Brighton Pavilion MP Sian Berry's full maiden commons speech

Green Sian Berry, who represents Brighton Pavilion, made her first speech in the Commons yesterday and said she plans to put young people's voices first.

The former London Assembly member said she was disappointed in the first Bills presented to the house, which did not include anything on lowering the voting age.

Berry and Lucas outside the Royal Pavilion (Image: The Argus/Andrew Gardner)

Ms Berry was elected after the country went to the polls on July 4, taking over from Caroline Lucas who held the seat for 14 years.

She praised Ms Lucas's leadership not only in Brighton but at the forefront of the Green movement.

She said  Ms Lucas was "leaving a 14-year legacy" which she looks up to "as a shining mountain to climb".

"I know that all of us sitting here today are humbly aiming to live up to the high standards, values and work ethic that I think she represented and to serve here with the same energy and enthusiasm," she said.

"It is these principles that will guide my work as an MP as well as some of my own values and enthusiasms."

Sian Berry poses for a picture on July 4 (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

Read Sian's speech in full:

Well, thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for calling me and congratulations to the Honourable Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, as well as the honourable Members for Bolton North East, Wolverhampton West and Southport, who spoke earlier, all for giving excellent maiden speeches before me today.

 

I'm so honoured to be here in this historic Chamber today as part of a brand new group of Green colleagues who I must now call my honourable friends.

 

We are very pleased today to hear a wide range of new bills being proposed with some measures we welcome, some we will seek to improve and some I will seek to change or add to.

 

Listening to people in my constituency in the election, it was hard not to be affected by the strength of public feeling and distress about the climate emergency, the degradation of our natural environment and the huge desire to defend social justice and public services.

 

This Parliament must seek to deliver for them.

 

This is my maiden speech and I stand here thanks to the votes and values of the fantastic people of Brighton Pavilion, they put their trust in me and the Green Party, and for that I extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation.

 

Brighton has always been a truly special place. From its origins as a fishing village through a Roman villa complex to its Regency and railway booms with its huge sense of spirit and a warm welcome to every visitor to our famous beach.

 

But Brighton has always been so much more than a seaside resort. The richness and variety of our culture and entertainment is also legendary, from Victorian innovation through the 60s of my parents, and my own decade of youth in the far away 1990s to the present day.

 

Our music, theatre, comedy and literary traditions have always blended with cutting edge, creative and exciting counterculture movements to reflect and enrich the modern world.

 

Our cultural richness has survived, strived, struggled and then thrived through many turbulent times, not least the current pandemic, and I am confident it will continue to do so for many centuries to come.

 

I am also proud that the latest census confirmed that nowadays my city is home to one of the UK's largest populations of LGBT+ people, and that we host the biggest and best pride celebrations, including Europe's largest trans pride, this coming weekend.

 

Brighton and Hove is a welcoming city in so many ways, so I'm also very proud we are a city of sanctuary - committed to a culture of hospitality and welcome for those seeking refuge from war and persecution.

 

Brighton Pavilion also has a history of dedicated long serving MPs from its first election as a single member constituency in 1950, it was represented until 1969 by Sir William Burke Tealing, an Irish writer and self-described amateur Trump who walked from London to Newcastle to explore how councils were tackling Employment.

 

Our MP was then Julian Amery for 23 years, Derek Spencer for five and then David Lepper served in this House as a highly respected and hard working MP for 13 years.

 

And of course I have one of the easiest and most pleasurable jobs amongst new MPs this year in paying tribute to my immediate predecessor.

 

Brighton is also a special place because it has been at the heart of the green movement in England and Wales, and this continued when our own beloved Caroline Lucas won the seat for the Green Party in 2010.

 

Caroline held the seat through three further elections, leaving a 14 year legacy that I look up to as a shining mountain to climb as I take my very first steps here today.

 

As well as being an excellent constituency MP of the many ways in which Caroline influenced policy, I think I was most charmed by her success in working with the nature writer Mary Colwell to win a new GCSE in Natural History, helping to inspire and train up a generation of new David Attenboroughs is a real national service.

 

And then most impressive I think has been Caroline's steadfast and long standing opposition to threats to the public's right to protest. Caroline lived that principle, and through it played a key role in ending fracking in the UK.

 

I know that all of us sitting here today are humbly aiming to live up to the high standards, values and work ethic that I think she represented and to serve here with the same energy and enthusiasm.

 

Mr. Deputy Speaker, it is these principles that will guide my work as an MP as well as some of my own values and enthusiasms, and people who know my work in other places will be aware that listening to and supporting young people is something I feel very strongly about.

 

So it is today with huge pleasure that I commend to the House the incredible work of Brighton and Hove Citizens who have just won a huge campaigning victory with a beautiful example of young people and their voices being raised up and empowered to make change happen.

 

With schools across Brighton and Hove working with colleges, religious groups, workers, universities and the charity sector, Brighton and Hove citizens have this year won a big new commitment from the council.

 

After a long and engaging campaign, sixth formers Fi Abou-Channard and Tally Wilcox presented a 2000-strong petition and won a pledge for hundreds of young people in Brighton schools to benefit from investment in mental health support and counselling.

 

And this is just one group of young people among many inspiring organisations across our country that I can't wait to hear more of in this job. They include Green New Deal Rising, the Youth Climate coalition, Young Minds, People and Planet, the National Society of Apprentices, the NUS, and many, many more.

 

Young people should have a louder voice wherever decisions are being made, not just when they organise.

 

I'm therefore disappointed to see no specific bill in today's list removing barriers to voting for young people, including voter ID and age limits for elections to this house and English local councils that do not apply in Wales and Scotland.

 

Our 16 and 17 year olds and our young people need a real voice and need those measures in this Parliament.

 

I hope that in the course of hearing the Bills put forward in today's speech, the voices of young people are sought out, listened to and many changes and additions made where they are needed most, including removing the two child benefit cap.

 

And I'm grateful now for your patience and listening to me, and I greatly look forward to seeing the impact of having the young voices I plan to raise up in this Chamber being granted the same attention and respect. Thank you.

Her speech lasted eight minutes and she even gave members a brief history lesson on the constituency's history.

She also touched on the work of campaign group Brighton and Hove Citizens, saying it had "just won a huge campaigning victory with a beautiful example of young people and their voices being raised up and empowered to make change happen".

Ms Berry said: "With schools across Brighton and Hove working with colleges, religious groups, workers, universities and the charity sector, Brighton and Hove citizens have this year won a big new commitment from the council.

"After a long and engaging campaign, sixth formers Fi Abou-Channard and Tally Wilcox [from Bhasvic in Hove] presented a 2,000-strong petition and won a pledge for hundreds of young people in Brighton schools to benefit from investment in mental health support and counselling."

The council has said it plans to set aside £200,000 a year on a new school counselling service.