distinctive in common with my right hon. Friend. We share a birthday--in different years, of course--of 8 March. That is a very good birthday for those who aspire to political life in a secretarial capacity. Your own secretary, Madam Speaker, was born on 8 March. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's parliamentary private secretary was born on 8 March. My right hon. Friend the Member for Witney--a previous Northern Ireland Secretary, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary--was born on 8 March. And yours truly, the secretary of the House of Commons Scrabble club, was born on that date--each to his own.
More intriguing is the fact that my right hon. Friend's wife and my wife also share a birthday of 14 March. They share that birthday with Albert Einstein and Michael Caine, and not a lot of people know that. More curiously, Mrs. Hurd and Mrs. Brandreth share the same birth year because both, of course, are 21. My right hon. Friend's contribution to this House and to this country has been quite extraordinary. We are all in his debt and I am happy to say that, in future, I shall be able to say that literally as well as figuratively. I cannot think of anybody with whom I would rather entrust my overdraft.
My right hon. Friend is not the first international statesman whom I have had the privilege of knowing. Shortly before I came down from university, I had a memorable encounter with the late John Diefenbaker--at least, that is who I think it was. He certainly said that he was the Prime Minister of Canada. Just as my right hon. Friend was president of the Cambridge union, I was president of the Oxford union, and when I encountered Mr. Diefenbaker and told him of my parliamentary ambitions, he gave me his well-worn line. He said that when I succeeded and arrived in Parliament, I would spend the first six months wondering how on earth I got there and the rest of the time wondering how the rest of them got there.
I am genuinely thrilled that I did get here, despite the fact that the description of some of our procedures given to me by my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Staffordshire (Mr. Fabricant) does not quite accord with how the House seems to work. I do not know whether you have seen "The Final Cut", Madam Speaker, but if I were you, I would sue.
Having worked in different worlds before I arrived here, I must say that I have been heartened and impressed by the calibre, commitment and comradeship that I have found in this place. Whatever picture the media may care to paint, this seems to me to be a good place where--for the most part and in all parts of the House--good people of good faith are doing their best to do a good job for their constituents. We should not always let the cynics have the last word.
Of course, I am here only because I have the unique good fortune to represent the city of Chester, which is quite simply the finest place there is. It has 2,000 years of matchless history.
Mr. Joseph Ashton (Bassetlaw):
And a 1,000 majority.
Mr. Brandreth:
The hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Mr. Ashton) is not quite right--it is 1,101. I was sponsored by a carpet shampoo firm, and I have declared it.
The joy of being a Member for a marginal seat is that it keeps one on one's toes, as the hon. Gentleman will discover in due course. I have to tell him that I would not stand anywhere else if they asked me, and they have.
I am thrilled to play my tiny part, however brief, in the 2,000 years of the matchless history of Chester--a Roman fortress, a cradle of our monarchy, the last city in the land to fall to the Norman conquest and a bastion for the Crown in the civil war. Indeed, with our historic walls, our fabulous rows, our beautiful river, our ancient cathedral, our theatre, our galleries, our gem of a race course and our model zoo, we are the jewel in any crown. It is no wonder that James Boswell--the Alan Clark of his day, though possibly more reliable--called Chester the
Candidly, I cannot claim a lot of personal credit for the glories of my constituency, although I do try. Colleagues may be shocked to hear this, but whenever there is a bit of good news going in my part of the world, I do my best to get in on the act. At least I have learnt something from the Liberals. Naturally, when the news is less good, I tend to duck, but in Chester I do not have to do much ducking. We are the epicentre of all that is best in Britain, and we have falling unemployment and record levels of inward investment to prove it.
Farming, tourism and retail have long been central to our economy, and now we are becoming a significant centre for financial services and a growing industrial base. Strix is the name of just one of the companies that have recently moved to Chester. It makes switches for electric kettles--for 70 per cent. of the electric kettles in the world. If people want the best communications, the best quality of life, the finest work force and the keenest entrepreneurial spirit in the land, they should come to Chester. We have the lot.
Believe it or not, as well as having our own soap company, Bradford Soap, we even have our own soap opera, "Hollyoaks", just launched on Channel 4. It goes out on Monday nights, so it will have a bit of competition next week. If one is looking for a non-royal soap, do tune in. It is more "Baywatch goes north-west" than anything else. Since it is set in Chester, it must be good.
I was pleased to meet up with a sixth-former at the weekend, who said that she preferred the recent television version of "Pride and Prejudice" to "Hollyoaks". My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister may be gratified to learn that she likened him to Mr. Darcy. This is the bit that I did not check with him. "Tough but tender," was how she put it. He may be less happy to learn that she also took a fancy to Mr. Bingley, whom she said was a dead ringer for the Leader of the Opposition--a poppet with a grin.
[Interruption.] My hon. Friend the Member for Stamford and Spalding (Mr. Davies) is muttering to me about whom
she saw as Mr. Collins. Wild horses would not drag from me whom she saw as Mr. Collins. Suffice it to say that she seems to have had some sort of unfortunate experience youth hostelling near Yeovil. The right hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Ashdown) should not take that amiss. He would have been delighted to hear what she had to say about Lady Catherine de Burgh.
The House will not be surprised to learn that I plan to welcome the Gracious Speech. I believe that the Leader of the Opposition plans to be more critical. Indeed, I know what his plans are, because one of his more innocent spin doctors gave me a detailed preview of his speech under the misapprehension that I was Robin Oakley.
Chester will welcome the Gracious Speech because our city has a range of outstanding schools and a real passion for quality education. My constituents recognise the importance of putting nursery education within the reach of every four-year-old and of extending the opportunities open to grant-maintained schools.
Law and order is an issue of paramount concern to my constituents, which is why they will wholeheartedly endorse the proposed criminal procedure and investigations Bill as a further element in the Government's determined programme to be tough on crime and tough on the perpetrators of crime.
In Chester, the number of police has risen by 38 per cent. in the past 15 years. We are getting more officers again this year--more on the beat and more with dedicated beats--and we are getting more closed circuit television. Never mind the rhetoric, the result is higher rates of detection and falling rates of crime.
"fairest English city I have seen".
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