Hartlepool’s first Conservative MP has taken her seat in the House of Commons as Boris Johnson vowed to meet the promises made to voters in former Labour-voting areas.
Jill Mortimer swore the oath of allegiance to the Queen as she appeared in the chamber ahead of the Queen’s Speech debate. Conservative MPs cheered her arrival in the Commons.
Welcoming Ms Mortimer to the Commons and congratulating her for the win, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “She now has the huge honour of representing that great town. I hope she will forgive me if I say I hope for not too long.
“I wonder what plan she has for the 40ft inflatable of the Prime Minister?”
One Conservative MP could be heard joking “take it to Batley” – where the next by-election is expected.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also welcomed Ms Mortimer and highlighted Conservative victories elsewhere before criticising Labour’s “bonkers” response.
Mr Johnson told MPs: “Labour’s response to these events is best summed up by the outgoing leader of Amber Valley Borough Council, who said these immortal words: ‘The voters have let us down, I hope they don’t live to regret it’.
“There you go, Labour’s bonkers solution in the face of any electoral setback is to wish they could dissolve the electorate and call another one, while we get on with our work taking forward our programme of change and regeneration filled with obligation to those we serve.”
ohnson promised to unleash the “pent up energy of the UK economy” as he set out the Queen’s Speech but faced questions over the Government’s delayed plans for social care.
The Queen unveiled the Government’s programme in her first major public ceremonial appearance since the death of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, but the occasion was stripped of much of its pomp as a result of the pandemic.
The Prime Minister told MPs the programme would “take this country forward” and spread opportunity across the country.
But measures to address the long-standing issue of social care funding were not included in the speech.
Proposals on social care will not appear until later this year – despite Mr Johnson’s promise when he entered No 10 two years ago that he had already prepared a “clear plan".
The Prime Minister said: “We will bring forward proposals to reform adult social care so that every person receives the dignity and security they deserve.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the failure to act on social care after the pandemic was “nothing short of an insult to the whole nation”.
Also missing was a Bill on dealing with the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, although Mr Johnson said legislation will be introduced.
The Government also promised a “levelling-up White Paper” setting out how Mr Johnson intends to meet the promises made to voters in former Labour-voting areas.
The usual pomp and ceremony of the State Opening of Parliament was scaled back drastically due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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