WARRINGTON’S new Conservative MP David Mowat has made his maiden speech in the House of Commons – weighing into the subject of poverty.
He acknowledged that the previous Labour government, through pension credits and in-work credits, tried hard, but pointed out that it was a fact that throughout the last Parliament, levels of both absolute and severe poverty increased.
The Warrington South MP (pictured) pointed out that parts of his constituency were among the most affluent in the country while others were among the most deprived.
“Seven of our wards in the urban core are in the bottom 20 per cent of wards in the country and in both Latchford East and Bewsey more than one in four children live in households dependent on workless benefits.
“When such a disparity exists it is troubling,” he said.
Mr Mowat said he believed if progress was to be made, two issues had to be addressed.
First, the country had eight million people who were economically inactive. Second, it was the worst in western Europe in terms of the number of children growing up in workless households.
He said: “The best way to help many people out of poverty is to create the well-paid, sustainable jobs that will make a difference. We have to do so over the next few years in a period in which we are going to reduce our dependence on financial services and on unsustainable public sector jobs.
” In my opinion, the only way in which that can be done is through increased investment in applied science, engineering and innovation.”
Mr Mowat said he was pleased to hear of proposals to create a large number of apprenticeships. But it was important, too, to create enough professional engineers to make a difference.
“It is a particularly sad fact that over the past three decades, in spite of the increase in higher education, the number of engineering graduates from our universities has decreased. That is not the case in India or China; indeed, it is not the case in any other country in continental Europe.
“On the fringes of Warrington is Daresbury Science Park, which is a brilliant place that takes some of the best ideas produced in universities in the north-west and combines them with marketing skills and venture capital.
“Such places are going to create the jobs that we need in the medium term to fight the battle against poverty. In my view, social mobility is a hallmark of a civilised society. It is sad that in the past decade, social mobility fell in this country. I believe that the coalition, of which we are all part, will be judged, at least in part, on our ability to reverse that decline in social mobility.”
