Mr Matthew Taylor (Truro)

I thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for allowing me this opportunity to make my maiden speech. It is not especially easy to come into the House in such tragic circumstances and I am conscious of the remarkable precedent set by my predecessor, Mr. David Penhaligon.

It is rare on the death of an hon. Member, even in such tragic circumstances, that such a huge wave of sympathy and such a great sense of loss are sparked off. That is true not only of my constituency and of Cornwall as a whole, although perhaps the greatest sense of loss has been felt there, but of many throughout Britain who felt that they had lost an ally, a straight talker and someone on whom they could depend. Indeed, many who had never met him personally felt that they had lost a genuine friend. David had become known throughout the nation as a politician who was honest, down to earth and deeply caring—in short, a politician of warmth and humour who could be trusted and relied upon.

I was fortunate enough to work with David, so I am well aware that he never attempted to put on a public face, or a pretence, but always acted on his words—he lived his Liberalism.

I believe that I can speak on behalf of all my constituents in thanking David's colleagues and friends in the House for their generous tributes to him. Most especially, I wish to pay a tribute to the sheer bravery of his family — to Matthew, and Anna and, above all, to Annette, his wife, who has shown remarkable courage in the months since his death. I am grateful to them for the help they have given me in tackling his casework, through the campaign and now as I take his seat in the House.

Let no one say that David was simply a good natured Cornishman, marvellous attributes though they may be. He was a rare campaigner for justice for the poor, the elderly and for Cornwall, highlighting not only the problems but proposing imaginative and far-reaching solutions.

When he was first elected he had come from third place in a constituency where the Liberals had badly declined. Over many years he built up a strong voice for the Liberal party, not only there but in the House, and it is an element of tribute to him that we now see the alliance and the Liberal party challenging for Government. Indeed, I think that he would have greatly appreciated the panic shown by certain Conservatives over the weekend.

At the time of his death David was one of those putting the finishing touches to the alliance's yellow book, "The Time has Come", and to the alliance Budget proposals. Each has now been published and is part of his legacy as a great Liberal. For each he drew, in large part, on his knowledge of the problems of Cornwall.

Truro and St. Austell is an area of great contrasts. It is popularly known for its beaches and sunshine but we suffer, in fact, from all the same problems as some of the most deprived regions of the north. The Cornish health service has not been allowed the resources to keep up with the growing burdens upon it. We have waiting lists for urgent cases and four out of five people have to wait more than a month. For non-urgent cases one in three people have to wait for over a year. The primary schools, in particular, are old and dilapidated, yet the funds are not made available to restore or renew them. Cornish housing waiting lists lengthen and homes crumble while the receipts from council house sales are locked up in London. Local unemployment remains well above the national average, yet the grants available to assisted areas have been removed from Truro and St. Austell and more jobs have gone with them. Farm incomes have dipped between 60 and 70 per cent in the past five years, bankrupting many smaller family farms. In the clay areas around St. Austell we still live with a pale version of the deprivation and dereliction of the coal mining communities elsewhere. We have seen a decline and it is those issues that I have highlighted throughout the recent by-election.

Throughout, I argued that the money made available by the short-term revenues from privatisation and North sea oil should be invested in rebuilding our schools and hospitals, in our children's education and training, and in jobs. Above all, I believe that the short-term Government revenues should be used not for short-term gains for the better off but for long-term investment from which we can all share the dividends in the future. Most of all, we must fulfil our obligations to invest in our children and their future. It was with the resounding backing of the people of Truro and St. Austell for those priorities that I took my seat on Budget day last week.

I must confess that I was disheartened by the Chancellor's speech; not for what it contained but for what it did not contain. There was a give-away of £500 million in the Budget to those who smoke and those who drink, but we are told that there was no money for the things that so clearly the people of Truro and St. Austell said that they wanted made a priority. It contained nothing for the unemployed, the old, the young, the disadvantaged or the future. Indeed, the Chancellor has failed to draw any lesson from the dismal showing of party candidates representing his priorities in by-election after by-election. Was there anything for the rich? There were perhaps a few extra pounds in the wallet, but I do not believe that even the rich still think that those are the right priorities for our Government. They can see that if their children are unemployed, their parents have to be helped out because the pension is inadequate. If when they want hospital treatment they find themselves having to wait more than a year or paying for it privately, there is no gain from the Chancellor's tax cuts.

I had hoped that the Government would respond to the clear message of the voters of Truro and Greenwich that the time has come to start investing for the future and to start rebuilding our nation. I fear that, so far as I can detect, the Chancellor has failed to do so. The people of Truro and St. Austell elected me to make that case and I have done so. They also elected me to campaign for change, and on that I am just beginning, but change is in the wind.

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