LAURA Farris, the MP for Newbury, paid tribute to her father in her first speech in parliament since being elected.

She made her maiden speech in the House of Commons on Monday, February 24.

Ms Farris said it was “an honour” to make her first speech 100 years to the day since the first female MP, Nancy Astor, made hers.

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She was first elected in December last year, when Richard Benyon stepped down after 15 years as MP for Newbury. Ms Farris said: “Richard was totally dedicated to that community, a brilliant campaigner, and true environmentalist. He is missed in Newbury.”

She said: “It is the honour of my life to represent my home in parliament. Where I was born, where I grew up, that place is in my bones.”

She praised the schools in the constituency of Newbury, which covers most of West Berkshire, and where 95 per cent are rated by Ofsted as good or outstanding.

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“But the thing that I’m most proud of is provision for special educational needs. We have the Mary Hare school for the deaf, which has the largest sixth form for deaf students in the country and sends many of them on to further education and university.

“We also have the Castle school, which provides an outstanding education for children with particularly complex educational needs.”

Ms Farris also spoke about Newbury’s role in the civil war, when in “about 48 hours when the history of England was determined on the battlefields of Newbury”.

She described the Greenham peace camp as “the smack of resistance”, the protests against building the Newbury bypass as “the pulse of insurgency”, and the Hungerford massacre as “catastrophic human tragedy”.

Her father, Michael McNair-Wilson served as MP for Newbury from 1974 until 1992. She said: “The way he supported, defended and championed that community, particularly through its darkest hour, shaped my entire view of public service.”

While Ms Farris is not the first daughter to take her father’s seat, she is the first in the Conservative party to do so.

She added: “Nearly 30 years have passed since my father died and I was young when he did. But he sparked a passion for politics and he always taught me to think freely and keep testing my ideas.

“I think of him every day when I walk through his corridors, and I’m proud to follow in his footsteps.”

Before being elected, Ms Farris worked as an employment barrister, and spoke of how she would bring that experience as MP, highlighting the issue of an ageing workforce, and calling for more flexible contacts for both men and women. 

Wrapping up her maiden speech, she said: “I will always fight for the jobs and security of my constituents, and it will be their opportunities and aspirations that will guide my work in this house.”