Delivering his maiden speech to Parliament today (Friday 19 July 2024), Luke paid tribute to “the beautiful market town of Guisborough” and the “proud villages and towns from Loftus to Lingdale, Skelton to Stanghow, and Brotton.”
Referencing his childhood in Brotton, Luke said that he was “proud to be our constituency’s first MP from the villages, and I hope to serve them well.”
Luke grew up on Child Street and Marshall Drive, attending St Peter’s primary school, Freebrough secondary school, and Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough.
Continuing his speech, Luke praised the “values of fairness, respect and a collective responsibility to look out for the community” evident in East Cleveland – paying tribute to local community organisations including “the Guisborough Bridge Association and East Cleveland Good Neighbours”. Luke said that the communities of East Cleveland demonstrated “rural North Yorkshire at its best”.
“The instinct, the base code of the people of our area, is to come together and look out for those in need. Community in the face of adversity; that is our spirit, embedded like ironstone deep in our culture.”
Closing his speech, Luke made the case for jobs and investment for our area:
“Today, we are perfectly positioned for the green jobs of the future. We already produce around half the country’s hydrogen. With the right industrial strategy, we can create jobs in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and clean power—wind, nuclear and solar—and in our port. If our engineering capabilities are harnessed, we can lead the world again.”