Debate on the Address

Let me start by paying tribute to the firefighters who lost their lives in the tragedy in Warwickshire on Friday evening. It was a reminder of the great risks that our emergency services take on our behalf all the time. The thoughts and prayers of the whole House will be with their families. I congratulate the proposer and the seconder of the Loyal Address. The right hon. Member for Sheffield, Century—sorry, I meant Sheffield, Central (Mr. Caborn); his speech did not feel like a century—spoke powerfully about his constituency and the city that he loves. When he made the case against professional politicians, he united the whole House against both Front Benches, which was a great achievement. The right hon. Gentleman was a popular and successful Minister for Sport, but things did not start quite that well. Few of us will forget—I hope that he will not mind too much if I remind hon. Members—the Radio Five Live quiz with which he launched his career. For greater accuracy, I have obtained a copy. He was asked,"““Can you name the four players in today's semi-finals of the Stella Artois?””" He replied,"““um…errr…Henman. I can't, no.””" He was asked,"““Can you name three jockeys who will be riding at Royal Ascot this week?””" He replied:"““No. I know nothing about horse racing at all.””" Then he was asked:"““Can you name three European golfers playing in the US Open?””" At this stage, the transcript says, there was an ““audible sigh””. Then he said,"““uummm, uurrrr…No. I haven't been watching the golf at all.””" Next he was asked:"““Who is the captain of the British Lions?””" His replied:"““Don't know that one either. I'm terrible this morning.””" The Daily Mail—charitable, as we all know—ran a quiz the next day entitled, ““Are you dumb enough to be Sports Minister?”” To his great credit, however, the right hon. Gentleman brushed all that aside and persevered. He is a shining example of how there are times when one has to ignore the press and just get on with the job. As the right hon. Gentleman reminded us, he will also be remembered for launching and continually relaunching the career of another much-loved national political figure. He ran his deputy leadership campaign in 1992, his leadership campaign in 1994 and his deputy leadership campaign in the same year. I refer, of course, to the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott). The right hon. Gentleman's determination to stick with unfashionable causes does him a huge amount of credit. No doubt that is why the Prime Minister asked him to propose the Loyal Address today, but he did a superb job. The hon. Member for Brent, South (Ms Butler) made an excellent speech. It was not just witty and incisive—it did not just put the Modernisation Committee firmly on the map—but passionate, and I think that she will be and is a great ambassador for this place, in spite of our political differences. She might not welcome this, but we do have something in common. She has spoken positively about young people—she did so again today—and has told us to listen"““to the voice behind the hood””." I am not sure that she needs any advice from me after that speech, but following my experience with the H-word, ““hoodie””, my advice would be, in all candour, ““leave it there””. Her predecessor as Member of Parliament for Brent, South, Paul Boateng, famously said on the night of his election,"““today, Brent South—tomorrow, Soweto.””" I understand that her ambitions are slightly different: she is in a fight to the death with her Liberal Democrat neighbour for the new Brent seat being created by boundary changes. So, for her, it is more a case of ““today, Brent South—tomorrow, Brent Central.”” Many of us have fought Liberal Democrats and know the appalling depths to which they will stoop—[Hon. Members: ““Hear, hear.””] As she has just found out, she will have support on both sides of the House as she continues her fight. The proposer and the seconder upheld the best traditions of the House, and I congratulate them on their speeches. I pay tribute to Piara Khabra, who died earlier this year. He led an extraordinary life. Born in the Punjab in the 1920s, he fought in the second world war against the Japanese. He marched for Gandhi and Nehru, taking part in the great struggle for Indian independence. Having come to Britain, he was elected to the House as a pensioner. Piara Khabra served his constituents and his country well, and he will, I believe, be remembered fondly on both sides of the House. Another Member of the House left us recently. I refer, of course, to the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair. I thought I had better mention him in case the current Prime Minister omitted to do so in his speech. Although Tony Blair achieved great mastery of this place, he could not wait to get out of here. Many have asked ““What was the hurry?”” I think I have found the answer. There is a new book—I am sure it will be available in the Library—by Dr. Anthony Seldon. On page 330—