DAVID Cameron's successor as Witney MP has paid tribute to the former prime minister, saying he made the Conservative party 'believe in itself again'.

Robert Courts used his maiden speech in the House of Commons to say both the party and the country would forever be in Mr Cameron's debt, adding that he was one of a new generation of Conservative politicians forged by the former PM.

Mr Courts also hailed Winston Churchill and his great grandfather Albert Stubbs, a former Labour MP who once debated with Mr Churchill in the Commons.

Barrister Mr Courts also picked up the issue of caring for veterans, saying those in the armed forces today deserved as much care as those who served in past conflicts.

Witney Gazette:

  • David Cameron, left, and Robert Courts visit a school together

Surrounded by Tory MPs, Mr Courts said of Mr Cameron: "There is perhaps no greater tribute that I could pay to David Cameron than to say that he made the Conservative party believe in itself again.

"He made it fresh, dynamic and able to communicate with modern Britain. He created a new generation of Conservative politicians, and I am one of them."

After praising Mr Cameron's record on the economy, Mr Courts added: "The party, and may I say the country, will forever be in his debt."

Later in his speech Mr Courts did poke fun at the former prime minister, saying he would be careful not to leave his children in any of West Oxfordshire's wonderful pubs.

Mr Courts told MPs he was making his maiden speech on Churchill's birthday, and that the former prime minister was buried in the village of Bladon, where Mr Courts lives.

Witney Gazette:

  • People pay respects to Sir Winston Churchill at Bladon Church in 1965

The new MP also admitted his Labour great grandfather would be 'horrified' at his politics, and recalled an exchange between Mr Churchill and his great grandfather from 1945.

To laughter, Mr Courts said: "The great man, speaking from the opposition bench of course, paused in his speech.

"He took an intervention from Mr Stubbs, he told him that he was ignorant, and went back to his speech.

"I don't know who was right and wrong in matters. I merely hope that I manage to avoid such a rebuke in the course of my career."

Mr Courts paid tribute to the care of elderly veterans in his constituency, as well as the men and women in the Royal Air Force today.

"They, together with the Army and Royal Navy, are the people whose strength and bravery makes possible the civilised debate that we have in this House," he said.

"We must not forget that those who defend our freedom now are no less requiring of our care than their forebears.

"Sometimes the scars are visible and I commend the charities who do so much to help those whose injuries are physical.

"But we should not forget that so often the wounds are not visible, that a person may leave the conflict, but the conflict will never leave the person."

Concluding his speech, he added: "I am acutely aware of the trust set in me by the people of West Oxfordshire.

"I will ensure that the voice of the Windrush is heard loudly on the banks of the Thames, and I will strive every day to deserve their trust."

Labour MP for Exeter Ben Bradshaw said: "Let me congratulate him most warmly on an excellent maiden speech.

"He talked with great descriptive beauty about his constituency, he used humour, and it was serious."