Melanie Ward MP: maiden speech pays tribute to ‘beauty of community solidarity’

The Labour politician spoke for the first time during a debate on building safety and resilience last Wednesday.

Highlighting the region’s housing emergency, and the challenges faced by many in a cost of living crisis, she said: “The people of Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy are rightly proud of our industrial past, but we know too that pride in the past does not allow our children to reach their potential. What my constituents want is a future to look forward to, with work that pays fairly, and it is the job of those of us elected to this House to make that possible.”

Ms Ward said she was honoured to be only the second women elected as MP for the constituency - the first was Lesley Laird from 2017-19 - and was proud to be part of a parliament with more women in it than any before.

She spoke of the support for key organisations such as Kirkcaldy Foodbank, the Cottage Centre and Kirkcaldy YMCA, adding: “They are doing work that they should not have to do to stop people going hungry. Just as we on the Labour benches recognise the beauty of this community solidarity, we work for the day when nobody has to rely on it.” She paid tribute to the NHS - “mine is a family indebted to it” - and pledged to tackle the many issues facing her constituency.

“In the General Election, Labour promised an end to chaos and division. I know that many of my constituents are weary of a Scotland that has been divided on the constitution for too long. Instead, people want us to focus on fixing our broken but beloved country, bringing people together and building a better future. I will do all I can towards this goal.”

Ms Ward also paid tribute to her family, and her late father.

She said: “It is of enormous sadness to me that my dear dad is not here to see me become a Member of this House, having been taken from us by cancer, as too many still are. I was a schoolgirl when he first brought me to this place, and we never imagined then that I might one day sit on these green Benches. I know he would swell with pride if he were here today.”