Greg Stafford said: "I want to express my gratitude to the people of the new Farnham and Bordon constituency for placing their trust in me and for allowing me the honour to represent them here in Parliament. I feel that giving a maiden speech is a bit like giving a best man’s speech at a wedding, as you are surrounded by disapproving elderly relatives who are going to hang on every word, but I can assure you, Mr Deputy Speaker, that none of the jokes that I have made before in any best man’s speeches will be given in this House, especially as I know that my mother-in-law is watching on the Parliament channel.
I also wish to thank my family—especially my wife, Caroline, and my daughters, Susannah and Lucy, who have put up with me a lot over the past year—for their patience and support, as well as my parents, James and Theresa.
Other hon. Members have noted that they are not the first people in their family to be Members of Parliament. I am not even the first sibling to be a Member of Parliament. I pay tribute to my brother, Alexander, who served the people of the Rother Valley constituency so diligently in the previous Parliament.
Apparently, it is also customary to express gratitude to our predecessors in the seat—a small political obituary, as it were. Fortunately, both my immediate predecessors, my right hon. Friends the Members for Godalming and Ash (Jeremy Hunt) and for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds), are still, as Members can see, very much in their political prime. None the less, I want to thank them for their generous support and advice since I was selected. They have both achieved amazing things for the constituents whom I have inherited. Campaigning was a sobering affair. On the doorsteps I was told: “Oh, we do like Jeremy”, or “Damian did such wonderful stuff for us”, or “You have very big shoes to fill”. To rub salt into the wound, the week before the election, the local paper ran a story on how much the people of Haslemere would miss the shadow Chancellor—believe me, I know my place.
Speaking of predecessors, the predecessor of my right hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire, Lord Arbuthnot, should be praised for his sterling work on the Horizonscandal and for bringing justice to the sub-postmasters so cruelly affected. I still hope that those who were responsible—by act or omission—are brought to justice.
The newly created Farnham and Bordon is a county constituency crossing Surrey and Hampshire, making the life of a new Member of Parliament even more complex than it already is. More than that, the name, while referencing the two largest towns in each county, ignores the other towns of Haslemere and Liphook and the many villages that range between the larger population centres. Many argued for, and I supported, a less specific but more all-encompassing name for the constituency, such as the Wey Valley, taking its name from the beautiful River Wey that runs through it. Clearly they are not romantics in the Boundary Commission.
I also wish to thank my family—especially my wife, Caroline, and my daughters, Susannah and Lucy, who have put up with me a lot over the past year—for their patience and support, as well as my parents, James and Theresa.
Other hon. Members have noted that they are not the first people in their family to be Members of Parliament. I am not even the first sibling to be a Member of Parliament. I pay tribute to my brother, Alexander, who served the people of the Rother Valley constituency so diligently in the previous Parliament.
Apparently, it is also customary to express gratitude to our predecessors in the seat—a small political obituary, as it were. Fortunately, both my immediate predecessors, my right hon. Friends the Members for Godalming and Ash (Jeremy Hunt) and for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds), are still, as Members can see, very much in their political prime. None the less, I want to thank them for their generous support and advice since I was selected. They have both achieved amazing things for the constituents whom I have inherited. Campaigning was a sobering affair. On the doorsteps I was told: “Oh, we do like Jeremy”, or “Damian did such wonderful stuff for us”, or “You have very big shoes to fill”. To rub salt into the wound, the week before the election, the local paper ran a story on how much the people of Haslemere would miss the shadow Chancellor—believe me, I know my place.
Speaking of predecessors, the predecessor of my right hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire, Lord Arbuthnot, should be praised for his sterling work on the Horizonscandal and for bringing justice to the sub-postmasters so cruelly affected. I still hope that those who were responsible—by act or omission—are brought to justice.
The newly created Farnham and Bordon is a county constituency crossing Surrey and Hampshire, making the life of a new Member of Parliament even more complex than it already is. More than that, the name, while referencing the two largest towns in each county, ignores the other towns of Haslemere and Liphook and the many villages that range between the larger population centres. Many argued for, and I supported, a less specific but more all-encompassing name for the constituency, such as the Wey Valley, taking its name from the beautiful River Wey that runs through it. Clearly they are not romantics in the Boundary Commission.
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NewsTranscript
00:00measures in the King's Speech start to spread wealth, growth and opportunity to every corner
00:06of this United Kingdom, including the people of Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor.
00:13I call Gregory Ostaffer to make his maiden speech.
00:17Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I want to congratulate the honourable Member for
00:22Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor on his maiden speech. We didn't cross over at university,
00:28but mutual friends tell me that he was an excellent President of the Oxford Student Union,
00:34and we can tell that his debating skills were honed there, and we saw that in evidence this
00:38evening. I want to express my gratitude to the people of the new Farnham and Borden constituency
00:44for placing their trust in me and for allowing me the honour to represent them here in Parliament.
00:50I feel like giving a maiden speech is a bit like giving a best man's speech at a wedding,
00:55surrounded by disapproving elderly relatives who are going to hang on you everywhere,
01:01but I assure you, Mr Deputy Speaker, none of the jokes that I made at any best man's speeches I've
01:06done before will be given in this House, especially as I know that my mother-in-law is watching on
01:10the Parliament channel. I want to thank my family, especially my wife Caroline and my daughters
01:15Susanna and Lucy, who have put up with me a lot over the last year, for their patience and support,
01:21and to my parents James and Theresa. Other hon. Members I know have noted that they are not the
01:27first people in their family to be Members of Parliament. I'm not even the first sibling to
01:33be a Member of Parliament, and so I want to pay tribute to my brother Alexander, who served the
01:38people of the Rother Valley constituency so diligently in the last Parliament. It's also
01:45apparently customary to express gratitude to my predecessors in the seat—a sort of small
01:51political obituary, as it were. Fortunately, both my immediate predecessors, the right hon. Member
01:57for Godalming and Ash, and the right hon. Member for East Hampshire, are still, as you can see,
02:01very much in their political prime. Nonetheless, I want to thank them for their generous support
02:07and advice since I was selected. They both achieved amazing things for the constituents
02:13that I have inherited from them. Campaigning was a sobering affair when I was told on the doorstep,
02:18oh, we do like Jeremy, or Damien did such wonderful stuff for us, or you have very big
02:24shoes to fill. To rub salt into the wound, the week before the election, the local paper
02:31ran a story on how much the people of Hazlemere would miss the shadow Chancellor.
02:37Believe me, I know my place. Speaking of predecessors, the hon. Member for East
02:42Hampshire's predecessor, Lord Arbuthnot, should be praised for his sterling work
02:48on the Horizon scandal and for bringing justice to the sub-postmasters so cruelly affected.
02:54I still hope that those responsible, by act or omission, are brought to justice.
03:00The newly created Farnham and Borden constituency is a cross-Surrey and Hampshire county constituency,
03:07making the life of a new Member of Parliament even more complex than it already is.
03:12More than that, the name, while referencing the two largest towns in each county,
03:17ignores the other towns of Hazlemere and Liphook, and the many villages that range
03:22between the larger population centres. Many argued for, and I supported, a less specific
03:28but more all-encompassing name for this constituency, such as the Wey Valley,
03:33taking its name from the beautiful river Wey that runs through it. But they are clearly not
03:39romantics in the Boundary Commission, so Farnham and Borden stuck. The only saving grace is that
03:45its initials spell FAB, which sums up the area that I represent. This FAB constituency ranges
03:52from Farnham in the north to Hazlemere and Liphook in the south, Whitehill and Borden in the west,
03:58and the western villages of Surrey, such as Tilford, in the east. Bookended by the north
04:03and south downs, it is an area of outstanding beauty, with thriving market towns, pleasant
04:09villages and a thriving sports and arts scene, including the prestigious University for the
04:14Creative Arts. It also has a significant military connection, most obviously in Borden,
04:20which was home to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers until 2015, and of the
04:25Longmore Ranges, where Ukrainian troops are currently being trained. Military history is
04:30everywhere, from Amesbury School in Hazlemere and Hindhead, where Montgomery lived during the war,
04:35to the Canadian War Graves and Memorial in Liphook, and the site of the first ever two-minute
04:41silence in this country on Castle Street in Farnham. The residents of this new constituency
04:47are ever thankful for the role our armed forces have played in keeping us safe.
04:52From Arthur Conan Doyle to Johnny Wilkinson, King John to Flora Thompson, Graham Thorpe to the
04:58hon. Member for Boston and Skegness, heroes and villains have been born, lived, worked or played
05:06in this fabulous constituency. But it is not the beautiful scenery, the historical gems or the
05:12famous people that make this constituency the best in the country. It is not even the fact that my
05:18grandparents ran Stafford's Sweet Shop in Hazlemere for many years, and what little boy would not want
05:24grandparents who ran a sweet shop? It is in fact the current residents, businesses and community
05:30spirit that makes FAB special and a joy to represent. Every day there are local events,
05:37charitable occasions and community festivities to get involved with. Indeed, I doubt anywhere
05:43else in this country can rival the number of duck races that we have in the area.
05:48Now, following this cook's tour of the constituency, one might be forgiven for thinking that there are
05:54no issues to solve at Home County's Garden of Eden. It cannot be denied that there are many
06:02areas of significant affluence, but it should not be concealed that there are areas of high
06:07deprivation, and I will champion their improvement. The constituency's location is both a benefit and
06:14a curse. Within easy commuting distance of London, it provides a rural haven for those who wish to
06:20live outside but work in the city, but that also makes it rich pickings for housing developers
06:26who look for any open space, green or otherwise, to build on. I am not against housing development.
06:33We need homes for our children and our grandchildren, but we need the right homes
06:37in the right places, with the right tenure mix and with the supporting infrastructure.
06:42Conservative-run East Hampshire Council has done everything it can to persuade the new Government
06:48to modify its housing targets to make them more appropriate for our area,
06:52including writing to the Deputy Prime Minister. I hope that she will respond positively to that
06:57letter. Indeed, if there is one issue that unites the whole of the new Farnham and Borden constituency,
07:02it is that infrastructure has not kept pace with development. This is particularly acute in Borden,
07:10where thousands of houses are going up without the supporting infrastructure.
07:13The GP surgeries, the NHS dentists, the schools, the roads and the leisure centres
07:18all need upgrading and expanding rapidly to meet that housing growth. We must not build more houses
07:25until infrastructure catches up, otherwise we will be left with housing estates devoid of services,
07:31security and society. I am deeply concerned about the new Government's plans on house building.
07:37Labour's changes to planning, imposing top-down targets and removing the rights of local people
07:43to have their say on developments is a retrograde step and has been met with anger from my
07:48constituents and resolute opposition from me. I have mentioned the need for health services in
07:55our area. Having spent most of my career in healthcare, lastly working for seven years in
08:00the NHS, improving clinical services and patient outcomes, I know that both locally and nationally
08:07things need to change in the NHS. We need to have a grown-up and honest discussion with the public
08:14about how we are going to deliver, provide and fund the NHS and social care going forward.
08:20For an ageing population with increasing healthcare needs and diminishing birth rates,
08:24i.e. the people who are going to pay for the NHS, we need a cross-party discussion that brings all
08:30parties together to make the long-term decisions on how we proceed with health and social care
08:35in this country. If I achieve nothing else in this time while I am here, starting this
08:40conversation and hopefully progressing it fruitfully will be something to hope for.
08:44But, as a traditional, common-sense Conservative, I believe you cannot pay for health and social care
08:52unless you have a strong economy. Despite a global pandemic, a war in the east of Europe,
08:59instability in the middle east and, regardless of what the Government are trying to paint
09:04in their press releases, the most recent statistics show that the economy is turning
09:08round and is on an upward trajectory. I will oppose any measures by this Government,
09:13including the misguided nationalisation of industry and the socialist labour rules,
09:18which I believe will hamper or reverse that trend. Equally important is to safeguard ourselves from
09:24external threats. The rise of resurgent Russia, China and North Korea is something we should
09:30all be concerned about. I do not believe it is hyperbole to say that we are in a pre-war era
09:36and we need to ensure that our borders, skies and infrastructure, both physical and digital,
09:42are safe from threats. That is why I absolutely believe that we should move to 2.5% of GDP spent
09:47on defence immediately and, indeed, increase that to 3% when practical. In short, we must
09:53protect our economy, healthcare and national security to ensure the prosperity and safety
09:59of our country. Mindful that maiden speeches are not meant to be controversial, I shall leave it
10:05there and return briefly to the subject of this fab constituency. In 1668, Samuel Pepys recorded
10:13that the people of Liphook were good, honest people. Given his own morals and motivations,
10:20I am not sure whether he meant this as a compliment, but I can assure the House that
10:24it is as true now as it was then for the residents of Farnham, Borden, Hazemere, Liphook and our
10:29surrounding villages. I pledge to be a good, honest servant of them in this place.