Category: Parliament

Jane Stevenson – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Jane Stevenson, the Conservative MP for Wolverhampton North East, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

I rise in deep sadness but with immense gratitude for the life and service of our beloved late sovereign, Queen Elizabeth. First, I want to place on record the love and respect of my constituents in Wolverhampton North East for Her Majesty. Many have already contacted me about the devastating sense of loss and grief that they feel at Her Majesty’s passing, and I thank them for sharing their thoughts with me. It is an honour to pass them on in this place.

It is extraordinary that so many of us who never met Queen Elizabeth can be so affected by her death, but for everyone in Wolverhampton, the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth, she was a huge presence in our lives. The Queen visited Wolverhampton several times, including our schools and factories. I think that my favourite story is from a visit in 1962, before I was born. It was a visit to Molineux and she was presenting colours to the North and South Staffordshire Regiments and the Staffordshire Yeomanry. She apologised to Wolverhampton Wanderers for her high heels making marks on our hallowed turf at Molineux. Thirty-thousand Wulfrunians cheered her that day, and I know that the strength of feeling for our monarch remains as deep today as it was then.

For millions of us, Her Majesty was a constant presence at so many events in our lives. Every Christmas, I, like millions of people, felt like the Queen was in my living room. Surrounded by my family, we waited every year for her words of wisdom and comfort. Last year, during her last Christmas address, she spoke about her upcoming platinum jubilee and how she hoped it would be

“an opportunity for people everywhere to enjoy a sense of togetherness”.

At so many jubilee events for Her Majesty, my neighbours became my friends, and in all the platinum jubilee events that I attended in Wolverhampton this year she certainly succeeded at bringing us all together.

Because of Her Majesty’s age, and because we knew that she was struggling with some ill health, the celebrations this year were poignant as well as joyful. I am sure that I am not the only person who, through a smile, also shed a tear when Paddington Bear thanked Her Majesty for everything.

She has united our nation once again. On this sad occasion, she now unites us in national mourning. Our thoughts must be for her beloved family, the royal family and especially our new King Charles III as he takes on such responsibility. I hope that the outpouring of love for Her late Majesty will bring the royal family some comfort over the coming days and weeks. I want to express gratitude for her life and many qualities. She was a shining example of strength and of selflessness in public service. May our beloved Queen Elizabeth rest in peace and rise in glory. God save the King.

September 10, 2022
Christian Wakeford – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Christian Wakeford, the Labour MP for Bury South, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

I am both proud and sorrowful, although I am delighted to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Sara Britcliffe)—I emphasise the word friend, because grief does bring people together.

I imagine that I speak for many when I say that I have taken some solace in hearing some of the tributes today from those who got to meet or know Her Majesty. I was never fortunate enough to have met her, but it almost feels like I had—just like everyone else in this Chamber—because there was something familiar to all of us. We will all take a bit of her with us; I like to think that the bit I will take is the humility and the kindness that everyone speaks about.

This great and proud country went through many trials and tribulations during the Elizabethan age, but she was one of the constants, providing stability through wartime as much as in peace. As many have mentioned, regardless of our political views, her sense of service to the country that she loved is to be admired and treasured, and it is something that we should all be proud of. I know what I was doing when I was 25 years of age, and I would not have been able to take on the responsibility of a country, let alone a whole host of them in the Commonwealth. I certainly could not have helped to strip an engine either.

I put on record the condolences of those in my constituency of Bury South, in the townships of Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich, along with my condolences and those of my family. I think particularly of this year’s jubilee celebrations, when my daughter, who was in nursery at the time, came back home from nursery so proud that she had learned the national anthem. She did her rendition for daddy and sang, “God save our normal Queen”. Unfortunately, Lavinia, the words were not quite right, but the sentiment was there.

Her Majesty was no stranger to Bury either, visiting as a young girl in 1938 and a further six times after that. Her most recent visit was in 1992, when she opened St Peter’s Square Metrolink station and took a ride to visit Bury town hall, which she had opened 38 years prior.

What stood out for me most about the Queen’s service was not just the length, but the fact that she seemed to genuinely enjoy every single moment of it—from historic meetings with world leaders right down to visiting primary schoolchildren, she made everyone feel like they were the only person meeting her. She was a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, a wife and a sister. She was a rock to the nation, but more importantly, a grandmother to the nation. She was all sorts to everyone, but she was always a Queen. The saddest thing is that there are children born today who will never know a Queen, let alone the Queen.

Finally, I think all my constituents will agree with one simple message: thank you, Ma’am. May our Queen rest in peace, and long live the King.

September 10, 2022
Sara Britcliffe – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Sara Britcliffe, the Conservative MP for Hyndburn, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

I want to join colleagues in expressing my deepest sorrow at the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and the sorrow of my constituents in Hyndburn and Haslingden. Our condolences are with the King and the royal family.

It is difficult to put into words the grief and profound sense loss that are felt, but after the rainbow that has been mentioned, as I paid my own tribute last night at the gates of Buckingham Palace in the darkness, the heavens opened and the rain poured. It felt as though the weather portrayed our grief. The nation’s heart was broken.

For many of us, the Queen is the only monarch we have known. It is hard to overstate the value of the stability that she gave this country and the nations around the world for which she was head of state. When our politics or our society seemed so fraught, the Queen was a constant in our lives—a reminder of strength, dignity and stability, and a reminder of what unites us.

In 2012, we had the privilege of a royal visit from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh during her diamond jubilee. My personal memory of that day is that I stood on the balcony of Accrington market hall at the age of 17 outside my dad’s café, Milly’s, as she came to greet us. Her eyes twinkled and her warmth shone through. The crowds gathered in their thousands. They smiled, they sang and—one feeling that could be felt within the crowd—they loved.

During her 1957 Christmas address, the Queen said that while she could not lead us into battle, give us laws or administer justice, she could give us her heart and her devotion. All these years later, we can surely all agree that she did just that. She was our greatest public servant, our greatest diplomat and our stability. She has been the true light in our lives that none of us really believed would ever go out. May she now rest in peace. Thank you, Ma’am, and God save the King.

September 10, 2022
Helen Morgan – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

As one of the most recent MPs to swear allegiance to the Queen, I am saddened and humbled to have the honour of paying tribute to her now on behalf of my constituents, and on their behalf I offer my condolences to the King and to the rest of the royal family for their sad loss. Many constituents have been in touch over the last 24 hours to share their feelings of love, their sense of loss, but most of all their gratitude for the Queen’s devotion, her leadership and her warmth during her 70 years of public service.

While the nation is united in sorrow, the anecdotes shared here today—and by my constituents—have shown me that we can celebrate the Queen’s life with joy as well as sorrow as we remember her on this occasion. I have smiled as some of my more senior neighbours have shared memories of the coronation back in 1953. Those memories are vivid, and are still fondly thought of seven decades on. Every television was wheeled out so that neighbours, friends and family members could huddle together for a glimpse of the gracious young Queen, and there was a whole programme of celebrations in the town of Wem. I was recently shown an original programme, in perfect condition.

I am thankful that the platinum jubilee provided the chance for those communities to unite once again, and to show the Queen just how much she was still loved after 70 years. She was celebrated across North Shropshire, by the soldiers of the Royal Irish Regiment based at Tern Hill and by the helicopter pilots being trained at RAF Shawbury—who included her grandsons, the new Prince of Wales, and Prince Harry a decade ago. We were very grateful for the opportunity to welcome her to both sites. From Wem to Whitchurch and from Ellesmere to Oswestry and Market Drayton, we lit beacons across the countryside as a symbol of gratitude to our longest-serving monarch—and how appropriate that was, for Queen Elizabeth was a beacon of stability to us all throughout those seven decades. But now a new era begins. Christmas this year will be very different. We will gather round our televisions again, but this time it will be to hear a speech from King Charles III rather than our Queen. In North Shropshire, we will raise a glass to both of them.

In 1957, the 31-year-old Queen promised to give “these old islands” her heart and devotion. She stayed true to her word for every minute of her 96 years, and for this we are all grateful. We hope that she rests in peace. God Save the King.

September 10, 2022
Marco Longhi – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Marco Longhi, the Conservative MP for Dudley North, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

Her Majesty the Queen has been a given in our lives, an anchor as certain as the sun setting each day. But her star has set for one final time, and there is no worldly scale big enough to show the weight of our loss. I, like many, felt that she would always be there. On behalf of my Dudley North constituents, I wish to express my sincere and deepest sympathies to His Majesty, the royal family and indeed the entirety of the royal household.

Her Majesty embodied everything we all aspire to stand for in this place: dedication to public service, dedication to family and dedication to people. The magnitude of what Her Majesty delivered in her time for us all is impossible to measure. While I never had the privilege of meeting her, I felt a presence there, a guiding hand, one that was available to us all—including Paddington Bear.

In Dudley North, I mourn alongside my constituents, a community united in grief. Her Majesty first visited Dudley in 1957, as a relatively new monarch, to view the beautiful Coronation Gardens dedicated to her. Coincidentally, my constituency office overlooks them, so I will always have a physical reminder to follow her example of dedication and public service.

Fast-forward some decades to the 1970s, but ultimately the 1990s, and Her Majesty found herself in Dudley once again, although a little higher in altitude, at Dudley castle and zoo—which made her the first monarch to visit the castle since her namesake Elizabeth I in 1575. Her Majesty was given a tour of the centre before unveiling a piece of commemorative glass and receiving a crystal key to the castle as a gift from the borough. Many of the messages that I have received are from constituents reminiscing about her visit. It is clear that she left a lasting impression; what is also clear is that when God made our Queen, He broke the mould.

We will all take comfort in coming together to remember the guiding light Her Majesty has been to us all. Long live the King.

September 10, 2022
Stephen Kinnock – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Stephen Kinnock, the Labour MP for Aberavon, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

I rise today on behalf of the people of Aberavon to pay tribute to our late Queen and to send my deepest sympathy and condolences to the royal family at this time of loss and grief.

The Queen will always be remembered by our nation and by the world as the epitome of loyalty, humility and grace. She always put service to her country above all else, and we shall never forget her duty-first, no-nonsense approach to everything that she did. Her unique talent lay in her ability to connect with the nation and to reflect our thoughts, our hopes and our fears. She inspired affection and respect, and she was a source of comfort to us all.

The last seven decades have been times of seismic political, economic and social change, and throughout these turbulent years Her Majesty was a beacon of consistency and stability. She never failed to steady the ship. She was the personification of keeping calm and carrying on. Indeed, her leadership during the pandemic was testament to this. In echoing the immortal words made famous by Dame Vera Lynn, “We will meet again”, she evoked in her typically understated manner the stoic spirit and measured optimism that guided us through that period of crisis and hardship.

On behalf of my Aberavon constituents, I thank the Queen for all that she gave to our country and I convey my very best wishes to King Charles as he assumes his new responsibilities and begins writing the next chapter in our national story. Long live the King and long live the Prince and Princess of Wales.

September 10, 2022
Alicia Kearns – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Alicia Kearns, the Conservative MP for Rutland and Melton, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

I rise to express the admiration and deep love of the people of Rutland and Melton, the Vale and Harborough villages for Her Majesty and our heartfelt sympathy for the royal family. Since her death, our communities have been sharing their stories of her and their love.

We have been blessed with three visits. The first was in 1967, when she travelled on the royal train with her beloved Philip, and 3,000 children awaited her. She visited our Oakham castle and presented a ceremonial horseshoe, because our tradition is that the first time a peer of the realm, their Majesty or any member of the royal family visits our county, they must present a horseshoe. She gave us an enormous horseshoe, and in the heart of it was a small horseshoe from one of her race horses, which was very touching. It now hangs upside down—some say that that is unlucky, although in Rutland we say it will stop the devil from bedding in—on display in our castle.

Her Majesty’s second visit was in 1984, when she came to Uppingham and Oakham Schools, and the Hospital of St John and St Anne. Finally in 1996, to enormous crowds, she visited Melton Mowbray, walking up Nottingham Street and of course stopping at Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe. She finished her visit by going to RAF Cottesmore. These visits remain in the hearts of our communities.

I have to confess that, over the last few days—it was only yesterday, but it feels a lot longer, doesn’t it?—my tears have fallen when stories of joy have been shared, because it is then that we see the great love that we feel for her. My tears also fell when His Majesty said the word “mama”, which I think touched so many of us. I believe that this Christmas we will all shed tears again, because no Christmas will ever be the same again. I hope we will all raise a drink for her at Christmas. Finally, my overriding memory of yesterday, and one that will stay with me for life, is the double rainbow that we saw. I see it as a sign of Her Majesty returning to her love, to Philip—to the side of her beloved husband—and him showing her the way. As with all ages of history, the end of an era brings a new dawn. On behalf of all the people of Rutland and Melton, I say simply: thank you, Ma’am, and God save the King.

September 10, 2022
Bambos Charalambous – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Bambos Charalambous, the Labour MP for Enfield Southgate, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

I pay tribute to Her late Majesty the Queen on behalf of myself and my constituents in Enfield, Southgate. In our grief, we remember a lifetime dedicated to extraordinary public service. Her steadfast commitment to the values of duty, public service and family provided comfort to so many here and around the world. My thoughts and condolences, and those of my constituents, are with the King and the royal family at this most difficult time.

As we all know, the Queen was the one constant in our lives. At times of incredible change, at times of crises and in good times too, she was Britain’s reassuring and constant presence. In 1953, the whole country joined in celebration to mark the Queen’s coronation. I am reliably informed that in Enfield, Southgate there were many local events to mark the occasion, including a parade and procession and athletics games in Broomfield Park. Footage from the time is incredibly poignant after Thursday’s news, but also after this summer’s platinum jubilee, where communities were once again able to come together to celebrate the Queen.

In 1953, the Queen’s coronation speech was broadcast over loudspeakers in Broomfield Park, but because of the rain many listened at home on the radio. This summer we had no such problems. We had street parties across the borough, with bake-offs and crown competitions, and it was wonderful to bring the community together in that way 70 years later. Today, those events are all the more moving as we pay tribute to the Queen’s life and her service to our country. I am sure we will see the same sense of togetherness again as the nation mourns over the coming days.

She was our longest-ever serving monarch; like most of us I do not remember a time before Queen Elizabeth II. In that time, she saw 15 Prime Ministers, but somehow managed to stay above party politics. As we know in this House, that is no mean feat. For 70 years, she embodied and represented the nation with unwavering duty on the international stage, a symbol of stability when things were changing.

The outpouring of emotion internationally that we have seen since the news is testament to Her late Majesty’s success in achieving that. She was not only well regarded, but loved around the world, something I witnessed again and again when meeting foreign representatives from other nations, who without fail would always pay tribute to the Queen. Those who had had the pleasure of meeting her would always share stories of her kindness, her warmth and her sense of humour.

As we remember Her late Majesty, I personally will remember how she continued to serve the country with duty and kindness until the very end. The Queen was an example for us all. May she rest in peace. God save the King.

September 10, 2022
David Johnston – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by David Johnston, the Conservative MP for Wantage, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

When the announcement was made yesterday of Her Majesty’s passing, my tears started immediately. There have been a lot of euphemisms for that in the House this afternoon, but I cried in the way that I would for someone I was close to. Of course, I had never met her. I wish I had met her. I had once been in the same room. That was as close as I got, but it was too big a room and there were too many people. She entered at the opposite end to where I was and everybody swarmed and I did not stand a chance, but I did have the privilege of meeting two members of her family, including our new King who spoke so movingly earlier this evening. In them we saw what she had inculcated in her family and in the nation, and the example that she set. It is no surprise that the same words are used over and over again in the tributes: duty, sacrifice, dedication and selflessness. She personified those. However, we have also heard about her passion for her family, for her country, for horse-racing and for her dogs, and about her humour and mischief, which we saw at the Olympics and quite recently at the platinum jubilee celebrations with Paddington Bear.

Of course we all rise to speak on behalf of our constituents, and in those celebrations, just a few weeks ago, my constituents in Wantage and Didcot showed the great love and devotion they had for her, with street parties all across the four towns and 64 villages I represent. There were far too many for me to get to all of them, although I tried my best. It is a constituency with a long rural history, the birthplace of Alfred the Great, and, like every other part of the country, we have been blessed with visits—to Wallingford and to Harwell, to open the Diamond Light Source.

However good any of us think we are at visiting things in our constituencies, none of us is anything like Her late Majesty with 70 years of day after day visiting things and attending opening ceremonies. At the peak, she was patron and supported more than 600 charities. We have lost the most impressive servant to our nation that we will ever see, and we should be forever thankful for what she has given us.

Winston Churchill—that should give an indication of how early it was in her reign—said that,

“all the film people in the world, had they scoured the globe, could not have found anyone so suited to the part.”

How true that was. May she rest in peace, and God save the King.

September 10, 2022
Chris Law – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Chris Law, the SNP MP for Dundee West, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

It is a pleasure to follow the delightful tribute to the Queen by the hon. Member for Meriden (Saqib Bhatti). On behalf of myself, my constituents in Dundee West and all peoples of the ancient royal burgh of Dundee, I would like to pay tribute to Her Majesty the Queen and send my deepest condolences to the royal family at this difficult time.

Her Majesty dedicated her life to public service and, having acceded to the throne at an unexpectedly young age, she reshaped the monarchy in the changing generations she has reigned. She will be remembered in history as Britain’s longest-serving monarch. Throughout her reign she served with dignity and compassion. Everyone I know personally who met her has spoken of her real and genuine warmth.

The Queen, of course, had a strong Scottish heritage. The Queen Mother’s home was Glamis Castle in Angus, not far from my city of Dundee. As a result, Her Majesty frequently visited her maternal grandparents there as a child. Indeed, one of the earliest photographs of the Queen visiting Dundee is as a child shopping in Webster’s Toy Shop in Whitehall Crescent with her grandmother, the Countess of Strathmore. Throughout her lifetime she continued to visit my city, and many of Dundee’s parks and public spaces were officially opened by Her Majesty. As then-Princess, she officially opened Camperdown Park in 1946. Seven decades later—70 years later—she unveiled a plaque to officially open Slessor Gardens at our city’s redeveloped waterfront in 2016.

Buckingham Palace was, of course, not the only balcony that the Queen waved from. In 1969, she arrived by train into Dundee and visited Dudhope Court, one of the city’s 44 multistorey blocks. While there, she was welcomed by a local Dundee family and waved from their balcony to the crowds gathered below. I am also told that she stayed back for a cup of tea. Thousands of people gathered to watch the royal yacht Britannia berth in the city when she made her first royal visit to Dundee as Queen in 1955, with the Duke of Edinburgh.

I know that thousands will now wish to sign the book of condolence that has been opened at Dundee city chambers to allow members of the public the chance to express their feelings at the death of Her Majesty. She will always be remembered in Dundee, Scotland, the Commonwealth and the world for her unwavering service that never ceased until the end. Thank you, Ma’am, and may you rest in peace.

September 10, 2022