In his maiden speech to Parliament, Mike Thornton, recent winner of the Eastleigh seat, took the time to recognise local volunteers for creating an "extraordinary sense of community" in his constituency. 

Thornton gave his first speech since winning the seat left vacant by Chris Huhne who was yesterday sentenced to eight months in prison for perverting the course of justice. Following Huhne's exit the by-election for his replacement on 1 March received huge publicity as speculation grew that the Liberal Democrats would lose their stronghold in the wake of the scandal. Thornton's victory proved otherwise.

In his 12-minute address to Parliament yesterday, Thornton said: "One of the great privileges of this job is the opportunity to work with local people - the unsung heroes of the voluntary sector. Such people have been labouring away tirelessly in their own local communities, often without much credit and probably no money. From unpaid parish councillors to street pastors, local groups such as the Pilands Wood Community Association have transformed the area and created an extraordinary sense of community.

"I would like to mention all the volunteer organisations that contribute so much, such as One Community, Churches Together in Eastleigh, Eastleigh Basics Bank, Acts of Random Kindness - which I recommend to everybody - and Open Sight. I could go on, and I am sorry for not mentioning all the groups, but I would go well past my 12-minute allocation of time."

Thornton is a former school governor and a current church volunteer in his local St Mary's church. He also works with the Bishopstoke carnival on a voluntary basis. One of his key prior campaigns was a fight to save local children's and youth centres and he is a champion of conservation. Thornton vows to speak up in Parliament for victims of mental illness, domestic violence and runaway children.

Thornton also took the opportunity yesterday to thank his predecessor, saying Huhne's eight years of contributions to Eastleigh "must not be overshadowed by recent events". Former British Cabinet minister Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce both received equal sentences in court yesterday after Pryce took three driving penalty points on Huhne's behalf a decade ago. Huhne had originally denied the act on multiple occasions before admitting it later in court.

 

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