Ian Roome
MP for North Devon · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom
“I thank the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing this important debate. I want to speak up for Ilfracombe in particular, and the challenges that will be familiar to coastal communities everywhere. Devon county council has identified Ilfracombe as one of the most vulnerable towns in Devon.”
“I have spoken with local business owners who pour their hearts and souls out into Ilfracombe trying to make things better, and the very last thing that they need is a hatchet job in the national press. Just yesterday, it was reported that a local teenager, Bradley Blackmore, bravely rescued another boy from drowning. Well done, Bradley.”
“This August, a daring soapbox derby will again raise thousands for charity, and I am proud to say that Ilfracombe has just been shortlisted for the first ever UK town of culture awards, one of only 15 towns in the country on the list.”
“The review rightly placed at the heart of Britain’s future military capability the digital targeting web—the system that links sensors, commanders and weapons into one integrated force that can identify a threat and destroy it.”
“I certainly do, and I will come that later in my speech. There are areas where the Government seem to have cut corners: munitions reserves, medical support, industrial resilience—all essential for enduring a longer crisis. Professionals talk logistics.”
“I agree with the hon. and gallant Gentleman, and I thank him for his distinguished service too. We are seeing that in how we are learning lessons from Ukraine. I have been out there and seen the systems, so I totally agree.”
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“I am grateful to the Secretary of State for mentioning the good work of charities. My base in North Devon, Royal Marines Base Chivenor, and garrison commander Lieutenant Colonel Simpson are supportive of service charities, including the Royal Marines Association. Will the Secretary of State wish the Royal Marine Corps a happy birthday, as they celebrate their 360th birthday today?”
“Does the Minister agree that if Iceland and Monaco can be approved countries under the reciprocal UK mobility scheme, our closest neighbours, such as Ireland and France, should be too? Many schools in my constituency would like a youth mobility agreement because it would be beneficial to our youth.”
“That is hot off the press this week and may benefit as many as 40,000 cancer sufferers, and it is among the first medications of its kind. Another remarkable firm, Systems Engineering and Assessment, or SEA, has just won a £135 million contract to supply cutting-edge defensive countermeasure systems to the Royal Navy. Thanks to its hard work and some innovative engineering on an industrial estate in my constituency, young people will be kept safe as they serve their country in uniform. My constituency is one of hidden opportunities around every corner. We must seize them. It is an immense privilege for me to be North Devon’s voice in this place, and I intend to do it justice.”
“Clean energy, an extended supply chain and high-paying jobs could be a shot in the arm for the economy of the great south-west. I pay tribute to my predecessor Selaine Saxby, who was absolutely right to identify that as a massive opportunity that, if done right, could benefit the region for decades to come. North Devon district hospital will soon be home to a £1.4 million clinical research centre that will lead groundbreaking studies into heart conditions, joint problems and osteoarthritis. Few people know that Barnstaple, where I live, is also home to Accord Healthcare, a pharmaceutical group that manufactures a staggering 10% of all the medication used in the NHS and is a vital part of this country’s critical supply chain. It has just announced a new, groundbreaking, orally administered medication for prostate cancer.”
“Out of uniform, I joined the NHS, starting out as a mental health nurse at North Devon district hospital—the most remote acute hospital in mainland England—visiting patients across unique communities, such as Combe Martin and Lynton, and eventually leading the campaign to build a chemotherapy and day treatment unit. My area suffers from shortfalls in important medical services such as pharmacy, nursing and, in particular, dentistry. Our hospital now has intensive care units and operating theatres that are approaching 50 years old and are desperately in need of investment from the new hospital programme. However, I have been astonished by the possibilities on offer in my constituency. Numerous coastal seats across the south-west, mine included, stand to benefit massively from investment in floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea.”
“Like many rural and coastal constituencies, it suffers from low wages, which are nearly £100 a week less than the national average, and an acute housing shortage that prices younger people out of our communities or prevents them from starting a family in North Devon, as I did. Even in the 2020s, parts of my constituency still face real deprivation. In some parts of Ilfracombe, for example, the proportion of young people attaining level 4 qualifications is barely above 25%, while life expectancy is 10 years lower than other parts of Devon.”
“My constituency is fortunate to be famous for its stunning landscape and areas of outstanding natural beauty, with beaches, moors, farmland and forests that draw countless visitors every year. Farming and tourism sustain many of our rural communities, with historic market towns such as South Molton, set in rolling countryside, giving way to stunning seaside destinations such as Woolacombe, Instow and Braunton. Chivenor, where I was so lucky to be posted all those years ago, is now home to the Royal Marines Commando Logistic Regiment, and my area has a proud military history. Now-famous surfing beaches, such as Woolacombe and Saunton sands, were once used as training grounds to prepare allied forces for the Normandy landings. Behind the natural beauty, the challenges that my area faces are stark.”
“I have spent most of my working life in the NHS, but speaking for the first time in the House, I must start with a confession: as some of the northerly Members will recognise from my voice, I was not born in the west country. It is now 35 years since I was posted to what was then RAF Chivenor on the beautiful north Devon coast, while serving in the Royal Air Force. At the time, my flight sergeant at RAF Laarbruch in Germany told me that going to north Devon would probably turn out to be an adventure. I confess to the House that I do not think this place is quite what he, or I, had in mind. First, I want to thank my family, friends, and all my supporters over the years—especially my two-year-old grandson Clayton, who probably won me one or two votes—as without them I would not be here.”
“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that answer. I am told that all that three branches of the armed forces still have a long backlog of new recruits trying to get through medical assessments. What assurances can the Secretary of State give us that the strategic defence review will take account of that?”
“T4. The united support for Ukraine is not shared in the United States; there have been worrying comments by the Republican vice-presidential candidate. The Foreign Secretary knows Mr Vance. What assurances has he had from him regarding financial and military support for Ukraine should Trump win?”