Julia Goldsworthy (Falmouth & Camborne, Liberal Democrat)

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make my maiden speech. I add my congratulations to all the new Members who are making their maiden speeches. I wish them every success in this Parliament, working for their constituents.

Falmouth and Camborne is my birthplace. It is my home and it is now the constituency that I have the privilege of representing. While I am looking forward to raising the concerns of my constituents here, some particularly hard taskmasters are already pushing me for progress. I refer, of course, to my mum, dad and two sisters—I never expected that my toughest constituency surgery would be the Sunday family lunch.

The past half-century has seen some idiosyncratic Cornish voices here. A distinguished predecessor, David Mudd—rather curiously, he was one of the opponents whom I defeated—comes to mind. So too does Candy Atherton, a doughty and courteous opponent. However, Cornwall has produced one genuine political superstar, a strong voice for the county and a man who became a national treasure. I refer, of course, to David Penhaligon, our late, great Liberal Member of Parliament. I was just eight years old when he was tragically killed but, every day that I have campaigned in Cornwall, his name has been mentioned and his spirit evoked. His work, not just for Truro and his constituents but for everyone in Cornwall, earned him admiration, love and respect from people all over the county—actually, all over the country—regardless of their personal political persuasions. Just a few days here has reinforced that respect in which he was held by all parties. Every Member representing any part of Cornwall has had a tough act to follow and a high standard to meet. I shall do my best to look significantly less crumpled than David Penhaligon did but, Mr. Deputy Speaker, you may be assured that I will follow his lead, which has been followed by a growing body of Liberal Democrats in Cornwall, to put the needs and demands of my county above everything else.

In preparing this maiden speech I looked back to that of David Penhaligon to see what issues were important to him and to people in Cornwall in 1974. I was shocked at how many of the problems that he raised then remain problems today. Before I was even born, before this Labour Government or the last Conservative Government, Cornwall already suffered from spiralling house prices, low wages and lower-than-average funding for our hospitals, schools and police. Today we can add to the list the fact that we have the highest water bills in the country and, like many other parts, face the increasing burden of the unfair council tax.

In the 31 years since Mr. Penhaligon was elected, successive Governments have hardly recognised, let alone addressed, many of those problems. We have lived too long with the assumption that beautiful beaches, a sunny climate and an extraordinary landscape must mean a wealthy population. The truth is quite to the contrary: we are still the poorest county in the country. Indeed, many problems are getting worse. Since 1998, house prices in my constituency have increased by 144 per cent. While that may be caused by the desirability of many areas as locations for second homes, a recent report by Shelter states that Cornwall is the least affordable place to live in the UK, including London.

In Cornwall, doctors, nurses and teachers are struggling to afford to live where they work. It is even worse for people on local wages. Low and often seasonal incomes put home ownership far beyond the reach of many people who live and work there. Wages remain about 20 per cent. below the national average. Action is desperately needed to build the economic capacity of the county and to develop a stock of skilled, permanent and well-paid jobs.

In Scotland and Wales, there has been detailed investigation into the cost of public service provision in rural areas, whereas in England there has been no such adequate investigation into, or account taken of, how deprivation manifests itself in rural areas. NHS funding illustrates the illogicality of the existing situation. Funding is tied to low local wage rates, which will hit Cornwall's hospitals for years to come. Instead, they should be used as evidence to justify increased investment.

People in Cornwall do not demand more funding for public services than anyone else, but they reasonably deserve levels of funding and support that reflect their needs. The Queen's Speech sadly shows that the Government are still not listening to the concerns of the Cornish people. I am determined that the voice of the people of Falmouth and Camborne will not be ignored in this Parliament.

I do not wish to dwell entirely on problems. Progress has also been made, due in most part to hard work and cross-party consensus from politicians, for whom putting Cornwall first has been their No. 1 goal. Objective 1 status for the county was secured through the hard work of all of Cornwall's MPs, through the efforts of our then MEP, Robin Teverson, and with the support of this Government. Our qualification for objective 1 is long overdue recognition of the fact that Cornwall is the poorest county in England, and I hope that the Government will support the next phase of the programme so that Cornwall's economic growth can continue to build.

The scheme has helped to develop the county's economy through its work with small businesses and its support of important strategic projects, such as the Combined University in Cornwall at Tremough in Penryn. It is an ambitious project, which has finally provided access to higher education in Cornwall. For the first time, young people who could not otherwise afford to go away to university have the opportunity to study at home, although sadly now only if they can afford the tuition and top-up fees. For those achievements I pay tribute to my colleagues as well as my predecessors, Candy Atherton, Seb Coe and David Mudd, for their hard work. I hope that this spirit, working across party and political boundaries to achieve what is best for the constituency and for Cornwall, will continue.

For the first time since 1923, the entire county is represented by Liberal Democrat MPs. That is even more remarkable given that the seat of Falmouth and Camborne, since it was created in 1950, has never previously been represented by a Liberal or Liberal Democrat and was won at this election from third place. This will help provide a united voice for the county, but I want to make something very clear: the ambition of all Cornwall's Liberal Democrat Members of Parliament is to put the interests of the county first. That includes making sure that we work with people of all political persuasions, including locally elected representatives from Labour, the Conservatives, Mebyon Kernow and especially Cornwall's many independent councillors, to make the case for Cornwall. People of all parties and none can make a real contribution to winning the case for a fair deal for Cornwall, and as Liberal Democrats our ambition is to make sure that that voice is heard.

Falmouth and Camborne is also the first seat that David Penhaligon sought to fight, and he was told by the selection committee that at 24 he was far too young. Times have changed since then. My hon. Friend Matthew Taylor was elected at the age of 24 and, now two years older than he was then, I feel quite old.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, you know that it is difficult not to be overawed by the responsibility now placed on me by each and every one of my constituents. It is easy to be overawed by this building and by the national political figures whom I see all around me. But, as Mr. Penhaligon said to himself when he was newly elected, and I say to myself now, "Hang on, I got elected as well as they did. Let's get on with it."

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