Lib Dem by-election winner pledges to stand up for rural communities in maiden speech

Liberal Democrat by-election winner in Somerton and Frome, Sarah Dyke, has vowed to stand up for rural communities that have been neglected under this Conservative government in her maiden speech in Parliament.

In her speech, Sarah Dyke spoke at length about how the Levelling-Up Bill in its current form would not go far enough for rural communities. She talked about Lib Dem attempts to provide better rural bus services and put in place new planning classes for second homes and holiday lets that were rejected by the Government.

The by-election winner also put her support behind a Liberal Democrat amendment from the House of Lords to the Levelling-Up Bill which would take into account the cost of delivering services in rural areas being higher than in urban ones. 

All this is part of the new MP fulfilling her pledge to the people of Somerton and Frome during the by-election campaign, that she would stand up for the needs of rural communities and take their issues to the heart of Parliament.

Liberal Democrat MP for Somerton and Frome, Sarah Dyke said:

“It was an honour to have made my maiden speech today and put forward the concerns of my constituents who have been neglected by Conservative sleaze and scandal for so long. 

“Every time I step up to speak in Parliament, I will ensure that I bring my community's needs right to the heart of Westminster. GP services are in decline, our bus links are far from adequate, and farmers are being ignored at every turn.

“Somerton and Frome got its voice back today and I will strive to make sure the needs of this great constituency are never forgotten again.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

*Check against delivery* - Sarah Dyke MP's maiden speech:

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting me the opportunity to make my maiden speech.

I would like to begin by paying tribute to my predecessor. The hon. Gentleman served his constituents over his tenure in Parliament, and I thank him for his service. He spoke up for one of the major cultural exports from our region, cider.

Written records of cider production in Somerset exist as early as the 12th Century and Somerset has become synonymous with and proud to be the ancestral home of the cider industry. Cider is so important to our region that until the passing of the Truck Act in 1887 which prohibited the practice, labourers were often paid in cider, with some of the top labourers often earning 8 pints a day in payment. Although prohibited, I understand that the practice was slow to dry up in Somerset and continued well into the 20th Century! The industry today sustains thousands of jobs and hundreds of farmers. Our cider is renowned for its quality. And I will champion the industry during my time here. 

Somerton & Frome has a large agricultural base and is home to many of the country’s finest farmers and rural businesses. All producing food for our tables to high environmental and animal welfare standards. Farmers are essential to the UK economy and our way of life. We must back our hardworking farmers and provide them with a fair deal to ensure we have food security long into the future. 

I herald from a family, that has been farming in the area for over 250 years. So, I will always stand up and fight for our farmers, who not only produce delicious and healthy food and drink but who also protect our precious environment.

The importance of improving the environment is crucial to a rural area such as Somerton and Frome. Because we face the effects of climate change first hand and the damage it can cause will be devastating for our local communities. So, I am committed to campaigning on this issue and call for the positive changes we need to see. 

It is an honour to be elected as the latest Liberal to represent this area.

I am proud to follow in the footsteps of Thomas Hughes and more recently, David Heath, the last Liberal Democrat to represent this constituency. David is a true champion of this area who fought for 18 years for the people of Somerton & Frome, and I would like to thank him for all he has done for Somerset during his career. If I am able to achieve half of what he was able to do, I am confident that I will have done a good job!

So often, leading women are overlooked, and I would therefore like to recognise some of the pioneering women from my area.

I am the second woman to represent the town of Frome, following on from Mavis Tate MP who represented Frome from 1935-1945 and used Parliament to campaign for and champion women’s rights.

Emma Seeley-Harris, the documentary photographer who helped expose the human rights abuses in the Congo Free State under King Leopold II of Belgium, also lived in Frome.

She was the first centenarian to be a member of the Frome Society for Local Study.  

Finally, I would like to mention Emma Sheppard, another Victorian pioneer who called for workhouse reform. In 1882 evidence of her writings were given before a Select Committee in the other place on the law relating to the protection of young girls. She is now immortalised with the Emma Sheppard Centre in Frome, which is now a dementia day care centre.

So, from people to places, a short tour of the seat which I am proud to represent.

We start in Somerton, the ancient capital of Somerset and from where the county gains its name. The old English name for Somerset means the people living at or dependent on Somerton. The terms “Somerton” and “Somerset” derive from the land of the summer people as Somerset was marshy and wet during the winter months and only dry and useful in the summer. That is until the Somerset levels were drained by monks to farm there during the middle ages. 

Now on to Langport, which aptly gained its name as it used to be a port town. Langport is the natural crossing point on the River Parrett over which the Royalist soldiers fled through the town while being pursued by Cromwell’s forces after the Battle of Langport held at Pict’s Hill. It is also home to the “Langport Mummers” who perform The Alfred play, based on King Alfred and his battle with Guthrum, the Viking. Alfred is known to have been based close to Langport before his battle with Guthrum’s Great Heathen Army around the 8th century. 

So, from the western most part of the constituency we move to the south eastern edge, to King Alfreds’ Tower which was built by Henry Hoare on the county border with Wiltshire. This folly tower is sited where King Alfred rallied his troops before defeating Guthrum and by doing so he regained control of Wessex.

We mustn’t leave this part of the constituency without mentioning Wincanton, which is close by. In 2002, Wincanton was twinned with Ankh-Morpork from Terry Pratchett’s “Discworld” series, making it perhaps the only place in the UK twinned with a place that doesn’t exist!

Just north east of Wincanton is the ancient Selwood Forest which reaches north to Frome. Unfortunately, in Somerset the Selwood Forest is somewhat of a rarity as the county only possess 8% tree canopy cover, signifying the urgent need for environmental action, as does the lack of tree cover across the country. At the last election all political parties pledged to increase tree cover across the country. I will be working hard throughout my time in parliament to restore our natural environment and hope progress continues to be made. 

We emerge from Selwood Forest into Frome, the home of J.W. Singer & Sons art metal works, which represents the industrial legacy of the town.  This foundry produced iconic monuments including Lady Justice on top of the Old Bailey. And closer to this place, in 1902 the magnificent statue of Boudicca and her Daughters was assembled on the Thames Embankment on the south-west end of Westminster Bridge where the statue stands today. Quite some feat given J.W. Singer cast his first brass altar candlesticks in 1848 using turnips as moulds.

Turning to the current debate. Too often when we talk about levelling-up we think of urban areas in the North of England. There is no doubt that those areas need support, but rural communities like mine are often forgotten and without action they risk falling back even further.So, I pay tribute to my Honourable friends for North Shropshire and Westmorland & Lonsdale, who have worked hard to ensure rural areas are not forgotten in this bill. They have tabled amendments to improve rural bus services, which are sadly neglected in Somerton and Frome and other rural constituencies and to introduce new planning classes for second homes and holiday lets so local authorities have more power to limit their impact on local housing supply. Rural areas like Somerton and Frome are suffering deeply in the cost of living crisis.

The cost of housing is often disproportionate to the level of wages available. People often have to use their car to travel further for work or to access services like Dentists, GPs, hospitals or school and off-grid fuels have been significantly more expensive to heat homes than gas. I will work to ensure that off-grid rural homes never have to face this crisis again. 

That’s why Amendment 6 on producing a rural proofing report is so important. It need go without saying that the cost of delivering services in rural areas is greater than in urban areas. So, it’s vital that levelling-up takes that into account and I’m delighted my Liberal Democrat colleagues in the other place have tabled this amendment and while I’m disappointed the government has not gone as far to support it entirely, their concession is welcome. 

And finally, I wouldn’t be a Liberal Democrat if I didn’t mention the importance of local government. We desperately need to see far more powers devolved to local government. But I also have deep concerns about the way this can sometimes be done. Devolution should be implemented with an understanding of what the local area needs. Just because devolution works well in one place a certain way, doesn’t mean it will work across rural Somerset in the same way. I strongly urge the government to give more powers to Somerset. But in consultation with the people of Somerset so we are given greater decision-making powers in our local area not just implementing what Westminster thinks we need.  

I look forward to being a hard-working member of this house and a great representative for Somerton and Frome. 

To the People of Somerset: Sumorsǣte ealle