Our new MP, Gideon Amos, spoke of his pride at being elected and his love for the area in his maiden Parliamentary speech.

He told the Chamber: “It's the greatest privilege of my life to serve the residents of Taunton and Wellington.

“I'm here to do one thing – work for them, and to stand up for them to those in power, whenever that's the right thing to do.”

Mr Amos added: “I want to give credit to the former member for Taunton Deane, the Conservative, Rebecca Pow.

“Her enthusiasm for gardening and wildlife is, I'm sure, something that she'll continue to contribute to, and she was, of course, Minister for Water and for our rivers.

“And being partial to a dip in the river myself from time to time, I was pleased to successfully apply for bathing water status for a stretch of the River Tone to get the improvement in water quality that we desperately need in our rivers in Taunton.”

The MP also paid tribute to the Liberal Democrat MP Jeremy Browne, Member of Parliament for Taunton Deane from 2005 to 2015, who served as both a Home Office and a Foreign Office Minister and who remains incredibly well liked in the constituency, pointing out that he was:

“The first Member in this House to propose a new railway station for Wellington and I'm delighted to have had the Chancellor's assurance in the previous debate that the project will be going ahead.”

Mr Amos went on to talk about the area’s outstanding cultural attractions – including the Gaumont Theatre, which is now home to bingo.

“They all come together to mean that not only do we have a Mecca, but our area is also a cultural Mecca from which people come from far and wide.”

He also spoke about the huge range of educational opportunities such as Richard Huish College and the University Centre Somerset now offering degrees like nursing “in support of the superb staff at Musgrove Park Hospital for which funding is urgently needed for the new Maternity Unit where buckets are currently used to catch the rain in the corridors in a building built for the US Army as a temporary measure in 1940.”

Mr Amos added: “All these institutions, together with the UK Hydrographic Office, make Taunton the ideal location for new research and innovation entrepreneurs. Only 104 minutes from Paddington.

“And to all of them I say, come and enjoy the amazing quality of life we offer. And when they come to Taunton, they'll find we have a ticket office at the station, which is still working,”

He said: “We encourage people coming to Wellington, as well, and I look forward to working hard on the Wellington station project. which I mentioned earlier, and I invite the Secretary of State, or indeed the Rail Minister to visit the project.”

Mr Amos spoke of his family’s military connections saying he was delighted, with the help of former Royal Marine Paddy Ashdown, to raise an ultimately successful petition to gain a U-turn on the previous government's proposal, shockingly, to close down Norton Manor Camp.

“Isn't it, Madam Deputy Speaker, that generation's courage and bravery, not only in rebuilding Britain, but in defeating fascism in the first place, that demands our respect and demands that we do everything we can to defend the liberal and democratic values that makes this country so great. 

“And can I also say, surely their bravery demands that we always, from all sides of this house,

“Always say no to those who would stir up division, despair, and hatred for nothing more than to get votes because they have nothing positive to offer people instead.”

You can watch the maiden speech by Gideon Amos in full via this link: http://gideonamos.org.uk/speeches