17:01 Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat)

Speaking of previous politicians, I pay tribute to my predecessor, Anne Marie Morris, and her dedication to the constituency. Her maiden speech told of the waves gently breaking over the trains on the Dawlish seawall. The 2014 storm, however, showed us that the force of the sea and the increased storms due to climate change were both serious and urgent. Since then, Network Rail has constructed a new seawall, rebuilt the station and more. However, it was the catastrophic cliff collapse near Teignmouth that caused the longest interruption of rail services, cutting London off from the south-west peninsular. We are still waiting for funds to be confirmed for that work. Climate change is a real and present threat to us on the coast, and we cannot stop it with just flood defences and mitigations. We must do everything we can to reduce the use of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide emissions.

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