"Mouse of Woking" goes for his maiden

As noted by the abrasive Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail this week our local MP has finally made his first speech in parliament. It has taken him five months to reach this momentous ocassion and he is the last of the 147 Tory MPs to break his duck. Mr Letts describes dear Jonty as the "mouse of Woking" and "Parliament's shyest flower".

As is customary the speech was non-controversial and about the constituency. Several points were rather amusing. He paid tribute to his predecessor Mr Malins and his sporting prowess (apparently he once played against the All Blacks). However golf is more his sport nowadays. Jonty seems to think our former MP will be back in Woking to play golf. I would have thought he is more likely to stay in the rather leafier Reigate, where he lived throughout his tenure as MP for Woking, to play his golf.

Jonty also referred to HG Wells who lived in Woking for several years and set his novel War of the Worlds in the town. He appears to miss the irony that Woking is destroyed by the invading Martians in the story. Continuing the Wells theme he refers to the Martian statue in the town centre. It is pretty obvious he is new to Woking, and still as far as I know, lives in Blackheath, south of Guildford. His Tory colleagues on the Council were none too happy about the expenditure on the Martian statue and used its commissioning as a stick with which to beat the Lib Dems several years ago.

Update 2 November

Just read an interesting item on maiden speeches by the 2010 intake over at epolitix.  It seems our local MP was the last of all 227 of new MPs to make his speech.  All but four of the new boys and girls spoke to the House for the first time before the summer recess.  Jonty spoke 156 days afer the first new MP made his maiden.