Wolverhampton West MP Warinder Juss makes his maiden speech to the House of Commons
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00:00Gavin, support England, if you like, on Sunday.
00:04They're not your team, but they're the only team from our country.
00:07So support England, if you like, but remind them all
00:11that Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline is a Northern Ireland football team.
00:16And the Green and White Army were very happy
00:19to lend that anthem to all of you.
00:23But we will reclaim it.
00:25And just to remind you gently
00:28that the last time Spain faced a home nation.
00:34Yeah, that's an any significant we won final or competition.
00:39And Jim Shannon was there and I wasn't born.
00:43Northern Ireland beats Spain.
00:46Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
00:49To make his maiden speech, I call the judges.
00:59I'm privileged to represent the new constituency of Wolverhampton West.
01:04It was created by the mobilisation of seven wards
01:08from the previous Wolverhampton South West constituency,
01:11with one ward coming from the previous Wolverhampton North East constituency
01:16and one ward coming from Wolverhampton South East constituency.
01:21As with so many other places in our country,
01:25housing is a major issue in my constituency.
01:30I'm pleased to note the housing measures set out by His Majesty's
01:34government in the gracious speech.
01:38Our country faces a growing housing crisis.
01:42In the year to March 2024, the number of new homes
01:46started by builders in England was about 135,000.
01:52A 22% fall on the previous year.
01:55Housing completions in England were only about just over 153,000 units,
02:02representing a 12% annual fall.
02:05Moreover, planning applications have fallen.
02:09In late November 2018, Prime Minister David Lloyd George
02:15chose to start his general election campaign in what is now
02:20the Wolverhampton West constituency with the famous
02:24homes fit for heroes speech.
02:27He demanded better homes, saying,
02:30what is our task to make Britain a fit country for heroes to live in?
02:36I echo that sentiment and have confidence that the government of today
02:41will deliver a significant boost to housing bills,
02:45especially, I hope, council housing,
02:48just as it did in the 1920s and the 1960s.
02:53Less than 25 years ago, it was possible to allocate a one bedroom
02:58Wolverhampton council flat in less than 48 hours.
03:01Now it seems that the waiting list in so many parts of our country
03:05nears 48 months.
03:07We desperately need a mass programme of building council housing,
03:12quite literally an investment for the future.
03:15I'm a proud son of Wolverhampton, a Wolverinian,
03:20so called because our city was founded over a thousand years ago
03:24by Lady Wolfen, and it is perhaps the only city
03:29in our country founded by a woman.
03:31I have lived in the city that I love
03:35since arriving from East Africa at the age of four.
03:39I went to school in the city, went to college there,
03:43went to university, did my law degree, did my professional exams there
03:48and did my legal training in a solicitor's office in the city to begin with.
03:53I've spent my working life as a social justice lawyer
03:57in the great firm of Thomson Solicitors,
04:00focusing on work for trade union members
04:04and on clinical negligence cases.
04:07Wolverhampton has a long and proud tradition of manufacturing,
04:12formerly being home to the renowned companies such as Sunbeam Cars,
04:17which held the land speed record, and Dye Motors.
04:20And incidentally, my father worked on a lathe machine at Dye Motors.
04:25The constituency also contains the headquarters of Marston's,
04:28a big pub chain whose brewery in this month is being sold to Carlsberg.
04:34And I wish to work with others to encourage them to continue
04:37our city's 149 year tradition as a major brewing location.
04:43Our city has a fine tradition of assisting the disadvantaged.
04:48For example, headquartered in the constituency is the Haven,
04:54which is the second oldest charity in the country,
04:57providing refuge accommodation for women and children escaping domestic abuse.
05:04We are also the head office of the Excellent Refugee and Migrant Centre,
05:09a national centre of expertise.
05:12I'm a long standing and active trade unionist
05:16and on the executive council of the GMB.
05:19And I'm always conscious that the first national union agreement
05:22with an employer for an eight hour day was actually signed in Wolverhampton in the 1930s.
05:27Those who are unfortunate enough not to know Wolverhampton
05:32are often surprised as to how much our city has to offer.
05:37We have a Premier League football team, Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Wolves,
05:42and I'm a proud wearer of the Wolves badge as well.
05:47I'm fortunate enough to have a season ticket at the club with my son.
05:51And in this week of English football,
05:56England, English football and our England players did us proud.
06:02We have achieved so much as an England football team.
06:05Bearing that in mind, I recall that for many years,
06:07Tan Pullis, who lived in the city whilst he was the England manager.
06:14And I also recall the great Wolves player Billy Wright,
06:19who captained the England football team on the most occasions.
06:24And we have a statue of Billy Wright in the city centre stadium, the Molyneux.
06:29Correspondingly, perhaps the best known captain of the England cricket team
06:33was Rachel, later Baroness Hayhoe Flint,
06:37who in 1963 hit the first six in a women's test match against the old enemy,
06:42Australia, and who was unbeaten in six test series.
06:47Also capped for England in hockey,
06:49she grew up in the city and lived there all of her life.
06:53The constituency is also home to the country's first all weather
06:57flood lit racecourse.
06:59Despite the budget cuts of recent years, there are three hospitals
07:03in Wolverhampton West and many fine schools.
07:06And I'm pleased to say four special schools.
07:09We are blessed with cultural facilities
07:12such as the fantastic Victoria era West Park,
07:16the 19th century Grand Theatre, the finest arts and crafts
07:20National Trust House in the country, Whittock Manor,
07:23and the Wolverhampton Art Gallery, home to nationally
07:27important collections of pop art and the Northern Ireland Troubles art.
07:34I will now note the contributions and influence of my predecessors.
07:40Regrettably, the most well known of whom may be Enoch Powell.
07:46But having lived in Wolverhampton since the age of four,
07:50I can attest that community relations have improved very markedly.
07:57And this has not happened by chance.
07:59It has come by because of hard work by very many people,
08:04including several of my predecessors and by groups such as Wolverhampton
08:08Interfaith, of which I have been a member for several years.
08:13I want to pay tribute to the work done by my predecessors,
08:16Stuart Anderson, who was the MP
08:20before the last election, and then he decided to stand in South Shropshire.
08:24Jenny Jones, who fostered the developing democracy
08:28of Eastern Europe around the turn of the century.
08:31And most of all, the work carried out by the backbencher of the year 2008.
08:37My great friend and predecessor, Rob Marris,
08:41with his assisted dying bill and his pioneering work
08:46on adaptation to climate change.
08:50I have to say that Wolverhampton is underrated.
08:53It is a great place to live and a great city.
08:57I'm sure that the measures set out in the gracious speech.