It is the third week since the general election. I’ve had my induction sessions, taken the oath of allegiance, and worked out where the toilets are. It’s time to get down to business. The Queen is here and she’s opening parliament.
Lingering around members’ lobby with the other new MPs, I quickly attach myself to the procession behind Black Rod on our way to the Lords to hear what the Queen has to say. As I listen to her I’m reminded that I’ve never actually seen her in person before. She manages the change of government pretty effortlessly. I imagine she’s used to it by now.
After the ceremony of the state opening, the debates begin in the chamber. Harriet Harman responds to the Queen’s speech as acting leader of the opposition. She is superb – David Blunkett, sitting behind me, agrees and says it is one of the best speeches he has ever heard her give. Since arriving, she is the politician who has impressed me most. At a Sky News reception during the first week, at least two new Conservative MPs told me they thought her speech during our induction was the best of the lot.
She’s followed by David Cameron who, without being partisan, is not so good. He makes a few gaffes that draw howls of derision from the Labour benches (particularly when he attempts to lecture Labour on opposition by telling us: ‘opportunism doesn’t work’!). He responds with surprising bitterness to a straightforward intervention by returning MP Chris Leslie, which produces much shaking of heads on either side. ‘From the moment Blair became PM he grew in stature in a way Cameron hasn’t’ says one veteran MP to me. ‘He’s no William Hague’ says another, somewhat less charitably.
From the first few sessions it is already becoming clear what one of the interesting outcomes of coalition will be. It is simply impossible for the Lib Dems to maintain a separate identity in the House of Commons. They have attempted to sit together, but the political geography of the Commons forces their frontbenchers to sit apart from the rest of their party. It is a powerful image – each Lib Dem minister sitting in front of packed rows of Conservative MPs, flanked on either side by equally numerous Conservative ministers. Some of their MPs are clearly uneasy at the situation – Vince Cable looks close to tears.
However, like most new MPs, my mind is on one thing and one thing only: my maiden speech. I have thought about it a great deal since the returning officer announced my result and I am eager to make it as soon as possible. I have written to the Speaker well in advance and, with any luck, I am hopeful of making it in the first week, during the themed debates on the Queen’s speech which run for several days after the state opening of parliament.
Trying to speak involves being in the chamber for the opening debates and staying until you are called, bobbing up and down each time the floor is available. Backbench speeches alternate between either side of the house and longer-serving MPs have priority, meaning potentially a long wait for a new boy like myself.
By the time Mr Deputy Speaker calls my name, I have been sitting in the chamber for over six hours. I don’t mind one bit. It is the second day of the Queen’s speech, and, despite my lack of seniority, I have been given the chance to make my contribution. I am delighted.
I begin by praising the UK’s armed forces, and in particular record my admiration for a constituent who has recently lost his life in Afghanistan. I move on to say why I am so proud to represent the place I do, and hope to show just some of the passion I have for it. I share a quote from Friedrich Engels who visiting my constituency in 1844, and suppress a smile at the raised eyebrows I received when a couple of Conservative colleagues overheard me ordering a copy of the ‘Condition of the Working Class in England’ from the House of Commons library as part of my preparation.
It is then a chance to say a little about my core political beliefs, which due to the usual requirement for topicality, is not actually an opportunity that arises for a politician too often. As much as is possible in five minutes, I offer my take on the rationale for democratic socialism in the age of globalisation, on what I want government to do for my constituents, and on why in my view this is a necessity. I end by talking about how I want British politics to restore our people’s faith in it.
I am delighted by how many people contact me to tell me they have seen it and that they enjoyed what I had to say. My old workplace even put it on their intranet. It seems that, even in this age of cynicism about politicians, there are still plenty of people prepared to listen to what is being said in their parliament.