Mrs Ann Keen (Brentford & Isleworth, Labour)

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the privilege of making my maiden speech on such a memorable day—the new Labour Government's Budget day. I am indeed honoured. I congratulate the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (Mr. Cotter) on most of his comments, especially those relating to small businesses, but I disagree with the latter part of his speech.

I start by thanking all the members of staff who work within the Palace of Westminster. They have welcomed all the new Members and I thank them for their patience, their knowledge and their—at times, much-needed—sense of humour. I congratulate every one of them. My hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Laura Moffatt) and I are the first two nurses to enter the House of Commons as Members of Parliament, but we are, of course, not the first nurses to enter the Palace. Again, I congratulate my colleagues in the nursing profession who, for many years, have worked in the House of Commons caring for hon. Members.

I thank the people of Brentford and Isleworth for giving me the privilege and honour of representing them in the House. I am proud to have been the Labour candidate for Brentford and Isleworth in the 1987 and 1992 general elections, so it is a great honour that I am now here as the elected Member of Parliament.

It is traditional to refer to one's predecessors in one's maiden speech. When I first fought the seat in 1987, the constituency was represented by Sir Barney Hayhoe, now Lord Hayhoe, who represented the constituency for over 20 years and was well respected both in the House and in the constituency. He retired in 1992 and was followed by Nirj Deva. Now, I welcome this opportunity to represent my constituency and I look forward to being in the House for some time.

The constituency of Brentford and Isleworth is a diverse one, both culturally and economically. We celebrate that diversity and, having been the candidate and now the Member of Parliament, I have had the privilege of being welcomed into many cultures. I have much to learn, but I have been welcomed as a member of a family. What is so good about my constituency is that we are all one.

The constituency starts at Hounslow. It contains the great international airport at Heathrow and I look forward to an integrated transport system that will get many of my colleagues out of Heathrow and into our great capital city with far greater ease than has hitherto been the case. It contains the historic town of Isleworth as well as Osterley, Brentford, where I am a resident, and Chiswick. We have many great parks—Syon park, Osterley park, Chiswick house and Gunnersbury park. They are the lungs that supply our air, and fight the pollution from the airport—one cannot have something that makes such good economic sense without suffering some disadvantages, but I hope that the new Labour Government will be looking at that.

Chiswick is, of course, famous for Hogarth, but I am extremely proud of all my constituents—they are all fairly famous. One of them has today reached the quarter finals at Wimbledon—Tim Henman. I know that the House would want me to send our congratulations to him—and, by the way, I am not doing anything in particular next Sunday!

The River Thames, the boat race, the Strand on the Green—these are all good features of the constituency which illustrate its diversity. Many companies have decided to locate their multinational headquarters in what was the golden mile of Brentford. I am fortunate also to have a brewery—my father is proud of me—known as Fuller's brewery. As a good constituency Member, I am obliged to sample the goods to make sure that they are all right for my constituents.

We also have Brentford football club, which should have gone up to the first division in May, but did not quite make it, sad to say. I think the club should be in the Premier League—I am sure that it will be one day.

The West Middlesex University hospital and its staff certainly are in the premier league. Its health workers, and those of the trust, show all the skills and commitment that entitle them to a place in the premier league.

Unfortunately, the hospital building is not so good. I look forward to an announcement soon that a start will be made on rebuilding the hospital. I first worked there in 1985; some of the patients have told me that they would sooner spend the night on a trolley than in one of the wards, which all the experts say are a disgrace.

We need to rebuild our health service. I am proud to represent the community nursing profession in the House and to be able to express my points of view about our great health service, which has taken such a beating over the past 18 years. I congratulate the Chancellor on his announcements today. I am sure that all health workers, patients and families will also congratulate him on an excellent Budget which will open the door to a breath of freedom for all the people of this country.

Health care is not delivered by hospitals, doctors, nurses or paramedic teams: it is delivered by what the Budget provides for. The fact is that health is about poverty, housing, access to transport, and the safety of the working environment. It is also about incomes derived from work. There is no question but that poverty and ill health are linked. The Labour Government in 1979 commissioned the Black report which unfortunately was ignored by the Conservatives for the next 18 years. They refused to acknowledge the links between poverty and ill-health.

My football team did not nearly get to the first division by luck; it nearly got there by investment. Its manager, David Webb, invested in the youth side. Today, our Chancellor is investing in our youth. I welcome the opportunity to go to my constituency tomorrow and see the young people there.

As a district nurse during the past 18 years, I have sometimes felt ashamed when I have gone into people's homes in the winter. There have been times when it has been so cold that I have not even managed to get the car engine hot enough to feel warm in my car, yet I know that when people see me get out of the car they put on their gas heaters. Their houses are still cold when I go in, though, and I have been embarrassed and ashamed to learn that elderly people, who gave my generation everything that we have, have had to live in such conditions. Today marks the start—it is long overdue—of caring for that generation with dignity. These people have told me that they face a choice between eating and heating. "Old and cold" is not just a slogan. We must quickly begin to tackle the problem. We have the highest incidence of hypothermia in Europe, and that must end soon.

There is an air of freedom about everything that we have been doing since 1 May, and I am proud to be part of it. Caring makes economic sense. The first duty of a nurse is to be the patient's advocate. I have always striven to be that, regardless of people's age, race, religion, sexuality or disability. The first duty of a Member of Parliament is to be an advocate for one's constituents; similarly, I intend to be that, regardless of their race, age, religion, sexuality or disability. I look forward to learning much from, and contributing much to, the House of Commons.

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