Emma Hardy – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II
The tribute made by Emma Hardy, the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.
It is an honour to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth on my behalf and that of the constituents of Hull West and Hessle. It is with deep sadness that I make my contribution, because I could see how loved the Queen was in Hull West and Hessle, particularly on the day of the jubilee celebrations, when everyone was out celebrating the reign of the Queen, from our very youngest people—babies in prams and their mums, enjoying themselves—right the way up to our older residents.
On the way down on the train today, I spoke to my mum, who said that she was feeling really unsettled and had been a bit upset. My mum never met the Queen—to be honest, neither did I—but the fact that she was feeling unsettled by the Queen’s death illustrates what a constant she has been in each and all of our lives, and how she has been relied on. My mum said, “Emma, I was one and a half when the Queen came in. It’s all I’ve ever known.” Through everything that my mum has lived through, there has always been the Queen. My mum said, “I almost felt that she’d always be there.” We know now, of course, that no one can always be there.
The Queen’s passing has touched us all in Hull West and Hessle, across the United Kingdom, in the Commonwealth and—I am pleased to see—internationally as well. I truly believe that having the Queen as our Head of State has enhanced our reputation as a country. Just look at those front covers around world; look at the tributes coming in from world leaders. What other world leader would have the number of tributes and the real adoration that our Queen has had? We could rely on her. We knew that if we sent the Queen to meet dignitaries around the world, it was going to go well and would make our country look good, and that gives a sense of real pride. That came from her and what she did.
She was our Queen but, as many others have said, she was also the royal family’s mum, their grandma and their great-grandma. God bless the Queen as she is reunited with her beloved husband, and God bless King Charles III.
