Category Archives: Speeches

Here at Liberal Democrat Voice, we’ve made a point over the years of covering maiden speeches of new Liberal Democrat Parliamentarians and, with a huge new cadre of MPs elected on 4 July, you can expect a lot of those in the coming weeks. But, at the other end of the building, there are retirements and, as part of the arrangement for a retiring peer, there is an opportunity to make a valedictory speech. On Friday, Judith Jolly made hers after more than thirteen years in the Lords, having served as a Government Whip in the final years of the Coalition and then as our Frontbench spokesperson on Defence and then Health between 2015 and 2019…

My Lords, the last year has seen health and social care rise up the agenda of the country. Most of my professional life was spent in the far south-west of England. I taught maths for over 15 years and became an early champion of IT in schools. In 1997 I was appointed as a non-exec director of a NHS primary care trust. I was a lay inspector for the Commission for Health Improvement and I was proud to be first chair of the Committee for Community Nursing. In the 1990s I was appointed to the board of an NHS trust providing community services across north Cornwall.

Now we are fortunate to have both local authorities and the NHS working together to provide health and care. Despite legislation introduced in the last 15 years, we need to take a close look at the state of care for older people and for those with a learning disability. I undertook the role of chair of Hft, an organisation working all across England that cares for people with a learning disability. Of all the roles I have had, this was the most rewarding. I made many friends from the Hft board and I am grateful for the insight I had into the world of adults with a learning disability.