I eat my words. If my hon. Friend has room for 70,000 trees in Chelmsford, perhaps we have a bit more room in Southend, although we are a bit restricted by the Thames estuary. I will look at that with the local authority. Even though the protests were controversial, I thought the tree planting thing was worth while.
I recently had a meeting with the excellent new Exchequer Secretary about the cost of vehicle excise duty, and I was joined by the National Caravan Council and the Caravan and Motorhome Club. All Members have caravan and motorhome owners in their constituencies. Recent changes have meant a 705% increase in vehicle excise duty on those vehicles, which I think is totally unfair. It is meant as an incentive for owners to buy alternative products, but they are not available at the moment. Many of the owners are of modest means. They have saved diligently to enjoy their retirement and they cannot afford an extra £2,000. I am delighted that we will have a Budget on 6 November and I hope that we can do the trick there.
I am glad about the announcements on law and order in the Gracious Address. I have always thought that the number of people in prison should not be a badge of honour. The fewer people in prison the better, and the present situation just shows that prison does not work. Prison should be for the most violent offenders, and I hope that we can get the balance right.
On the subject of law and order, Harvey Proctor was my predecessor in Basildon and a near neighbour. Ted Heath and Leon Brittan were also colleagues, and Lord Bramall was a Member in the Lords. I know Harvey Proctor very well, and his life has been destroyed and broken. He has lost everything. When he had to leave Parliament, he only survived because half a dozen colleagues had a whip-round and set him up in a shirt shop. What has been done to his life is a disgrace. I hope that he gets compensation as quickly as possible and that the conduct of that case is carefully considered.
I am pleased about education: with our excellent Minister for School Standards, the minimum level of funding per pupil for secondary schools is up to £5,000 and £4,000 for primary schools. I was lobbied by the musicians’ passport campaign, and I ask the Government to agree to introduce touring visas for musicians and other creatives. A constituent raised with me the issue of blue badges, and whether they will be reciprocal when we leave the European Union.
If I was disappointed by any element of the Queen’s Speech, it was the lack of a sentence about Southend becoming a city. There was a big moment for me on 25 July, because the Prime Minister said at the Dispatch Box that Southend could become a city. I will hold him to that. I have already had a letter from a Minister saying that we need some sort of royal event to hold a city contest. Well, the Duke of Edinburgh is coming up to 100, so we could make that the reason, and the Queen will soon be the longest reigning monarch anywhere in the world. It was a splendid Queen’s Speech, and I am just so glad that Southend will become a city next year on the centenary of our mayoralty.