Displaying items by tag: maiden speech

Newly-elected Conservative MP Stuart Anderson explained in his first Commons speech how going to church and finding faith helped him ‘see light out of the darkness’. He said he considered taking his own life after he was left ‘broken’ by his time serving as a rifleman for the Royal Green Jackets in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, and Kosovo. He finished his compassionate speech by saying, ‘When I was trying to do something right by my family, I found faith. For the first time in many years, I could see hope and a future.’ Danny Kruger, in his maiden speech, told listeners, ‘Look to Britain’s Christian past to address future problems. We are children of God, fallen but redeemed, capable of great wrong but also of great virtue.’ See

Jared O'Mara spoke for the first time in the House of Commons, ‘I was elected a year ago as Hallam's first Labour MP but due to mistakes I made - for which I am truly sorry, I hurt a lot of people - I've been unable to speak in the House with confidence until now.’ He spoke of his pride in representing disabled people, as Parliament's ‘first autistic MP, with cerebral palsy and other disabilities’. He also spoke of what can be learned from the teachings of Jesus, although he considers himself ‘a man of science.’ He said, ‘Jesus was a man who forgave those who truly repented, and he shares my belief that our utmost human priority should be helping those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable amongst us.’ MPs usually gather around their newly elected colleague for maiden speeches, but Jared stood alone at the end of the rear opposition bench.