Mr Mayor, Principal, Mr Chairman, ladies and Gentlemen, this is a very great and unusual honour for me. It is a rare privilege to be asked to be your guest speaker on such a very special day.

I start by adding my own congratulations to everyone here today who has received an award. I know that they are all thoroughly deserved, and have been won as a result of really hard work.

I remember from my own days as a student how tension and anxiety built up in the weeks and months before each examination, and the huge sense of relief you got when you came through each phase, and you can say to yourself "well, that wasn’t quite as bad as I expected". It’s a huge achievement and so I say "well done" to all today’s award recipients.

I also congratulate – and thank on behalf of the award winners – all the friends and family members, not only for coming here today, but also for providing that encouragement, love and support to each student. Students can sometimes be pretty grumpy and difficult to live with, particularly as the tension mounts and the examination days approach. So well done the supporters, as well.

Normally at college events you’re thanking parents, girlfriends and boyfriends, for putting up with young students. Here though it’s quite likely that it’s the mums and dads who are the students, so it’s the youngsters who have to be tolerant. Whatever the combination, well done all of you.

My congratulations too to a group that sometimes get forgotten on days like this. I am referring to the people who inspired, motivated, and encouraged the students – the teaching staff. We wouldn’t have been here without you.

This is a great College, and the whole of Worcester is really proud of it, and of all of you who make up the academic and vocational community here. In this city we are really fortunate to have such excellent educational establishments, from our primary and secondary schools, the sixth form college, the university of Worcester, and this marvellous college of technology.

I have had the good fortune to visit the college twice already this year. In May I attended the Battle of Worcester Society dinner in the Spires restaurant: those of you who are familiar with the catering department will know how excellent the quality of food and service are.

My second visit was on 17 June, when you Principal kindly took me on a tour of the college. We followed this, you remember, by one of the highlights of my year – the production of The Little Mermaid by your performing arts students. It was a wonderful evening, and again I congratulate everyone who was involved with it. Here in Worcester we have such an excellent mixture of arts and cultural events. I am proud to be Patron of the Swan Theatre and the Worcester Live Festival, and not a week goes by without some marvellous theatrical or musical performances being staged somewhere in the city. I know that your arts students will continue to contribute to the cultural richness and diversity of our community.

In preparing for this speech today I did some homework on the range of courses offered at the college. I was deeply impressed just by how extensive they are. The advertising slogan of a popular Sunday newspaper used to be "All human life is there", and that’s what the list of courses offered at the college looks like to me. Whether you are at work, rest or play, there’s a course for you.

And if you are an employer in this or a neighbouring county, the College will help ensure that the new staff you take on are qualified and motivated. It will also assist your existing staff to acquire new qualifications and expertise which will make what you do that much better.

I know that for many of you, today is just a staging point in a long educational journey. To those who are going on to university I wish the best of luck. I am sure that you will enjoy your time there, and I can see that many of you will be really fired up for it. I also wish the best of luck to those of you who are going straight into jobs. My message to you is please don’t give up on the opportunity to continue your studies part-time. I know of no-one who wouldn’t benefit from some continuing education whatever their age – and where better to continue your studies than this great college in Worcester.

These days colleges must work hard to be relevant to the academic, economic, commercial and industrial Britain of today. As the world of work in Britain has changed almost out of all recognition compared with how it was 10, 20 or 30 years ago, so the country’s institutions of learning have had to change and adapt, so that they are able to respond to the needs of our society, and help to deliver the range of skills and expertise which future employers will regard as essential in their workforce.

A couple of weeks ago I was in our twin city of Worcester Massachusetts, and I was struck by how many similarities there are in terms of the challenges facing both our communities. Both are having to come to terms with the loss of traditional manufacturing industry, and are getting on with the job of finding new ways of revitalising their economies. In Worcester Massachusetts there are no fewer than five colleges of university standard – all the ones I visited are keen to establish links and exchanges with our educational establishments here, and I have submitted a report to you and your colleagues, Mr Mayor, with suggestions on how to strengthen our ties across a whole range of activities.

I hope very much that it will be possible to arrange for many more people from both communities to visit each other – it would be good if some of you here today were among these new ambassadors.

Whilst I was there I was on a local radio programme for half an hour and asked how long the links between the two Worcesters have been in place. Apart from the fact that Worcester Massachusetts was founded by emigrants from here in the seventeenth century – I know that’s the case because they pronounce "Worcester" in exactly the same way as we do: it’s not Wor-cester, or Worchester – I was able to tell my American listeners that the first serious visitors from their side of the Atlantic came to Worcester in 1786. They were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson – two of the founders of the United States of America, later to become the second and third presidents. They came here entirely because of the Battle of Worcester: they wanted to see the battlefield for themselves.

1786. They were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson – two of the founders of the United States of America, later to become the second and third presidents. They came here entirely because of the Battle of Worcester: they wanted to see the battlefield for themselves.

We are keen to set up statues of Jefferson and Adams on Fort Royal, and whilst I was over there I raised the possibility of their being donated by our American friends. We’re working on that.

When I was visiting All Saints Church in Worcester Massachusetts, I was shown a handsome plaque that contained a piece of medieval stone carving from the Lady Chapel of this cathedral. It was donated by the Dean and Chapter as "a token of brotherly love and Christian unity" in 1874. There was no explanation of why we didn’t need it here any more, but it was clearly much appreciated over there.

I suspect that some of you may think there’s something ironic in the fact that the person addressing you today on the subjects of modernity and relevance is a member of the House of Lords. When I spoke at a Battle of Worcester Society event last year, I drew attention to the fact that on 19 March 1649 – more than two years before the battle - the House of Lords was abolished by an Act of Parliament, which declared that "The Commons of England find by too long experience that the House of Lords is useless and dangerous to the people of England."

Oliver Cromwell did however have second thoughts, and he brought it back.

on 19 March 1649 – more than two years before the battle - the House of Lords was abolished by an Act of Parliament, which declared that "The Commons of England find by too long experience that the House of Lords is useless and dangerous to the people of England."

Oliver Cromwell did however have second thoughts, and he brought it back.

I can tell you that it is a great privilege to be a member of the upper house of Parliament. The quality of debate is high, we take our responsibilities seriously, particularly in terms of improving legislation that comes to us from the Commons, and holding the Government to account, and it is a humbling experience to be in the company of so many distinguished and successful men and women.

I am now into my 12th year of membership and I am currently a Deputy Speaker. Until the change of government in May, I was a minister in the whips’ office, responsible for transport, energy and climate change, and business, innovation and skills. At the same time I was also a member of the Royal Household, as a Lord in Waiting to Her Majesty The Queen. The "In Waiting" bit meant that I got to go out to the airport to meet visiting dignatories on behalf of The Queen.

I found myself answering debates and replying to questions on a huge range of issues. Sometimes – particularly in the transport field – I found that I knew more about the subject than the officials who were briefing me did. On other occasions I found that I needed to get up to speed very quickly, and was very reliant on the briefing officials gave me.

I can tell you that I never had the experience that one of my predecessors speaking for the government had. It was a very dull subject and the debate was in July. The official got bored when preparing the briefing note, and added at the end "This is not much of an argument, but it should be good enough for their lordships on a hot summer afternoon". Unfortunately the minister was not the sharpest knife in the box, and when he got to the end of his speech, he read out those words as well. Not a good example of how to do it.

In Parliament I obviously have a party affiliation and take the Labour whip. We have much more freedom in the Lords to make up our own minds on issues than they do in the Commons, and it often happens that votes are decided on the strength of the arguments expressed in debate. And although I didn’t make a habit of it, there were occasions when I voted against my government when I felt that what they were doing was wrong. Indeed one of the real values of receiving an excellent education like the one that’s on offer from this College is that you are encouraged to think for yourself. Don’t accept unthinkingly what you read in the newspapers, see on television or hear on the radio.

It may be a little while before the House of Lords is as modern and as forward-looking as Worcester College of Technology, but we are working on it.

I have to confess that away from politics, my second great interest, after railways, is football. I can tell you that when I made my maiden speech in the House of Lords 11 years ago I took as my text a great quotation that combined the two worlds of politics and football. I described my earlier, somewhat unsuccessful, political career in Tommy Docherty’s words, "When one door closes, another slams in your face".

But perhaps more relevant is a comment by the US Democrat presidential candidate, Eugene McCarthy, who said:

"Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it important."

I hope you’ll let me conclude by offering just two suggestions. The first is not to assume that the need to learn finishes with the end of formal study. The world is changing so fast, and globalisation is increasing so rapidly, that there are now very few exclusively British solutions to resolving problems and overcoming difficulties, so we must all continue to refine and extend the skills and knowledge we acquire, and be prepared to work with others from different countries, different faiths and different cultures.

My second suggestion is that you continue to put to good use the enquiring mind you’ve acquired during your time at college and continue to question the so-called "wisdom" preached at you by other people.

For me the most precious skill you can acquire from your time as a student will be the ability to think for yourself – and I know this is something which is really important here at Worcester College of Technology - so that there will be occasions throughout your life when you can look back with satisfaction and say "I made a difference, because I knew how to put to proper use what I learned at college".

My thanks again for inviting me today, and my congratulations to all your graduands and prize winners. Worcester College is a great institution, and I salute you.