selina seth reporting.irst — or maiden — speeches in the commons. by tradition, these are non—controversial and include a tribute to the mp's predecessor, even if they came from a different political party. mark fletcher is a conservative whose victory in derbyshire ended the parliamentary career of labour's dennis skinner, who was widely known as the beast of bolsover. dennis also became known nationally for his uncompromising contributions in this chamber and his heckling in the queen's speech. feared, admired and respected, dennis skinner is synonymous both with this house and with the constituency i now represent. and i think it would only be fair and a great tribute if we can arrange for a statue of dennis to be built in the constituency, to honour his service and to inspire the next generation in bolsover that they too can help shape the world. new mps are also advised to say nice things about their constituency. for some, it's not exactly a stretch. my predecessor, in his own maiden speech, mentioned