Steve Race MP: speeches

Speeches

• 11 Dec 2024 · Rail Services: Devon · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for her intervention. Some hon. Members joined me and others at a recent meeting with the rail Minister Lord Hendy to discuss the impact of the works at Old Oak Common associated with HS2. I will not go into that too much in this speech, as it is a big topic. I am in favour of HS2 going ahead, and feel what has happened to that project over the years has been disgraceful. In the south-west we need to see effective management of that project to ensure that disruption is minimised. We also need to see investment in our local railway lines to ensure that we see the benefit of public transport, as well as the rest of the country. Speaking of the Exeter-Barnstaple line, potential improvement outcomes of the project include significantly improved punctuality and reliability for both Barnstaple and Okehampton train services, with reduced knock-on delays to other parts of the national network. It would deliver materially faster typical journey times, with a fastest journey between Barnstaple and Exeter St Davids of no more than 55 minutes, with potential further material time journey savings. It would also double train service frequency from hourly to two per hour— [Interruption.]

• 11 Dec 2024 · Rail Services: Devon · Hansard source

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  Thank you very much for your chairmanship of the debate, Mr Pritchard. I thank the Minister for his responses. I restate my thanks to Lord Hendy for the engagement we have had from him so far and for the improvements that he appears to have delivered in the medium term, which have been communicated to us. I am grateful for the continued engagement from the entire Department for Transport. The key message for the Department to take away is that there is a huge economic growth opportunity in Devon and across the wider south-west, and the railways can play a significant role in helping us to unleash that potential. I ask the Department to continue to think about Devon as it makes decisions on rail funding throughout this Parliament. Question put and agreed to. Resolved , That this House has considered the future of rail services in Devon.

• 11 Dec 2024 · Rail Services: Devon · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. The point about significant rail investment elsewhere in the country, which I will come on to, has an impact on how we see it and how we should be fighting for a better railway system in Devon.

• 11 Dec 2024 · Rail Services: Devon · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered the future of rail services in Devon. I am delighted to have secured my first Westminster Hall debate, and it is an honour to speak under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I welcome the Minister to his place. I will start by setting out why rail services in Devon are of the utmost importance to my constituency of Exeter and the wider regional economy. Exeter is one of the fastest-growing cities in the UK. Indeed, in the 10 years from 2012 to 2022, it was the fourth fastest. It experienced an 11% growth in population, from about 117,800 in 2011 to 130,800 in 2021. That is higher than the overall increase for England, at 6.6%. We have an estimated population of 130,800, and a travel-to-work area that includes more than 499,800 residents. About 35,000 people commute into Exeter daily for work and leisure. That wider hinterland is an integral part of the success of our economy. Exeter generates almost £6 billion in gross value added, meaning that we are the biggest economy west of Bristol and are in the top 10 cities for gross value added growth in the UK. Exeter has generated 8% in new businesses, with 5,147 registered for business rates, and a 3% growth in jobs. It was also ranked sixth in the PwC “Good Growth for Cities 2024” index. At the heart of our dynamic economy lies the University of Exeter, which is world-leading in life sciences, material sciences, climate sciences, marine sciences and engineering. Exeter college is the best in the country and attracts students from across the region due to its excellent mix of academic and apprenticeship courses. The Met Office is world-renowned for its climate science and space weather work, and its oceanographic mapping is vital for many businesses. In addition, according to the ScaleUp Institute, Exeter is a growing start-up and scale-up ecosystem in climate tech, health and manufacturing. In short, Exeter’s economy is thriving in sectors that are important for the future of the UK economy. However, we face challenges that will hold back our economy and our ability to deliver on those national priorities if we do not address them. One of the major challenges is the regularity and the resilience of our public transport system. I have much to say about our bus network, but today I shall limit my contribution to our rail service. In many ways, our rail service is a success. The number of rail journeys in our region is now at similar levels to the pre-covid period, in contrast with other regions. Between April 2023 and March 2024 there were 50.9 million journeys to, from or within the south-west region. Of that total, 25.4 million were made within the south-west in the latest year; the rest were to London or elsewhere in the country. Devon counted 10.3 million journeys across 42 stations between April 2023 and March 2024. People in Devon have got back on the railways in great numbers. That shows their enthusiasm and the need for reliable, available and affordable rail services in our county. Rail is vital for sustainable economic growth that everyone can participate in, that delivers new, well-paid jobs and that is generated in an environmentally sustainable way.

• 9 Dec 2024 · Syria · Hansard source

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  Like many cities, Exeter is home to a Syrian refugee community, and it is frankly delighted by the demise of Assad’s appalling regime. What efforts can the Government make to support an inclusive political settlement that includes all Syria’s ethnic and religious groups—including, of course, the Kurdish community—potentially on the federal model, which has proven successful elsewhere in the region?

• 2 Dec 2024 · Homelessness Reduction · Hansard source

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  As a result of the Localism Act 2011, introduced by the Conservative party, the ringfence around homelessness funding was removed. Due to that, and despite the good work that the Government are doing on funding homelessness services, Tory-led Devon county council is consulting on cutting its entire homelessness support budget, which would have a devastating impact on people and on the city of Exeter. Does the Minister agree that councils should really invest that money in homelessness services and not squirrel it away in other pots across the council?

• 2 Dec 2024 · Homelessness Reduction · Hansard source

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  13. What progress her Department has made on ending rough sleeping.

• 2 Dec 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T4. The Government are consulting on the future of pan-regional partnerships such as our own Great South-West, which covers Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset. Businesses I speak to value the ability of our regions to speak with one voice on economic issues to Government and to investors, which are important for our region. Would the Minister meet me and businesses to discuss the future of PRPs?

• 28 Nov 2024 · UK Leadership on Sudan · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I thank the Minister for coming to the House to give this statement and for all the work the Government are doing to support the Sudanese people in the face of severe malnutrition and starvation. Keeping the Adre crossing open is extremely important. The Sudanese armed forces have committed to three months, but what diplomatic pressure are the Government bringing to bear to ensure that that crossing remains open for longer than three months? The ability to bring in ready-to-use therapeutic food is so important, and there are global shortages in the production of RUTF at the moment. Ahead of the nutrition for growth summit next year, will the Government commit to investing in scaling up production of RUTF?

• 27 Nov 2024 · World AIDS Day · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales) on securing this debate to mark World AIDS Day. Colleagues have made important points about the huge progress, both medically and socially, that we have made as a nation over recent years, but of course there is always more to do. In 2023, there were 132 people in Exeter diagnosed with HIV and accessing HIV care. It is estimated that around 5% of all people living with HIV in England are undiagnosed, so there will inevitably be people in Exeter living undiagnosed today. I therefore welcome the continued roll-out of opt-out testing to identify and support those people. I want to touch briefly on two points. First, on the international picture, addressing inequalities in global health requires a country-led approach that puts grassroots communities in the driving seat. It is important, however, that such an approach includes an unflinching commitment to defending and extending human rights. The global HIV pandemic has demonstrated the importance of addressing human rights violations as a central tenet of driving down HIV rates. Today, UNAIDS releases its report into human rights and HIV/AIDS. The report, which includes a foreword by Sir Elton John, demonstrates that the world is not on track to end the HIV crisis, neither is it on track to meet the UN’s targets for societal enablers, which aim to reduce the social and legal impediments that limit access to lifesaving HIV services. LGBT human rights are increasingly under attack from authoritarian Governments and otherwise democratic Governments whose elected leaders choose to vilify minority groups for political gain. That is becoming a central tenet in the playbook of extremist forces, which makes it all the more important for the UK Government to take a global lead in advocating for human rights if we want to reach our commitments on eradicating HIV transmissions. Secondly, and very briefly, I want to use this opportunity to thank the many volunteers and activists across our country and around the world who have worked so hard to get us to the position we are in now. From caring for friends and relatives to protesting and setting up activist organisations, the fight against HIV and AIDS has always been led by committed individuals. In particular, I want to recognise the work of Nick Perry, a much-loved and admired resident of Hackney who sadly and suddenly died recently. Nick was a polymath, an expert amateur historian, a keen advocate for good planning and place, a volunteer for London Pride and, importantly, an HIV education advocate who volunteered with the Terrence Higgins Trust. I recommend to everyone his comedy stand-up segment at Nerd Nite London, available on YouTube, which tackles HIV issues and sexual health in a very accessible way. He was incredibly generous with his time and was a great mentor to me and many others, and will be very much missed by everyone he met. My condolences remain with his husband, Andrew Grace. People like Nick and many others in this country and around the world will always be the key to our collective ambition to end all new HIV transmissions. We must do everything we can as a Government to support them.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

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  I want to put on the record my thanks to the hundreds of Exeter and Devon families who have played host to over 500 Ukrainian families over the past 1,000 days. I also thank those Ukrainian families for bringing such life and vitality to the city and for readily sharing their culture with us. What are the Government doing to strengthen European co-operation in support of Ukraine as it heads into this bitter winter?

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State on behalf of residents in Exeter and across Devon, who will be delighted with the £11.6 million of extra funding for our bus system. As I look around the Chamber, it is very clear who takes buses seriously and who does not. Devon and Torbay have already been given the powers to franchise and otherwise regulate bus services as part of the devolution deal signed off by the Government this year, yet Tory-run Devon county council has specifically said that it will not use those powers. Does she agree with me that Devon county council should take buses and passenger experience as seriously as this Government?

• 12 Nov 2024 · NHS Dentistry: South-west · Hansard source

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  I am here to speak on behalf of Exeter residents about the parlous state of NHS dentistry in our city after 14 years of the Tory Government, who allowed NHS dentistry to fall into complete disrepair. We have heard that the south-west is one of the most notorious dental deserts, but most troubling is the proportion of children who get to see a dentist. In Devon, it has dropped by a fifth, from about 61% of children in 2016 to 47% in 2024, well below the English average of 55%. The reality is truly shocking. Across the country, tooth decay is now the No. 1 reason why children are admitted to hospital, and more than 40,000 children in 2021-22 had teeth removed at hospitals across the UK. That is the case in Exeter too. The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS foundation trust states in its annual accounts that tooth decay is still the most common reason for hospital admission in children aged between six and 10 years old. According to the oral health survey of five-year-old children, more than a fifth of children in Exeter—22%—have tooth decay by the time they are five. I talked to one of my local primary schools in preparation for this debate, to get the views of its staff. They said that they know of multiple children who have had teeth removed due to a lack of dentistry and then had to miss school. Some children have joined reception with all of their teeth brown or blackened stumps. Children are missing school due to being in agony from toothache and having no dentist, and many families—and indeed teachers—are unable to find an NHS dentist that will take them on. It is truly shocking, and, as with many things, our primary schools do what they can to pick up the slack. This primary school already teaches children how to brush their teeth, and they do so each day in reception. Exeter’s NHS dentist crisis is not just having a detrimental impact on people’s teeth and health; it is having a detrimental impact on children’s education and on our economy. It is also having a detrimental impact on our local A&E department, which is already stretched to capacity. Tooth decay forced 740 patients to attend the emergency department between April 2022 and March 2023, according to NHS Digital data. Comparing NHS regions, those in the south-west and south-east were least likely to have an NHS dentist and most likely to have a private one. Given that the cost of simply being accepted on to a private dentistry register can be upwards of £70 a month for a small family, before treatments are added in, this is clearly a cost of living issue for many. As referenced already, the NHS dental budget across the south-west is underspent by more than £86 million in the financial year 2023-24. That is not due to any lack of demand, of course, but largely due to dental practices being unable to work under the current NHS contract, which simply does not cover the cost of treatment. We are asking dentists to deliver NHS services at a loss, which is clearly unsustainable. Instead of seeking to provide flexibility in the dental contract, as I know some integrated care systems do across the country, Devon ICB simply reallocates that dental funding elsewhere in the budget, despite the fact that it is supposed to be ringfenced. That is causing us further issues in Devon, as the BDA informs me that dentists are leaving the NHS in droves. In Devon, we saw a 9% drop in the number of NHS dentists last year alone. My residents welcome the Labour Government’s pledge to provide an extra 700,000 urgent dentists’ appointments and to reform the NHS dental contract, as part of a package of measures to rescue NHS dentistry. I know the Department is working at pace to roll out those extra, urgent dental appointments, and to pave the way for a new reformed dental contract. I met the chair of the BDA recently to talk about Exeter specifically; he stressed that NHS dentists, who are stung by the many broken promises from the previous Government, need the Labour Government to deliver meaningful change, including a clear timeline for negotiations. I know the Government treat NHS dentistry extremely seriously—the Health Secretary made the BDA the first organisation he met after the election—and I was pleased to hear the Prime Minister say recently at Prime Minister’s questions that he would work as quickly as possible to end the current crisis. Given what I know and what we have heard today, for my constituents in Exeter that change cannot come soon enough.

• 12 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T5. I am proud that Exeter is already a global leader in climate research. Does the Minister agree that this Government’s mission on clean power will deliver lower bills, energy security and allow this country to enter COP29 as a world leader when it comes to climate action?

• 6 Nov 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I am pleased to be able to speak in the debate on behalf of my constituents in Exeter. This Budget is a welcome break from 14 years of policy uncertainty, fiscal incompetence and austerity for our public services. It starts to put this country back on a firm footing, rebuilding the foundations, and investing in communities and places like Exeter. Exeter people have had a tough few years. The inflation they experienced as higher mortgage costs, higher rents, higher energy prices and higher food prices was made worse by the last Government’s catastrophic and incompetent financial management, and yet we have no apology from the Conservative Benches. Exeter has huge potential as a thriving economy. Indeed, Exeter is the economic driver of our region, with a gross value added of around £6 billion pounds. It sits at the heart of a travel-to-work area of over 470,000 residents. Exeter is home to a world-class research-led university, and we have a best-in-class further education college and good secondary schools. We have the Met Office and the Exeter Science Park, and we are home to further cutting-edge research, including one of the UK’s supercomputers. However, Exeter has been held back over recent years by a Tory Government that have not invested in public services and our economy in the way we need to succeed. That changes with this Budget. I am particularly pleased that this Budget commits the UK to an R&D budget of £20 billion, which will mean Exeter and the UK remain at the forefront of scientific innovation. From climate change to land management, healthcare to biotechnology and beyond, Exeter is already a hub for scientific research, but we can do even more. I listened to my residents on the doorsteps in the Newtown area of Exeter at the weekend, who were really pleased about the investment in our NHS. From long waiting lists to our lack of NHS dentistry services and closures of community pharmacies, my residents have been affected by the huge strain the NHS has found itself under in recent years. I am pleased that this new investment in the NHS budget will begin to fix our local NHS, though people realise that will take time. While the secondary schools in Exeter do not suffer from the awful RAAC crisis, because every single one of them was rebuilt under the last Labour Government, I know how important the new funding will be to schools around the country. Investing in our education settings is important. I will be supporting the excellent Exeter College as it seeks to grow its campus, to continue to deliver exceptional education to young people in Exeter and across the south-west. Having a healthy, well-educated city, with opportunities to work in the high-tech sectors of the future is vital to our future economic prosperity. I close by welcoming that this is a Budget that recognises that reality, and also recognises that the south-west region, and Exeter in particular, has huge potential and will play a significant role in the growth of the UK economy in the future.

• 29 Oct 2024 · Sudan · Hansard source

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  What discussions have the Government had with regional actors to bring to bear pressure on the RSF and the SAF to make sure that humanitarian access to the country is allowed to prevent the severe starvation that is ongoing?

• 28 Oct 2024 · China: Human Rights and Sanctions · Hansard source

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  Can the Foreign Secretary confirm that on his recent visit to the Indo-Pacific he raised the UK’s continued commitment to AUKUS and to general engagement on security in the region?

• 21 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T2. Refugee women and girls, who are often already survivors of gender-based violence, are at significant risk of abuse, coercion and worse when housed in hotels pending the processing of their applications, as I know the Home Secretary is aware from her substantial work on the issue. Will she please update the House on what steps the Department is taking to end the use of hotel accommodation for women and girls?

• 17 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Last night, the University of Exeter, the Met Office and Peers for the Planet launched the latest edition of “The Parliamentarians’ Guide to Climate Change”, which is a vital resource for us all. Will the Leader of the House welcome that report, as I do, and will she commend it to Members of this House and the other House?

• 10 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T9. Exeter has a good and well used rail system that is vital for the economic and social success of our city; however, two of our stations—St Thomas and Polsloe Bridge—are accessible only to people who can climb flights of stairs. Will the Minister please update the House on the work that the Government are undertaking to ensure that our rail network is accessible to everyone?

• 9 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T2. Many of my constituents in Exeter benefit from maternity pay, which supports women while they spend precious time with their new-born children. Is the Minister of the view that maternity pay, in the words of one Tory leadership candidate, has “gone too far”?

• 8 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Exeter city council has worked hard to install solar panels on council homes to ensure that social tenants can benefit from lower bills and participate in the green transition. Can the Minister set out what more we can do to ensure that all tenants benefit from new green technologies?

• 7 Oct 2024 · British Indian Ocean Territory: Negotiations · Hansard source

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  President Biden, Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin have welcomed the agreement. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that Tory critics do not know more about US national security than the White House and the Pentagon?

• 9 Sept 2024 · Transport · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I take this opportunity to put on record my congratulations to you on your election and to pay tribute to the staff of the entire House, who have worked so hard to make us all comfortable and able to get on with our jobs in this very complicated and complex place? I pay tribute to those who made their maiden speeches in previous debates today, including my hon. Friends the Members for Makerfield (Josh Simons) and for Macclesfield (Tim Roca) on this side of the House, and the hon. Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) on the Liberal Democrats Benches. Given the hon. Member for Witney’s reference to the wool trade, and given that Exeter’s wealth in the middle ages was built on the wool trade, with the wool being brought down from Dartmoor, it is entirely possible that our two places had significant trading links in the past. I am delighted to give this maiden speech as the new Member for Exeter—only the third in over half a century. In his own maiden speech, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Hamish Falconer), who was here earlier today, stated that Lincoln was the oldest parliamentary seat in the country, established in 1265. Exeter, another great cathedral and university city, is by comparison a mere whippersnapper, with our seat being established in 1295. Of the many Members who have represented Exeter in the subsequent seven centuries, my immediate predecessor, Sir Ben Bradshaw, needs little introduction. He served the country diligently throughout his 27 years as a Member, including a decade as a Minister. Elected in the 1997 Labour landslide, he gained early notice as one of the first out gay men ever to be elected to the Commons. After a notorious campaign, Exonians in their wisdom rightly and roundly rejected the outrageous homophobia of his opponent, and I and many others here today are among the many proud successors of his trailblazing role. Ben loved our city, and the city took him to its heart. He was re-elected six further times, and even this July, despite no longer being the candidate, he was as active knocking on doors as he has ever been and as popular as ever. I might have been having a particularly difficult conversation on a doorstep, but the face of even the most hardened and sceptical voter would light up as Ben marched past in his canvassing uniform of cargo shorts and a check shirt, usually whistling the theme tune from “The Great Escape”. Hugs were exchanged, selfies taken and heartfelt thanks expressed. He is almost universally accepted as having done Exeter proud. He has certainly been a friend and mentor to me over nearly two decades, and I thank him for that. Ben took particular pride in the turnaround in Exeter’s education under his watch, something to which, as MP, he made a huge contribution. By 2010, not only had every single state secondary school in Exeter been rebuilt, but a new leadership culture had been established where low attainment became unacceptable for our young people in every single part of the city. From having some of the worst state secondary schools in the country, Exeter secondary schools became some of the most improved, to which the most recent exceptional GCSE results bear testimony. Exeter can now also boast one of the best further education colleges in the country—again, as our recent A-level and T-level results show—a vital but, in much of Britain, badly neglected element in providing wider opportunity for young people, including those who choose alternative routes into work. As a school governor at Willowbrook primary school in Exeter, which serves one of our most economically deprived neighbourhoods, I also pay tribute from first-hand experience to the primary school teachers everywhere, who go above and beyond to give their young children the very best start in life. This turnaround in Exeter’s education system did not happen by accident. It took hard work, strong leadership and a collaborative culture. I would like to thank some of our leaders for everything they have done to give our young people better life chances in Exeter. They include Moira Marder at the Ted Wragg Trust, John Laramy at Exeter College and Molly Marlow at Willowbrook primary school. And of course, I want to pay tribute to the politicians, including former Devon county councillor Saxon Spence and the then Schools Minister Lord Adonis, who had the vision and the ability to deliver for Exeter. Exeter’s standing in learning goes beyond our schools system. Next year, the University of Exeter celebrates the 70th anniversary of its royal charter. In that time it has grown to be an outstanding institution, now with well over 30,000 students, but it builds on a tradition of an unbroken history of learning and academia stretching back at least to the 10th century. In Exeter cathedral rests the Exeter Book, an exquisite anthology of Anglo-Saxon poetry and riddles that is still the largest known collection of Old English literature. It is recognised by UNESCO as one of the world’s principal cultural artefacts, making Exeter a UNESCO city of literature. Today, five of the world’s top 21 climate scientists are UK based and all of them work for our globally renowned University of Exeter and the Met Office. Along with these two institutions and a growing ecosystem of businesses, Exeter is home to a large and ever-growing research and innovation base that is at the forefront of combating and mitigating the effects of climate change. It has become fashionable in some circles to denigrate our universities. I reject this entirely: they stand as beacons of intellectual excellence, the future success of our knowledge economy and the hope of wider educational opportunity for many people. A good education is what helped me to become a Member of Parliament. I grew up in a council house with my mum, who spent her entire childhood in care, and I was the first in my family to go to university, so I pledge to work with all our education leaders to make sure that every young person in Exeter has the best education to help them to reach their potential. I want this Labour Government to deliver an equivalent leap forward in educational opportunity that their predecessors achieved for their time in 1945, 1964 and 1997. In relation to this debate, Exeter University is home to the Centre for Future Clean Mobility, a partnership with business to develop low emission power systems for the aerospace and automotive sectors. Our university is also world leading in genomics research. One of the main reasons I am in politics, as a Labour MP, is my sister. She was born when I was 10, and when she was a year old, she was diagnosed with Hurler syndrome, a rare genetic condition with no cure. Given a life expectancy of around five years, she finally died two days short of her 10th birthday. Much of her life was spent being cared for by the NHS and our local children’s hospice, and I will be eternally grateful for everything they did to give us so much more time with her than we expected. At the time of my sister’s birth, we understood genetic conditions but did not yet have the tools to help. The human genome was finally mapped just a year before she died, and that same year the first enzyme replacement therapy trials for her condition commenced in the UK. People born today with my sister’s condition have a range of treatment options to help to make their life more comfortable and more fulfilling. I am particularly proud that Exeter University, in partnership with our local NHS trust, is at the forefront of this new wave of innovation. We know that scientific research and innovation, whether on tackling climate change or in medical advances, will make the lives of people in this country and around the world better, but the Government have to recognise the vital role of our universities in economic growth and take advantage of the many opportunities for partnership with the NHS and across the public sector. I know that this Government will understand the need to ensure that the UK continues to be at the forefront of scientific endeavour; and, as a pro-European, I believe that this is where Britain can make a huge contribution, working with our European friends and partners despite the tragedy of Brexit. I also ask that Ministers recognise that Exeter and the wider south-west have the talent and the institutions in which to invest to ensure that the UK remains at the cutting edge of UK and European innovation. To succeed in these endeavours we also have to recognise that diversity is a strength, so building communities together on the principle of equality for everyone is vital to our success. In Exeter, the university and the local council play an important role in bringing people together. We have a thriving mosque and Muslim community. We have welcomed hundreds of Ukrainian and Hongkonger families over recent years, and we have large and growing Kurdish, Afghan and Nigerian communities, among others. Everyone brings something new and positive to our city, and I love nothing more than our annual Respect festival—a celebration of all our many communities—and our Pride parade. Inclusive Exeter, a community interest company, also plays an important role in bringing communities together. Exeter has become a true beacon of living well together. It is a privilege and an honour to represent all the people of Exeter in this place, and I thank them for their vote of confidence in sending me here. I also thank my local activists and, of course, my family and friends, some of whom are in the Gallery, for all their support over the years. Without them I would not be here. Exeter is a happy and optimistic place, and I hope to do it proud by serving it as conscientiously and as successfully as my distinguished predecessor.