Mr Speaker, Rt Hon John Bercow MP and Patron of the Patchwork Foundation announced the winners of the MP of the Year Awards 2016 sponsored by KPMG at Speakers House on 2nd November 2016, for those MPs who have represented and work well with underrepresented, deprived and minority communities across the country.
Stephen Kinnock MP said: “I am very humbled to have received the Patchwork Foundation Newcomer of the Year Award. First of all, I want to simply say that representing the people of Aberavon is a true privilege. It’s a constituency of good, hard-working, talented, tough and funny people and I am honoured to speak for them in Parliament.
To make a slight understatement: it has been quite an eventful year.
In the last year, we have seen the power of politics to change people’s lives and to change history itself. I have seen this at a local level – be it with my local work to tackle fuel poverty and support fair funding, improve financial literacy, tackle child poverty, or the national campaign I have been part of to save our Steel industry. Working with others in parliament, with unions and the local community, the Save Our Steel campaign has helped put the future of my Aberavon constituency on a firmer foundation. At a national level, the Leave vote in the European Union has completely transformed the context and future of the UK and will impact every part of our national life.
That completely transformative power of politics, locally, nationally and internationally, is why the work of the PatchworkFoundation is so important. Politics often reflects those who take part in it, and as such we need voices, experiences and contributions from every walk of life to ensure that it works to the benefit of every person in this country. Especially in the current challenging context of Brexit, it is only with that more diverse, richer and more representative politics that we will be able to rise to the challenge of creating a more positive, hopeful and unified future for the UK”
Labour Party Leader Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn MP said: “Working with his local community and Trade Unions, Stephen Kinnock has held the Government to account on their mismanagement of the crisis in the steel industry. As such, he has been an effective representative of his constituents and is greatly deserving of this award.”
Siddiq Musa, KPMG Partner said: “We are delighted to sponsor these Patchwork Awards for the third year encouraging under represented communities to connect with the political process and celebrating those MPs from across the political divide who have really made a difference to inclusion. The work done by their volunteers and the time they commit will hopefully inspire young people in all communities to fulfil their true potential. How organisations work with, and within, their local communities is a critical part of inspiring young people. That’s why KPMG pioneered a School Leaver Programme, a Business Support Academy and also launched our 360 degree apprenticeship programme. We have committed ourselves to target ranges spanning across the four areas of gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation. Everyone has the right to feel safe from discrimination and bring their whole self to work, into Parliament or civic life so that they can fulfil their own potential and make a difference to business, our communities and to people’s lives and opportunities.”