The comments made by Antony Higginbotham, the Conservative MP for Burnley, on Twitter on 21 October 2022.
Over the last 24 hours my inbox has been inundated with messages. The majority view, and my view, is clear. It’s time to #BringBackBoris.
He has the mandate to lead our country and our party.
The tribute made by Antony Higginbotham, the Conservative MP for Burnley, in the House of Commons on 10 September 2022.
It is both a privilege and a sadness to speak today, to pay tribute to Her late Majesty the Queen—personally, on behalf of my family, and on behalf of my constituents in Burnley, Padiham and all the villages and parishes that make up our borough. Thursday was a day that we knew in our minds would come, but that we hoped in our hearts would not. The death of Her late Majesty the Queen was something that would happen one day, but never that day. On Thursday, that day came.
We will all have our own thoughts, feelings, emotions and memories of the Queen. It did not matter if you had never met her or you had met her many times; you felt close to her. We all knew her personally. She was part of our lives, and we knew her because we knew her ideals, values and sense of duty, and most of all her irrevocable, unwavering devotion and love for our country, and for all of us, which was always reciprocated. Her incredible impact on our lives and country meant that often we were able to forget just how important she was to us. In the last few days, we have remembered.
The realisation of just how much the Queen did to steer this great ship that is the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and the impact that she had on each of us, is what causes our grief and sorrow now. Through her many addresses to our nation, she was our guiding light. She asked us to focus on what was important when we needed focusing, she brought us cheer when we needed cheering up, she gave us hope and wisdom when we felt down, and she encouraged us to reflect when life got too busy and we struggled to find perspective. For most of us, she was the only monarch we had ever known.
During her reign, the Queen made three trips to my constituency. The first was in 1955, when she toured the nation as our new monarch. The second was in 1968, when she travelled through Padiham to visit St Peter’s Church in Burnley. The third and most recent was in 2012 for the diamond jubilee. On each occasion, everyone came out. The Civic Trust, in a caption for one photo taken during the 1968 visit, described how
“a sea of faces and seemingly hundreds of waving Union Jacks greeted the Queen. The crowds were spilling on to the roadway, turning in Trafalgar Street and it was more than evident that Burnley was turning out in full force…there was only just sufficient road for the Royal motorcade to pass.”
Such was our affection and admiration for her, both as Queen and as Duke of Lancaster.
As we pledge ourselves and our unwavering loyalty to His Majesty the King, who we know will lead us just as ably, all that remains for me to say is: “Ma’am, thank you for all you did. May you rest in peace.” God save the King.
Below is the text of the speech made by Antony Higginbotham, the Conservative MP for Burnley, in the House of Commons on 11 May 2020.
Let me start by thanking all the staff at Burnley hospital, and our carers, for their incredible dedication, as well as the volunteers of Burnley Together, and other groups who continue to support those who need it most. Through this period we have seen the incredible fortitude and generosity of the British people, and businesses up and down the country, including in my constituency, have stepped forward and played their part in manufacturing what we need.
One sector that has been particularly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic is the travel sector. Airlines have seen their business models collapse, and I warmly welcome the action taken by the Government so far, which has undoubtedly saved millions of businesses and jobs. I ask that they keep an open mind about any additional support for airlines that might be required, and look at measures provided in the United States as an example.
When travel restrictions are lifted and the global economy starts to tick over once more, this country will rely on the trade deals currently being negotiated by the International Trade Secretary in order to bounce back. For that to work, we must have the links needed to keep goods and people moving. I mention the travel sector to talk not only about airlines, but about the wider supply chain. As many Members of the House will know, Burnley and Padiham make up one of the northern areas at the centre of advanced engineering and manufacturing, supplying the components needed to build aircraft, and the engines that power them. Sadly, one of the largest local employers in my constituency has just announced more than 200 job losses, reflecting the deteriorating outlook for the aviation sector over the medium term, with airlines holding on to their existing fleet. Those jobs are high skilled, highly paid, and vital to keeping the UK at the cutting edge of manufacturing and engineering. They are jobs that Burnley, which had a higher claimant count than the national average before this crisis, desperately needs.
My ask to the Government is for any policy decisions that could have unintended consequences to be considered holistically. The 14-day quarantine for international arrivals will definitely have some merit for some countries for a short period, and the Government have my support. As a blanket policy, however, it will only kick the aviation sector when it is already down. The job losses that could follow will ripple through the entire supply chain.
With a clear, sustainable strategy of test, track and trace, such measures can be limited to dealing with an initial spike or specific hotspot areas, and not as a long-term solution. For test, track and trace to be effective, though, we need to get testing to a sufficiently significant scale, in terms of both the number of tests available and the number of test centres that exist to deliver them. That is how we can ensure that capacity is always hit. I encourage all Members to read South Korea’s playbook on how it flattened the curve there and developed a test, track and trace system. There, testing is done not only en masse, but also in small K-Walk-Thru booths, rapidly increasing how many people can get tested because it can be done closer to home. That is a model that could also be deployed in airports.
For track and trace, the development and deployment of the NHS app will be critical, and it can easily be mandated at entry ports to the country, to help to ensure that our approach is sustainable in the long term. I know that the Government are looking at both options for the tracing app, with the one currently being trialled reliant on a central database instead of taking a decentralised approach. There are benefits and drawbacks to both, but whichever method is chosen, it is vital that it is chosen quickly, because any delay in selecting a model and getting the app out there, or any change further down the line, will only delay when we can start to adapt to our own new norm.
Let me finish by paying tribute to the enormous amount of support already put in place by—
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
Order. I am sorry, Antony, we have to leave it there.