Today I had the great privilege of opening the debate on the Queen's speech and moving the motion that a humble address be presented to Her Majesty. The full text of my speech is below and you can also watch it here: Mr Speaker, I beg to move that an humble address be presented to Her Majesty, as follows: Most Gracious Sovereign, We, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, The Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Majesty… …for the Gracious Speech which Your Majesty has addressed to both Houses of Parliament. In this year of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee… ...I am deeply honoured to move the Loyal Address… For six decades, Her Majesty has provided us with a peerless example of duty, dignity and service to the nation. And it was the subject of peerless-ness that was immediately on my mind… …when I was called into the Chief Whip’s office last week. I really thought he wanted to have a full and frank discussion on the reform of the Other Place. I ran to No. 9 Downing Street, in the pouring rain, clutching my folder of briefing notes….. ...whilst continuously repeating the phrase ‘more effective, but not elected’, ‘more effective, but not elected’. I can announce to this House, Mr Speaker, that having a small glass of water with the Chief, without biscuits, has allowed the two of us to reach, as our manifesto demands, a consensus on this thorny issue. Mr Speaker, it was only later that I remembered something important. The accepted convention is that this address is usually delivered by an hon. Member of this House… … just as their illustrious career is starting to approach its expiry date. Perhaps my Rt. hon. friend the Prime Minister is gently hinting… …that I have a great future behind me. Equally, the Loyal Address is usually seconded by a young, ambitious backbencher hungry for promotion… And it is in that spirit I warmly congratulate the Rt hon. member for Gordon, who has that happy role today. Though I have rarely seen the chamber this full, this will probably not be my most watched speech. Not many backbench MPs can boast over 130,000 downloads on YouTube, for a few lines uttered during an Opposition Day debate. To any colleagues in the House seeking a wider audience for their speeches… … my advice is to spend less time thinking about what to say and more time in choosing what to wear. I recommend a loud tie. Preferably one with a soundtrack. Mr Speaker, the last person to move this motion was my rt. hon. friend, the Member for Hitchin and Harpenden. I seem to recall he informed this House that he was able to trace his lineage back to the village of Lilley, which has existed in his constituency since Anglo-Saxon times. With a name like mine, I was never going to convince the voters of Stratford-on-Avon that my ancestors fought the Normans at the battle of Hastings. In fact, Stratford-on-Avon is a constituency in the heart of England, in the county of Warwickshire, that is ninety percent white. If I may say so, Mr Speaker, this is not a kaleidoscope county. But it is a testament to the values of that constituency, and this country, that they chose me as their representative. And it is on their behalf that I deliver this address. During the election, I canvassed every one of Stratford-on-Avon’s seventy-nine villages and hamlets, as well as its four principal towns. It became clear to me that people weren’t interested in my ethnicity, or where I had been educated. They wanted to know: was I on their side… …and was I up to the job? For us politicians, and for this government, these are the questions that really matter. Our different backgrounds were certainly a point of curiosity… …but what made the difference was our shared values. In this the people of Stratford represent the very best of modern Britain. Mr Speaker, my family arrived here on these shores with only fifty pounds in their pockets. …immigrants from a land in the grip of a cruel and murderous regime. This great country offered us the priceless gifts of freedom and opportunity… …and the ultimate proof of that opportunity is that I can stand before you today… …a Member of this, the oldest and greatest of all parliaments. Today, the task before us all is to spread that opportunity further… To do so we must strengthen enterprise, and deliver a more affordable state. It will not be easy Mr Speaker. As my hon. friend and co-author the Member for West Suffolk well knows… … over the past decade or more, our banks have been managed not by Masters of the Universe, but by Masters of Nothing. I am therefore pleased, that the Gracious Speech has announced measures to implement the Vickers recommendations on banking reform. We should not make the mistake of thinking this is merely a technical issue, of no interest to the public. It matters to people because people want a fairer and stronger financial system, not one of cosy cartels and taxpayer bailouts. What is happening right now in the eurozone will matter too. In Greece, hardliners and extremists are threatening to take over the political mainstream. But it is comforting that there are early signs of a reverse trend here in the UK. In Britain extremists are rejoining the mainstream… Only yesterday my Rt hon. friend the Business Secretary issued a clarion call for the repatriation of powers back from Brussels… Mr Speaker, after such a far-sighted and decisive intervention, by such a senior member of the Government, no-one can say this Coalition isn’t working. But there is a serious point here. People at home watching the political mayhem in Europe would be utterly dismayed if we failed to maintain a strong and focused government to deal with this crisis. Mr Speaker, beyond the crisis there is a real opportunity, and I therefore welcome, the Government’s commitment to build strategic partnerships with the emerging powers. Over the next ten years the global economy is forecast to grow by $9 trillion. …and $6 trillion of that growth will come from one country: China. In fact, China is growing so quickly that it creates an economy the size of Greece once every three months… … although on current trends, perhaps that multiple should be revised upwards. In my own constituency, I can see even small businesses grabbing hold of the opportunities those huge numbers represent… Reforms that unleash the creative power of our small and medium-sized businesses is the best growth strategy this country could possibly have. Mr Speaker, in business, you soon learn that the world owes you nothing. Historic ties, patient diplomacy, shared values, even a shared language will not get you that contract unless you can also beat your rivals on quality, service and price. It is a lesson we ignore at our peril. Yet there is one area in which the world does owe Britain; one field in which we remain both a net creditor, and a leading exporter… More stable than finance, more enduring than oil, Mr Speaker, I am describing our extraordinary cultural industries. Indeed, as the Member for Stratford-on-Avon, …I cannot proceed any further without a mention of my most famous former constituent: William Shakespeare. Members of this House will doubtless be familiar with Shakespeare’s warning in Act I of Hamlet: ‘Give thy thoughts no tongue Nor any unproportion’d thought his act.’ Valuable advice indeed for those of us who use Twitter, Mr Speaker. As well as Shakespeare the playwright and poet… This House will also be aware of Shakespeare the industry—another area in which our fame resounds across the world. When the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, visited Britain for two days last summer, …one day was reserved for high level strategic talks in Whitehall. But the other day - at his own request - was spent with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford. The thought of one of the world’s most powerful men wearing special white gloves… …so that he could handle a Shakespeare first edition with reverence… ….is a striking reminder of just how far our cultural reach extends. And the traffic is not just one way, Mr Speaker. For the many Chinese visitors to Stratford… …a park bench where Premier Wen took a short rest has become a major tourist attraction in its own right. But Mr Speaker, in summing up, it is Shakespeare the man who resonates with me the most. For as well as creating great art, Shakespeare also built a great business. Uniquely among Elizabethan playwrights he owned a share in the theatre company for which he wrote. And like all good business-owners he invested in his company. In 1608, he helped to finance a second theatre in Blackfriars, just across the river from the more famous Globe. Lacking family connections, but possessed of a grammar school education, his achievement is all the more remarkable. Mr Speaker, as well as being the greatest writer in our language—I would say, in any language ….there is no better embodiment of British values than this self-taught, self-made, indeed self-created man… …a man who worked his utmost to put on earth and in our hearts a source of wealth that endures to this day. In fact…more than this… … I would go as far as to say ...that the great Bard... was, in his soul and in his actions… … a natural Tory. Mr Speaker, I commend the motion to the House.