Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
I’m honoured to represent hard-working, honest people
Bonnar praises constituents in his maiden speech as Westminster MP
Coatbridge’s new MP praised the“hard-working, straight- talking” people of his constituency as he made his maiden speech in the House of Commons – even name-checking local hero Ricky Burns.
Speaking at Westminster’s first session following the UK’s departure from the EU, Steven Bonnar told how his constituents feel they have been “overlooked and underestimated” at the parliament and how the local election result was an “emphatic mandate for Scottish independence”.
The SNP politician spoke from the green benches for the first time when he was called by deputy speaker Dame Rosie Winterton to contribute to a debate on a bill concerning agriculture reform.
He told fellow MPs: “It is an immense honour to be sent here to represent the good people of Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill, [and] I wish to thank all those who put their cross in the box of myself and the SNP.
“I will do my best, every day, to repay that trust.
“I also wish to assure those who did not vote for me: I will work tirelessly to represent your interests, wherever they may lie, for as long as I am in this place [and] with the same vigour and determination that I always have since my first day as an elected representative.”
Speaking about his journey from first becoming actively involved in politics ahead of the 2014 independence referendum, he thanked his election team, saying: “[ They] have been with me from my first leaflet drop and have remained by my side, making a retail worker with a simple desire for self- determination for his country into a Member of Parliament in a few short years.”
The former retail employee told how he began his working life with British Home Stores, where he had two spells and was made redundant in 2008 when he was a new father.
He said: “I wanted to take this chance to thank [ then- owner] Philip Green for that harsh life lesson, which so many of us endured under his employment.
“I will not use his given title of ‘Sir’, as I think it is a disgrace he still holds it – to see it stripped would go some way to repairing the damage his immeasurable greed and indifference for his employees and their families created.”
Mr Bonnar said of his seat of Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill: “The large towns lend the constituency its name, but the villages and other new communities, such as Muirhead,
Moodiesburn, Bargeddie and Glenboig, have strong individual identities of their own.
“We are, by and large, a collection of housing schemes built to house the many who worked the pits and steelworks of industrial Lanarkshire and beyond.
“At our core, we are an industrial set of towns and an industrious people – hard-working, straighttalking and as honest as the day is long – that is who we are.
“We wouldnae do ye a wrang turn, but you wouldnae want to step on our toes either.”
He hailed the achievements of famous constituents past and present, including legendary football manager Sir Matt Busby, European Cup winners John Robertson and Jinky Johnston, and poet laureate Walter Watson, of Chryston.
He added: “The great boxing champion Ricky Burns hails from Coatbridge; a three-weight world champion and an inspiration to many, Ricky and his fighting spirit encapsulate the town perfectly.”
There was also praise for predecessor Hugh Gaffney, who was the Labour MP for the Coatbridge constituency for two years before losing his seat to former council ward colleague Mr Bonnar at the snap election.
Mr Bonnar, who has now stood down from his role representing Thorniewood on North Lanarkshire Council, said: “I wish to pay tribute to the former member I have replaced – I am sure everyone will agree that he was a formidable voice in this place for postal workers.
“Hugh would certainly have been expecting longer down here than the brief time he got, but I would like to wish him and his constituency staff the very best of luck in their future endeavours.”
The Coatbridge MP added: “The good people of the towns and villages of this diverse constituency delivered an emphatic mandate for an MP committed to Scottish independence.
“My election, and that of many of my colleagues, is a direct response to our recent treatment from the UK government. I have been sent here from a constituency that feels it has very much been overlooked and underestimated by this place and its governments.
“The contempt we have been treated with in respect of the Brexit negotiations will not be forgotten for a long time in Scotland, or easily forgiven.
“The SNP’s emphatic victory in Scotland is in response to the disregard for our people and our democratic decisions, brought into sharp focus since the day we overwhelmingly voted for the retention of our European rights and privileges.”
We wouldnae do ye a wrang turn, but you wouldnae step on our toes either