David's Maiden Speech
Wednesday, 19 July 2000
Mr Deputy Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise to make my maiden speech. Before I go on, it would be remiss of me not to note, in passing, that I am almost certainly the last MP to be elected to this House whilst Madam Speaker has graced the Chair. As someone from a generation that grew up with Parliament being televised, I can safely say that Madam Speaker is a real celebrity.

It is with real humility that I stand here as the newly elected representative of the people of the constituency of Tottenham. Honourable members will know that I only stand before them because of the sudden and sad death of Bernie Grant - and I would have dearly loved to spend my first years in this place working with and learning from the man who was one of the key reasons that I got into politics in the first place. Fate determined that this was not to be and I most sincerely thank the people of Tottenham for their confidence in my ability to represent them and hope that, in years to come, they will find me a worthy successor to this great man.

Bernie made his maiden speech in July 1987 and demonstrated at once both his local knowledge and his confidence as a politician. He was a 'natural'. He was authentic and brutally honest and, as has been said,
'He walked a tightrope between street heroism and government office.'
For us in Tottenham, he was exceptional and a first class constituency MP. Many will understand when I say that you could not really describe yourself as a friend of Bernie's until he had occasion to bark at you. I have to tell the House that on one of the last times I saw him, he did just that - while lamenting the stance that I took on the vexed issue of Mike Tyson's entry into this country. Bernie argued passionately against his entry and considered Tyson as an unworthy role model for his young constituents. His concern for young people is well documented and remained a passion throughout his life.

In his maiden speech in 1987, Bernie said, and I quote,
… unless the political system can offer some prospects, particularly to our young people and young black people, they will find other means of expressing their frustration.
He was referring to the troubles that there had been at the Broadwater Farm Estate and went on to talk about the way in which the local community and the local Council worked together to harness the energies of the area and regenerate it.

Bernie worked closely with his wife, Sharon, who was very much his partner in work as well as in life. I would like to give thanks to Sharon for all of her work on behalf of the people of Tottenham. For her and for all of us, Bernie's legacy will live on. He sits here with us now in the memory of all who knew him. I know that you will forgive me Bernie if I do not wear a dashiki today in your honour. In a very real sense, you are part of the reason I am here and for that I thank you and will never forget you.

Tottenham is a constituency that has been well served by its MPs. Before Bernie, Norman Atkinson had been our MP for over 20 years and he too concerned himself with local government and the needs of the community. He also served the Labour Party as our national treasurer for five years on the NEC. Before Norman Atkinson, Mr Brown was elected as Tottenham's Labour MP in 1959, but in 1962 he crossed the floor and fought the 1964 election as the incumbent Tory MP for Tottenham. It was said at the time that by crossing the floor he raised the average IQ of both the party he left and the party he joined. Mr. Deputy Speaker, you will agree that I follow in varied and interesting footsteps - but, I can assure you that I will not be following Mr Brown's example.

I am glad to represent Tottenham - and not just because it is my home and the birthplace of the best football club in London. I am proud because in Tottenham, we have a grassroots intellectual tradition that has been nurtured on the margins of society. Although the margins of a society have provided some of the worst statistics on social exclusion, they can also shed the most radical and exciting perspective on social thought.

Although Tottenham is a constituency with much poverty, it has never been impoverished in terms of its people. Across the centuries, the cultures of the world have traversed up and down Tottenham High Road - white English, Russians, Huguenots, Spaniards, Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Africans, Irish, Hasidic Jews, Asians, Caribbean islanders and, more latterly, Kosovans and other Eastern Europeans. There is no need to go to New York or California to experience dynamic diversity. One need not only look at the Commonwealth as a model of communities coming together. Under our very own eyes people from the far reaches of the world are living side by side of different religions, race and cultural backgrounds. All contribute to the richness of life in Tottenham. All understand the importance of unity and working and living together. All celebrate and glory in the multi-faith, multi-cultural family that constitutes Tottenham. These people are a valuable resource. If this resource were an untapped oil field or a new diamond mine, businesses would be queuing round the block to buy the rights. It is people who are the best and most precious resource we have. I say that because I am acutely aware that I am here today because at every stage of my development, others have invested in me. Support from a dedicated mother and family who made huge sacrifices to let me fly and realise my ambitions. Support from Haringey Council, Haringey Teachers, my church, my secondary school, the Labour Party, mentors in the legal profession, lectures at the University of London and Harvard Law School - even support from my Bank. No-one said 'this isn't for you', 'who do you think you are', 'black men from Tottenham don't go to Harvard'. People believed in me and invested in me.
What constituents like mine want and deserve is that same investment - investment in people. The funds and resources not just to take up employment but also to become self employed opening up small businesses, dot com enterprises, cafes, newsagents, playing football at White Hart Lane, playing music in a band, or creating art. What I am trying to say is that we must invest in people's souls as well as their skills.

It is an honour for me, Mr Deputy Speaker to make my maiden speech on the most crucial subject of public expenditure. Because government expenditure over the years has neglected to take into account some of the grave problems of the inner city, hoping perhaps that poverty might disappear by itself. For too long, the state has said to too many people in Tottenham - you have nothing to offer, you must be stupid because of your background, you don't speak English yet so what are you doing here.

The task ahead of us is to continue to search, in partnership with community and government, to find new forms of response to an ever complex and changing world. For general welfare, sound investment for business and people is not best served by placing the least political restraints on economic activity. Responsible government must work to secure both social and economic justice. It is perhaps a tightrope that we knew we would find ourselves walking and one on which this present government has trod remarkably well. We have a Government that recognises that public expenditure can liberate and nurture as well as simply provide services.

Just over a month ago, the Government announced a £50 million package of investment through the New Deal for Communities programme for the Seven Sisters area, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in my constituency. That's so much more than just a band aid. It's real money. 50 million pounds worth of investment in the 10 thousand people of Seven Sisters. An area plagued with poor housing, high crime, and weak schools.

On Tuesday my Right Honourable Friend the Chancellor announced this Government's massive nationwide investment in public services. His announcement means at least 50 thousand pounds for every secondary school in Tottenham every year. All paid direct to the Headteacher - all money to be invested in books, in IT equipment - in helping Tottenham children to grow and develop.

There are 29 centres of excellence in early years education across the country - three of them are in Tottenham. We can provide an early years programme for almost all three and four year olds whose parents request a place.
No four year old will be of the opinion that they are stupid because of their race or because they don't speak English, but will look forward to studying in some of our higher education establishments, such as the University of Middlesex which announced last week that it is opening a new site for 10,000 students at the heart of the regeneration zone in the centre of Tottenham. The College of North East London has just undergone over 19 million pounds worth of development. This money will pay to refurbish buildings, install cutting edge technology which will bring learning direct to the community. Skilled staff will pioneer new methods of teaching, as an example of best practice to the rest of the country. Tottenham is also home to the Digital Arts Centre - offering state of the art technology and facilities to the community in music and film.

We have so many artists; ones that you won't find in Tate Modern, or in the National Gallery - at least, not yet. There are plans afoot to bring more art and technology to Tottenham because our young people and entrepreneurs are crying out for it.

The New Deal has created the opportunity for 139,000 young people across Britain to gain employment. It has been an effective scheme to help people get real jobs.

But Tottenham needs more. Our unemployment rate, at 11..6% is the third highest in England. The New Deal has not been meeting the needs of all Black youth in Haringey. It is vital that this flaw is swiftly addressed. I welcome the government's assurances that this aspect of the New Deal will be improved.

I have the great privilege of representing one of the most multi-cultural constituencies in this House. I am not just a black politician for black people - I am a politician for all people. Multi ethnic means just that - all ethnic groups, black and white. When I see any section of my community missing life-chances and opportunities, I will strive to support them and I will speak out for them. All of Tottenham's communities deserves no less from me and would expect no less from me.

As a young representative I am very aware of the lack of interest my friends and contemporaries have towards the workings of parliament.
Recent elections, have demonstrated a potential lack of engagement between voters and politicians. Most worrying is the fact that younger people - under the age of 30 - are particularly uninterested in politics. They still engage in single issue politics, but less in national party politics.

I have fought two elections this year- first for the Greater London Assembly and then in the Tottenham by-election. In both elections the candidates promised to find solutions to real problems - its something that the voters demand and politicians are striving to deliver. Why then, does a persistent apathy creep in? An apathy which dictates that it is the politician's role to fail and the elector's role to be disillusioned. At the end of the cycle, the politicians are frustrated, the media cynical, and the electorate turned off.

Mr Deputy Speaker, the real work begins for me now, along with all members of this house, to find ways to make new connections, to join an ongoing dialogue with electors.

As I have said, many people have invested in me. I look forward to investing, with this Government, my Right Honourable and Honourable friends, in the people of Tottenham. I thank the house for welcoming their youngest member.

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