North Shropshire: New Lib MP Helen Morgan makes first Commons speech

Helen Morgan was elected Lib Dem MP for North Shropshire in December

The newly-elected North Shropshire MP, Helen Morgan, has made her first speech in the Commons just over a month after winning the seat.

The Liberal Democrat replaced Conservative Owen Paterson who had been the MP since 1997 by overturning his 23,000 majority.

She thanked her predecessor for his service and campaign work while setting out her commitment to her constituents.

She promised to always fight for the issues that matter most to them.

But she also criticised the government's plans to reform judicial review stating the bill would "limit the ability for ordinary people to hold this government to account in the courts".

However, the government argues that it will help prevent judges from being drawn into politics and stop court time being "wasted" on a type of appeal in some immigration cases.

Owen Paterson had held the North Shropshire seat for the Conservatives since 1997

But Ms Morgan said: "Weakening the people's ability to challenge the government, because the courts sometimes move against it, is the act of a dictator or a despot.

"The best way for a government to avoid that situation is to ensure it acts lawfully in the first place, not legislate to ensure that there is one rule for citizens in this country and another for its leaders.

"The circumstances of my election suggest that the majority of voters in North Shropshire agree."

Mr Paterson resigned after he was found to have broken parliamentary rules on lobbying, ending the grip on a seat the Tories had held for 115 years.

After the election, Ms Morgan said her win was down to "a lot of anger" over lockdown Christmas parties at Downing Street and many people were already "ready to switch".

Correction 17th February 2022: This article originally reported that the Conservative Party held the North Shropshire seat for nearly 200 years. In fact the seat was held by a Liberal MP, under its old name of Oswestry from 1904-1906 following a by-election and so we have amended the article to make clear that the seat was held by the Conservative Party for 115 years.

Ms Morgan was sworn in on 5 January